Between acts of my Mother, Mother Nature, and the Mother of all sinus infections, I haven't worked a full week in 4 weeks! I guess one can never have too many Mother's in their lives, huh?? Confused yet??? I assure you, I can explain...
I went to Cape Cod with my Mother for 4 days in mid-September, and I missed 2 days of work which resulted in a 3-day work week for me. I'll post on the trip another time... Mother Nature was kind enough to replenish the water supply in the greater Atlanta and North Georgia area, ending a long drought. Doesn't sound so bad, right? Well, not only did she refill the lakes, rivers, ponds, streams, etc., but she also filled streets, homes, businesses, etc. with rainfall totalling over 22" in just a couple days. This,too, resulted in a 3-day work week, as schools were closed for 2 days. The following week (week #3), I missed 2 days of work with the Mother of all sinus infections. I had what the Doc called a bacterial sinus infection. (As opposed to what? Aren't most - if not all - infections caused by some sort of bacteria?? And, I didn't even have to go to med-school to figure that one out. Oh well...) Anyhoo, I ran fever and just felt like total crap for 2 days, again resulting in a 3-day work week.
By this time, I think my kids at school were probably forgetting what I looked like...I know they forgot the class rules, routines, etc.
On to the next week (this would be week #4), which happens to be the current week. The local school system is blessing us with a 4-day weekend! Not sure what the occasion is, but I will certainly not argue with the time off! The "teacher furloughs" as the teacher of my youngest calls this break, will result in back-to-back 4-day work weeks! When all is said and done, I will go a total of 5 weeks in a row without working a full week. Gonna be rough when things go back to normal!!
In the midst of all these bizarre work weeks, I have also taken on a 3rd child! Not literally, OF COURSE (for those of you who know me, this is kind of stating the obvious!), but I am watching a 2-year old little girl after school 3 days a week. She is a student at my school, and one of the cutest little girls I have ever had the pleasure to know. She is your typical, laughter and smile inducing 2-year old. She is also very particular in the way she likes things at naptime. I suppose some of her actions stem from the way her first visit to our house went, but I also have been told from a pretty reliable source that this is normal behavior for this child. So, here's a brief rundown of the pre-nap preparations:
"Can we play for just 5 minutes?"
ME: Okay, but only 5 minutes, and then you need to go lay down.
(5 minutes goes by...) "I just wanna play for 5 more minutes, okay?"
ME: No, we need to go upstairs and get ready for nap. I'll put the Teletubbies on for you for 5 minutes.
"Okay...Where's the books?"
ME: They are already upstairs.
"Where's the cards and Tigger?"
ME: They are still upstairs from last time you were here.
"Heeeeyyyyy, what's that?"
ME: No more toys, it's time to go upstairs.
"Okay. I do it by myself" (Meaning she wants to carry whatever new objects she has collected up the stairs by herself)
So, we get up the stairs and put all the necessary items into the bed in all of their designated places...And after about 10 minutes of discussing where everything is and where I should lay to read a book, I finally get her to close her eyes and go to sleep. The entire process takes anywhere from 30-40 minutes. Now, here's the good part...below is a list of the items that go to bed with this child, who I have renamed "Hector the Collector" (after a Shel Silverstein poem):
- A Backyardigans book with little magna-doodle drawing thing attached
- A "Cars" book with the same type of magna-doodle thing attached
- A Thomas book with push-button sounds
- A "How to Tie Your Shoes" book complete with laces
- A handful of Uno cards
- A HUGE stuffed Tigger (about as tall as she is) that talks when you push his tummy
- A toy stethoscope
- And various other items, depending on the day (one day this past week, she took a box of Dora bandaids)
Anyway, I am quite sure I am on the verge of losing my mind...I say this because I spend 5 days a week with a roomful of 3-year old children. Then, I come home to my own insanely wild boys. And I voluntarily take on a 2-year old??? What the heck am I thinking...
I can answer that one, too. I love the kids!! Each of my students holds a special place in my heart and mind, and this newest addition to my life has taken a very strong hold! I am honored to be given the opportunity to help shape the lives of our future doctors, lawyers, politicians, teachers, etc. I can only hope they will someday realize they were just as important to my life as I was to theirs!
Mother says, sweet post!
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