For years here, I've been saying, "I just don't know if I can do this flex-schedule again." So this year, I dropped it. I've maintained a 7:30 to 4:30 workday, and it's better. No more 5:00 alarm. No more stressful 3:30 rush to the 3:15 carpool line, only to be the very last one there. No more worrying if Shan thinks I'm cheating. The kids go to Aftercare every day, they do their homework there, mostly, and it's fine. Thumbs-up for eliminating unnecessary stress.
I had a heckuva week at work -- just mentally tiring. Lots of meetings. Wednesday night, we had an out-of-town work-guest to entertain, so I stayed at the office until 6:30 and then went to dinner with the team. Not a terrible evening - free meal and wine, after all - but wow, did it feel like a long day. I'm very glad I only do that rarely. And even more glad that Shawn's around and available to share dropoff and pickup duties with me every day -- I don't know how people do it when one parent travels a lot. Yesterday was my first choir rehearsal at 7pm, and we've shifted our gymnastics time to Thursdays at 6:30, so that was tricky, too (I take the kids, Shawn meets us there, I leave for choir, he takes them home). Two nights in a row not saying grace at the dinner table, and me not good night to the kids in person (or even on the phone). Sad trumpet.
It's fine, of course, just new. I'm hopeful that next week will feel a little more normal as far as the extracurriculars are concerned, but I'm also fully aware that we're deep in the kid-raising years right now, and it's going to be like this a little bit, until Alex can drive. I wonder if I need to say something to John about choir - like, maybe he just needs to not expect me to always be there. Last night I was so tired before the rehearsal started, and I sang LIKE CRAP (but I blame him for rehearsing pieces with high B-flats in the descants, gross). But in the end I was still glad I had gone. Mostly.
Alex is doing fine so far, but I've seen a few instances where I could tell he's stressed about fitting everything in: schoolwork, piano practice, gymnastics, clarinet (he joined the middle school band), Scouts, and the video gaming and YouTube videos about his gaming that he wants to produce... so we'll see how it all goes. So far they've not had any big school projects but WOE on that day.
However, today is Friday, my managers have all left for the day, I have some projects to keep me occupied until 4, Kate's having a friend over tonight (sweet Ady Grace), and I hope that means Shawn and I will be able to watch Justified. :) Weekend! It's supposed to be rainy, too -- BONUS!
Friday, August 28
Tuesday, August 25
On authority, and watching
I am watching from the sidelines as a project at my company is in the last planning stages and still not at all ready for launch. It's a new website. My original job here was to manage the company's US websites, both content and functionality. Since I started working here, of course, there have been major changes, and now we have a global e-commerce manager as well as other team members, so when this new site project was conceived, I was actually left out of it entirely. I felt strange and slightly offended about that, but I'm not in a position of authority and I presumed my team knew precisely what they were leaving out by forging ahead without me. Fine, whatever. They've given me a new title, anyway, and hired someone else for the website stuff. Good riddance.
However, I can't help but overhear and feel a lot of tension around the final days and leading into the launch, and I wonder if I should have spoken up or gotten involved. I couldn't have, without appearing intrusive, could I? Is intrusive or overstepping your bounds okay when it positions you as a "team player?" I don't know. I don't WANT the project to fail, but I fear it might. Or at the least, it's going be a huge and complicated mess. The dude they hired talks in circles, I think -- posturing, to make people THINK he's very smart -- and most of the time his words/ideas don't make sense. (I think most, if not all, successful people do that, by the way -- but some of them actually ARE smart, and others aren't.) Besides that, they've not given him all the information he actually needs. Besides THAT, he's never wrong, according to him. (I'm not bitter, I swear, but this personality type drives me bananas.) The manager in charge postures the same way -- and on top of it, she never follows through with her tasks. The tech guy on the other side of the pond thinks he can do it all by himself in the first place, and isn't very communicative.
On the one hand, I'm definitely glad that my name has not been "allowed" to be on the project -- it will not be my fault! On the other hand, I'm sure I'll be pulled in, to triage, troubleshoot or otherwise manage the mess, and that will tick me off, indeed.
Oh, corporate life. So ridiculous in so many ways.
However, I can't help but overhear and feel a lot of tension around the final days and leading into the launch, and I wonder if I should have spoken up or gotten involved. I couldn't have, without appearing intrusive, could I? Is intrusive or overstepping your bounds okay when it positions you as a "team player?" I don't know. I don't WANT the project to fail, but I fear it might. Or at the least, it's going be a huge and complicated mess. The dude they hired talks in circles, I think -- posturing, to make people THINK he's very smart -- and most of the time his words/ideas don't make sense. (I think most, if not all, successful people do that, by the way -- but some of them actually ARE smart, and others aren't.) Besides that, they've not given him all the information he actually needs. Besides THAT, he's never wrong, according to him. (I'm not bitter, I swear, but this personality type drives me bananas.) The manager in charge postures the same way -- and on top of it, she never follows through with her tasks. The tech guy on the other side of the pond thinks he can do it all by himself in the first place, and isn't very communicative.
On the one hand, I'm definitely glad that my name has not been "allowed" to be on the project -- it will not be my fault! On the other hand, I'm sure I'll be pulled in, to triage, troubleshoot or otherwise manage the mess, and that will tick me off, indeed.
Oh, corporate life. So ridiculous in so many ways.
Monday, August 17
So far, so good!
Week 1 of school was a rousing success...but they haven't had any real homework, yet. This week starts the real deal. I just looked online at the 2nd grade Homework planned for this week and it's a doozy! Spelling and Math tests, and worksheets every night. I can't even imagine how 6th grade will be, eek. So it's good we had a productive and relaxing weekend to gear up.
It ended with yesterday evening's trip to the pool with our friends, from about 4:00 until 7:00. We ate dinner there (country club For The Win!) and went out for ice cream afterwards. But first, the biggest news: Kate SWAM!! Underwater and everything, kicking her feet and coming up for air! I am so proud of her. Of course she was hesitant when we left the house, not wanting to wear her floaties in front of other kids (Maren, 1 year older than Kate, in particular). I gave her a boost by telling her I hadn't even packed the floaties (she grinned and hugged me), but that Daddy and I would stay near her as much as she needed in the shallow end. She's fine on a kickboard or noodle, and can touch the bottom in the shallow end (barely, in this pool).
So I mostly sat on the steps with Emily and Shawn, and once in a while Kate wanted one of us to catch her or carry her, but she didn't cling to us like a little koala, which is what she has done all summer. Having Maren there helped; at one point, Maren asked why Kate couldn't go to the deep end and I think Kate was slightly embarrassed, but I helped answer the question and they both forgot about it and played anyway. Then toward the end of the evening, Kate was by herself in the shallow end, and I saw her practicing. She got better and better, swimming a little farther each time she went under. I could tell she had gotten determined. :) Goggles have been a key element for both of them; once they learned how clear everything looks underwater, they've wanted to see more. I'm just as thrilled for her as I was for Alex when he finally got it. All she needs is to get used to going longer distances, without stopping to put her feet down, and she'll be golden. We're going back to the pool as much as we can before they close it in September, I can tell you that much. Practice, practice, practice.
Who knew swimming would be such a major deal in the parenting gig? I never would have guessed!
It ended with yesterday evening's trip to the pool with our friends, from about 4:00 until 7:00. We ate dinner there (country club For The Win!) and went out for ice cream afterwards. But first, the biggest news: Kate SWAM!! Underwater and everything, kicking her feet and coming up for air! I am so proud of her. Of course she was hesitant when we left the house, not wanting to wear her floaties in front of other kids (Maren, 1 year older than Kate, in particular). I gave her a boost by telling her I hadn't even packed the floaties (she grinned and hugged me), but that Daddy and I would stay near her as much as she needed in the shallow end. She's fine on a kickboard or noodle, and can touch the bottom in the shallow end (barely, in this pool).
So I mostly sat on the steps with Emily and Shawn, and once in a while Kate wanted one of us to catch her or carry her, but she didn't cling to us like a little koala, which is what she has done all summer. Having Maren there helped; at one point, Maren asked why Kate couldn't go to the deep end and I think Kate was slightly embarrassed, but I helped answer the question and they both forgot about it and played anyway. Then toward the end of the evening, Kate was by herself in the shallow end, and I saw her practicing. She got better and better, swimming a little farther each time she went under. I could tell she had gotten determined. :) Goggles have been a key element for both of them; once they learned how clear everything looks underwater, they've wanted to see more. I'm just as thrilled for her as I was for Alex when he finally got it. All she needs is to get used to going longer distances, without stopping to put her feet down, and she'll be golden. We're going back to the pool as much as we can before they close it in September, I can tell you that much. Practice, practice, practice.
Who knew swimming would be such a major deal in the parenting gig? I never would have guessed!
Monday, August 10
9 Things on my Mind That Aren't Work
My mind needs an "Out of office" message today; no room for this job! I'm buzzing about:
So you can see there isn't any work getting done.
- A happy report from 2 kids who had good first half-days at school
- Alex's signup for Band, meaning we'll have to either buy or rent an instrument of some sort here, soon
- Kate's gymnastics camp and the school friend who also wants to sign up... but that we might need to move Kate to a different day, to accommodate Alex, who also wants to sign up, and for whom I would like a class that has more boys his age
- My driving/flex schedule, and telling the kids I'm not doing carpool this year, instead they'll do Aftercare every day (if I do, indeed, decide that)
- Is it too much? Monday - Boy Scouts, Wed - Girl Scouts and piano/choir, Thurs - gymnastics, plus instrument and piano practice?? OR is now the time for them to be digging in and finding out what they want to pursue in the future (somehow I think scouts might not last for either of them)?
- PTO/vacation days - I think I will be able to accommodate several school holidays this fall and the Middle School Dances (committee member!), except for the day of Parent-Teacher Conferences, which is a student holiday (Darling Husband, can you take 10/23 off?)
- Remaining PTO days and even The Holidays; yes, already thinking about that week off
- The large piece of Harry and David milk chocolate sitting on my desk - should I eat it immediately or save it for an emergency chocolate situation?
- Yoga - I've taken nearly an entire week off and I miss it. Even just the fifteen minutes at a time that I can manage. I want to get BETTER at it, too, but how/when?
So you can see there isn't any work getting done.
Friday, August 7
6th and 2nd Grades
Yesterday was School Orientation day. The little boy young man in our life, who squirmed nervously the night before his first day of Kindergarten, was assigned a middle school locker and a combination lock and will start 6th Grade. SIXTH! (It's fun, as you get older as a parent, and can actually remember your time in the grade your kid is entering. Sixth grade was a lot of fun for me and I'm praying he will love it, too.) He got a great teacher, I think, and yesterday his best friend's name was on the desk next to his own, so it's a happy start and he's curious/excited about the change to the Upper School Hallway, and all that entails.
The young lady in our life will start 2nd Grade, and once again, was pretty quiet when the teacher greeted her enthusiastically. She was also (rightfully) miffed at me, I think, because I left a lot of her supplies at home, whoops. They were the things that we are reusing from last year, like the purple pencil box, her headphones for computer lab and her old shirt for art class, but still, she couldn't check every single thing off the list on her desk. I would have been mad, too, but she got over it and when she went to bed last night the thing she was most concerned about is that she has to sit next to ALL BOYS. Smart teacher, I say. ;)
The mama was exhausted after our morning! Lugging textbooks up and down the hills and stairs was one thing, but the locker hallway was entirely another. I had to find scissors to undo the locker shelf from its stupidly-secure packaging; there wasn't enough room for everyone's backpacks and supplies so I kept having to get up and return to the classroom, then back to the locker; the locker wouldn't shut all the way; I saw a LOT of friends and fellow parents but didn't have ONE MINUTE to talk to any of them because of the kids and siblings everywhere. It made me think of high school, and how awful and crowded those halls were between classes. And it was like we didn't even notice! We WANTED to run into people, and walk by the boys we had crushes on, and hope they said hello! If I had to go through those kinds of crowds NOW on a daily basis.... ugh. But not kids - they'll thrive on all the energy and possibility.
So it was fun yesterday but it was HOT; someone had left the outside doors open and the AC was definitely not apparent. And finally, we missed some classmates who've left this year -- a lot of them, it seems. For valid reasons, but still... going into our seventh year together, with some key people missing, doesn't feel quite right. At least they still live nearby. In fact, I'm having lunch with my favorite mamas today, so we'll get to hear how the missing ones' kids are adjusting (they've been back in class all week already).
Off we go! Monday, ahoy!
The young lady in our life will start 2nd Grade, and once again, was pretty quiet when the teacher greeted her enthusiastically. She was also (rightfully) miffed at me, I think, because I left a lot of her supplies at home, whoops. They were the things that we are reusing from last year, like the purple pencil box, her headphones for computer lab and her old shirt for art class, but still, she couldn't check every single thing off the list on her desk. I would have been mad, too, but she got over it and when she went to bed last night the thing she was most concerned about is that she has to sit next to ALL BOYS. Smart teacher, I say. ;)
The mama was exhausted after our morning! Lugging textbooks up and down the hills and stairs was one thing, but the locker hallway was entirely another. I had to find scissors to undo the locker shelf from its stupidly-secure packaging; there wasn't enough room for everyone's backpacks and supplies so I kept having to get up and return to the classroom, then back to the locker; the locker wouldn't shut all the way; I saw a LOT of friends and fellow parents but didn't have ONE MINUTE to talk to any of them because of the kids and siblings everywhere. It made me think of high school, and how awful and crowded those halls were between classes. And it was like we didn't even notice! We WANTED to run into people, and walk by the boys we had crushes on, and hope they said hello! If I had to go through those kinds of crowds NOW on a daily basis.... ugh. But not kids - they'll thrive on all the energy and possibility.
So it was fun yesterday but it was HOT; someone had left the outside doors open and the AC was definitely not apparent. And finally, we missed some classmates who've left this year -- a lot of them, it seems. For valid reasons, but still... going into our seventh year together, with some key people missing, doesn't feel quite right. At least they still live nearby. In fact, I'm having lunch with my favorite mamas today, so we'll get to hear how the missing ones' kids are adjusting (they've been back in class all week already).
Off we go! Monday, ahoy!
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