It's been so long since I've written and I appreciate all of you who have asked for the blog to come back. Last time I wrote was the day I took the picture on this page.... .the first day all 3 boys headed to school all day to the same place. It was a glorious day filled with peace and quiet, lunch with girlfriends, errands, and 6.5 hours of adult conversation with a little peace and quiet thrown in. I thought I was going to love this new life. I'd organize every closet in my house, be the mom/wife I had been way too busy to be over the last 8 years as house mom to Alpha Gamma McVey.
My plans started off well. I'd kiss the boys every morning wishing them well in their day, then shut the door and bask in the sheer quietness of the house. I'd crank up my Nora Jones and get to work on my to do list which was about 8 years long. This all seemed great for about the first few weeks................ until I started thinking this new life was boring as hell. The house was now TOO quiet, too calm, and I kinda missed all the shooting objects I had gotten used to over the years. So I joined the gym and gave them a wonderful charitable donation each month for all the times I didn't go. I used to be very motivated to go the gym... but I'm pretty sure it was for the free childcare and the quiet hot shower, not the exercise equipment (it only took me a few trips to the gym without kids to figure this out). My donation was well received it its next to impossible to get off their mailing list................why is it that no gym in America can take NO for an answer?
The next month I decided I needed a dog, a small shed less dog who would keep me company and bring some life back to my peaceful house . In theory he's a great dog (yes, a HE... would you think I'd be lucky enough to find a female dog I wanted? Not in the cards people, just not in the deck I was dealt) but he isn't a puppy so doesn't need much other than a warm, cushy chair to hang out on during the day. He's not the smartest dog on the block and doesn't even bark or make any noise...certainly wasn't helping my boredom. I was during this time keeping busy with my position as PTA VP, which sounds much more labor intensive than it really was. I did work with an amazing group of ladies and enjoyed my time on the board until the Cupcake Wars started. Anyone ever been on a PTA board that tried to take away cupcakes at class parties? WOW is all I have to say. Never in my wildest dreams did I know people had such strong feelings about cupcakes. You would have thought we were taking food out of the mouths of starving babies in Africa, that's how passionate some people are about cupcakes. Now I'm not that good with drama and I certainly don't lose sleep if my children are deprived of treats at school, so I finished out my term and checked PTA Board off my bucket list.
As you can see, I was having a midlife crisis of some sort. I had gone from being a full time kindergarten teacher to full time mom of Captain Competitive, Good Time Charlie, and Sir AskALot (he has been renamed for the purpose of this blog..... he has replaced his constant whining with questions.... be careful what you wish for) Quiet had never been part of my life. Neither had self time. Now I had more time than I knew what to do with. There is of course always laundry, homework, housework, errands, etc.... but for some reason I thought there should be more. I ended up taking a job in January at a neighboring district as a part time reading teacher. I feel a little guilty saying this, but I enjoyed teaching SO much more when I didn't have my own kids. I'd leave my own whiny kids and show up at school to sit next to another child with lice who was also whining that they didn't want to read. All for 11$ an hour. Yep, only took a few weeks to realize this was a BIG mistake that would have to continue until the end of May. I'm pretty sure I go down as the worst employee on record after calling in once weekly.......... someone here always had the flu, pink eye, bronchitis, and yes, we even got lice. Disgusting enough for it's own blog post.
It took me the entire school year to figure out that I needed to balance my day with some time for me along with all the other things that need to get done before the circus comes barreling through the door at 3:30pm. So there you have it, all the reasons why I haven't written in a year, and all the reasons why the blog is back. I've got great material to share so hope you will return. Stay tuned for my next post, "But you and Dad said so"........I promise it will make you laugh.
Until then, I'll be sitting around my Thanksgiving table listening to Alpha Gamma McVey make farting noises and complain about everything but the rolls. Wouldn't have it any other way. Happy Thanksgiving!
