A week in bulletpoints
Note: I started this post a week ago but took five days to complete it. The delay is symptomatic of the new pace of life, even if it means the days referred to are now the week before last.
Last Sunday: We get up before church and attend an annual balloon launch here in town. I think it's beautiful; the rest of the family is in a rather foul mood for having gotten up and out the door by 6:30am.
Monday: My first day of class. I'm now teaching on the "block plan," an intense schedule in which class meets every day, Monday through Friday, for three hours...like a graduate seminar on steroids. After my first class I have lunch with a colleague who started here when her kids were about Alice's age, and I ask how she did it. She describes going to bed at the same time as her kids, then getting up in the middle of the night to get back to work. I think this sounds horrible. In the evening I keep my Princeton schedule and after the kids go to bed, return to work until 1 am.
Tuesday: Edith's first day of school -- see previous post.
Wednesday: Edith's first church choir practice. Seems to go well. While there I introduce myself to the adult choir director and ask about joining. He is warm, but after I read the 12-page booklet in 9-point type detailing the rules of the choir (which include applying for a leave of absence when one needs to miss several rehearsals and not looking bored or sleepy while sitting in the chancel), I realize this is not a commitment I can make at this time. Even if I did have the 3-6 hours/week for rehearsal, I don't think I can promise not to look sleepy.
I'm too tired after teaching all morning, prepping in the afternoon, and spending the evening with the kids to go back to work after they're asleep.
Thursday: I get up at 4am to finish prepping for the day's class.
Open House at the elementary school. In this district, you bring your kids to Open House and let them show you around. I get a 20-minute lesson on mastering the monkey bars before we even get inside. It's amazing the confidence and sense of ownership with which she moves around the school after just a few days.
Friday: I get up at 2:30am to finish prepping for the day's class.
Weekends really mean something at this college.
Saturday: Edith's first ice skating lesson. Prompted by this exposure to skating last spring. The class starts by chanting a mantra, "We love falling! We love falling!" And yes, she loves it.
Incidentally, if you know ice skating, you know we're in pretty elite skating country here. Over Edith's head hang banners listing local skating club members who have gone on to win significant competitions...
We spend the afternoon at a local waterfall. It still blows me away that we can go places like this for a casual afternoon outing.
We'll see how many more such outings I'm awake for.
5 comments:
Looks like y'all are settling in well! Lots of fun things to do!
I know what you mean. I've never been so tired, and classes haven't started yet. Hope the weekends are good enough to sustain you through the week. (Can I say that every picture of E in the whale sweater makes me really happy? :) )
Oof. Hang in there. It will be SO much easier when you're teaching stuff you've already prepped. Our first year was brutal (and we just had one child then; further respect for you doing it with two). Each year since has gotten easier.
Soren would be so envious of Edith's ice skating lessons. He *really* wants to go, but I'm not sure how to "take" him, as I don't know how to stay upright myself! And funnily enough, Soren had his first choir rehearsal too last week.
I was amazed at how quickly they got the kids standing upright, kcs. The first 30-minute lesson was all about falling down and standing up. Later that week Edith wanted to go to free skate at the rink, and Tom took her, thinking he'd help guide her around, but they wouldn't let him on the ice carrying Alice. So E. had to go out there alone, and she navigated her way all the way around the rink, only occasionally touching the wall. And she's not a jock--in fact, she's quite physically cautious. I think kids can do these things much faster than we!
At the very least, you could be the one with your hand on the wall, with Soren holding your hand on the other side, and I bet by the time you get around once or twice, he might try a bit on his own.
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