Remember back to high school when you were all excited about finally getting a locker? Well, I get to go through that glory all over again. And guess what? I am still using the same lock! Only this time, I am expanding to two lockers because I just have too much stuff to squish into one tiny locker. Now I know how the kids felt when they complained to me about the lack of space in their tiny lockers. So, I’ve added one of those shelves – pink, of course – to give me some extra space in my regular locker and then I’ll use the 2nd locker for things I won’t need as often and for the dreaded winter boots and coat. How do these kids do it? I thought I was an organized person, but this 12” locker business is ridiculous.
In keeping with the high school theme, last week I went roller skating – or should I say roller bootin’. There’s an arena close to where I live that offers roller skating every Friday night – with music from the 80s, to complete the experience. So, I pulled out my old (not ancient, just old) boots and took my son and daughter. It was AWESOME! I was 13 again… uh, the same age as my kids. Ok, so maybe the moves weren’t what they used to be, but I could still stand up and move my feet around. It felt pretty good.
If only I could get back the memory I had in my youth to complete this whole experience. We have lots of reading to do every week and it’s a bit overwhelming. I’m finding it a bit challenging to read through all of the material, absorb it and recall the information for the following week. I suppose this will improve with practice, but sure isn’t the same as when I was younger. I enjoy reading and learning all of this new material. It’s exciting to be a student again. I was one of those weird kids that always liked school and have taken a number of courses over the years. So, to be taking a program that will result in a new career is very exciting.
One more sleep and I’ll be back home. I look forward to Thursdays. The day is long, but the end result is me arriving back home, hugging my kids and sleeping in my own bed. I find going to sleep the toughest part. My routine is all out of whack: I don’t have my kids to tuck into bed, I don’t have my cat to check on before I go to bed, and I don’t have my hubby to share the end of the day with. It’s difficult to go to sleep without this routine. Even though I am tired, I find that I put off going to bed because I just don’t want to -- it doesn’t seem right. On the positive side, I am SO thankful to be staying with my cousin. If I was alone in an apartment, it would be even worse…
Friday, September 18, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
That Dark And Lonely Highway
Alarm rings. It’s 4:10 a.m. I seriously think to myself “you can’t keep doing this every week. You should just stay home. Drop out you crazy person!” Negative thoughts continue to run through my mind as I prepare for the 3 hour drive. Everyone in the house is asleep—ok, all but the cat – so I peer through my window at a dark home as I drive away. I’m leaving my home, again. The kids and husband are all cozy in bed while I head off down that dark and lonely highway. Wait, that’s a song, isn’t it?
Radio sure is interesting in the early morning. On CBC Radio One I enjoy listening to news from Australia and Romania. It is interesting to hear their accents and find out what’s making the news around the world. I find the talk radio seems to soothe me in the early hours and keep my mind working so I don’t get too drowsy as I drive. There was a lot of fog this time, so that helped to keep me alert, as well. This makes me think about how my drives will change as the winter weather slowly approaches (please, every so slowly). It’s not going to be so easy to make the morning drives and I may have to break down and go down the night before. It’s incredible how important this extra night at home has become and I will hate to lose this. Hopefully we will have a mild winter and driving won’t be an issue.
Back at school I really don’t have time to worry about all of these things. It seems that every time I sit down they are handing us another assignment. That’s ok though, because the busier that I am while away, the faster the week will go. I try to get most of my work done so that I can spend the weekends with the kids. I know this won’t work out every weekend, but I’ll do my best! I also have the Monday at home to do work while they are at school and this was my plan for the week passed. The kids, of course, were lecturing me about doing all of my homework immediately and not waiting until the last minute!
Back on the home front, homework is being done, the cat is being fed, and meals are prepared. I suppose they can handle things without me and I suppose I’ll have to get used to that concept! I was reading in the paper about how moms now text their teens to nag about chores, etc. So, I suppose if I really wanted to, I could text my kids with reminders…if they had phones.
Radio sure is interesting in the early morning. On CBC Radio One I enjoy listening to news from Australia and Romania. It is interesting to hear their accents and find out what’s making the news around the world. I find the talk radio seems to soothe me in the early hours and keep my mind working so I don’t get too drowsy as I drive. There was a lot of fog this time, so that helped to keep me alert, as well. This makes me think about how my drives will change as the winter weather slowly approaches (please, every so slowly). It’s not going to be so easy to make the morning drives and I may have to break down and go down the night before. It’s incredible how important this extra night at home has become and I will hate to lose this. Hopefully we will have a mild winter and driving won’t be an issue.
Back at school I really don’t have time to worry about all of these things. It seems that every time I sit down they are handing us another assignment. That’s ok though, because the busier that I am while away, the faster the week will go. I try to get most of my work done so that I can spend the weekends with the kids. I know this won’t work out every weekend, but I’ll do my best! I also have the Monday at home to do work while they are at school and this was my plan for the week passed. The kids, of course, were lecturing me about doing all of my homework immediately and not waiting until the last minute!
Back on the home front, homework is being done, the cat is being fed, and meals are prepared. I suppose they can handle things without me and I suppose I’ll have to get used to that concept! I was reading in the paper about how moms now text their teens to nag about chores, etc. So, I suppose if I really wanted to, I could text my kids with reminders…if they had phones.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
My Two Worlds
Now I’m not getting paid by Skype to promote their product or anything, but it really is a handy thing. At bedtime, I was talking with my family. My daughter and I had a chat and after that I put the laptop on the floor and we did some exercises together. It really does help with closing the distance. It’s so much better to speak to them and see their faces rather than just hear their voice.
As my first week draws to a close, I am looking forward to time at home with my family. One advantage of studying away from home is that I use my spare time to do my reading and work on assignments. Most of my classmates have to juggle homework with family life and that’s not easy. The first week of actual classes has been very exciting. It’s been a long time since I’ve had to read chapters in a textbook or write reports but we’ll see how that goes. I have 2 presentations to make next week and I’m quite nervous about speaking in front of our group. It’s exciting and terrifying all at the same time. I try to think back to when I was in university a few years ago (if I think about exactly how many I will go into shock). I can’t really remember much about the classes. I remember teachers that I liked and the few that I disliked. I remember the people and how much fun we had together and some of the crazy projects we came up with. The fact that I’m in school again seems a bit surreal, to be honest. I now have this school life with new friends in a new city and then when I’m back home I am a mom again with family and home responsibilities. I have these 2 different worlds going on. I think that’ll take a bit of time to get used to.
And, I am discovering that my family can actually function without me. They can make lunches, fill out back to school forms, and remember to do homework and go to bed without me. This is a bit of a strange feeling. Maybe they’ll get to enjoy not having me here telling them what to do? Then again, as the kids are getting older and more independent, I need to stop giving so many instructions. Maybe it will be good for all of this to go through this experience right now. I guess time will tell. I do know that they still need me for some things. My daughter asked me on Skype if I would be home to do laundry soon. Apparently I do it better than dad. Not sure if that’s exactly what I was going for, but I guess it will do for now.
As my first week draws to a close, I am looking forward to time at home with my family. One advantage of studying away from home is that I use my spare time to do my reading and work on assignments. Most of my classmates have to juggle homework with family life and that’s not easy. The first week of actual classes has been very exciting. It’s been a long time since I’ve had to read chapters in a textbook or write reports but we’ll see how that goes. I have 2 presentations to make next week and I’m quite nervous about speaking in front of our group. It’s exciting and terrifying all at the same time. I try to think back to when I was in university a few years ago (if I think about exactly how many I will go into shock). I can’t really remember much about the classes. I remember teachers that I liked and the few that I disliked. I remember the people and how much fun we had together and some of the crazy projects we came up with. The fact that I’m in school again seems a bit surreal, to be honest. I now have this school life with new friends in a new city and then when I’m back home I am a mom again with family and home responsibilities. I have these 2 different worlds going on. I think that’ll take a bit of time to get used to.
And, I am discovering that my family can actually function without me. They can make lunches, fill out back to school forms, and remember to do homework and go to bed without me. This is a bit of a strange feeling. Maybe they’ll get to enjoy not having me here telling them what to do? Then again, as the kids are getting older and more independent, I need to stop giving so many instructions. Maybe it will be good for all of this to go through this experience right now. I guess time will tell. I do know that they still need me for some things. My daughter asked me on Skype if I would be home to do laundry soon. Apparently I do it better than dad. Not sure if that’s exactly what I was going for, but I guess it will do for now.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Being There...Brought To You By Skype
It’s amazing how the mind works. This morning I woke up at 2:00 for an unwanted trip to the bathroom and started to think about the fact that I would be making the 3 hour drive back to school in a few hours. This is my first day of regular classes and also the first day of school for my kids. Both are heading off to new schools. I remind myself that I have never missed the first day of school and then I start calculating hours… if I got on the road by 8:15, I could be to school by 11:15 and that would only mean missing 3 hours of school. That’s not so bad, is it? At 2:00 AM it all seems possible. Then I feel the potential for this possibility to become reality. The indecision starts to kick in and then I start to get all sweaty and confused. All of this happens in a couple of minutes in the dark, in the bathroom. Then, reality quickly returns and I realize that no, I can’t skip MY first day of school. The kids won’t be scarred for life because they had to get ready without me and surely dad will remember to take the traditional photo with the backpacks. I’m sure they’ll cope just find without me… Skype will have to do.
By 11:30 my classes are done and again I feel the wave of anxiety and I begin to debate the possibility of leaving the big city to head home in time to see the kids and hear all about their first day. Again, the pressure mounts until I decide that it’s a lot of driving, gas, and lack of sleep for a few hours. A very important few hours, but I suppose everything can be reported to me via Skype. Yay for Skype. It wouldn’t be quite so bad if I had homework to do but we haven’t been given any assignments yet. So, I’ll fit in a workout at the Y.
I love technology! I timed out my activities so that I would be done at the Y just about the time the kids would be getting home from school. I hooked up to the internet in the parking lot and talked with the kids just moments after they returned from their first day. It’s like I was there! I kept the windows up so no one would notice that I was talking to my computer, but after the sweat started to roll down my forehead, I had to crack open a window. It was great, though. The kids told me all about their days – well, as much as you’re going to get from a boy in high school. But I could tell that he had a good experience by the look on his face and the thumb’s up. My daughter was a bit more descriptive and was also very happy with her classroom.
Who knows, I may fit in one more Skype conversation before bed!
By 11:30 my classes are done and again I feel the wave of anxiety and I begin to debate the possibility of leaving the big city to head home in time to see the kids and hear all about their first day. Again, the pressure mounts until I decide that it’s a lot of driving, gas, and lack of sleep for a few hours. A very important few hours, but I suppose everything can be reported to me via Skype. Yay for Skype. It wouldn’t be quite so bad if I had homework to do but we haven’t been given any assignments yet. So, I’ll fit in a workout at the Y.
I love technology! I timed out my activities so that I would be done at the Y just about the time the kids would be getting home from school. I hooked up to the internet in the parking lot and talked with the kids just moments after they returned from their first day. It’s like I was there! I kept the windows up so no one would notice that I was talking to my computer, but after the sweat started to roll down my forehead, I had to crack open a window. It was great, though. The kids told me all about their days – well, as much as you’re going to get from a boy in high school. But I could tell that he had a good experience by the look on his face and the thumb’s up. My daughter was a bit more descriptive and was also very happy with her classroom.
Who knows, I may fit in one more Skype conversation before bed!
Saturday, September 5, 2009
How Small Town Is That?
Ah, the long weekend is here. I hate the way all the radio announcers keep saying it’s the last weekend of summer. Can we not just extend the summer a bit longer? We are having a bit of a lazy long weekend, I must admit. That’s ok. Sometimes lazy is excellent. We did a bit more back-to-school shopping yesterday. There’s always something that’s strangely satisfying about putting the freshly sharpened pencils into a clean new pencil case. It’s ridiculously expensive to buy all of these school supplies for the kids – how can pencils and 33 cent duo-tangs and a few other things add up to 80 dollars? Sigh.
As you may know, I grew up in a very small town --so small that technically it was a village. So, here I am living in a “city” and over the span of 10 years, 2 of my neighbours have come from my hometown. And, another 2 neighbours used to work in the same office as my dad. Now, I know this could happen in the big city, but 4 neighbours? I think it’s great.
This time when I’m going to university, I have a bit more “big town” experience than when I went from high school. I moved from a village of, well, under 1000 to Toronto. I seriously did turn and look when cars honked along Yonge Street. I grew up without cable tv and studied broadcasting. How strange is that? So, in class we would talk about programs like “The Tonight Show” and I had no idea what they were talking about. Seriously. Not a clue. Needless to say that it didn’t take long for me to get the small town sign on my forehead. But, I didn’t mind because it was all true and I loved being from a small town. And even though I was surrounded by thousands of strangers, sometimes I would accidentally meet up with people from home. That always amazes me that out of a sea of unfamiliar faces, you can somehow manage to connect with a face that you know. And, maybe it’s not even someone that you have met before. Maybe it’s just another friendly person who knows the benefits of a smile.
Today we all walked to the market for a family activity. That’s always interesting – walking too slow, walking too fast, walking sideways into someone… you get the picture. Nevertheless, it was an attempt at a family outing. It’s great at the market – fresh food and you run into people that you know. My grandma used to bring eggs into this market every Saturday when she was young. I think it’s cool to be living in the same area and going to the very same market many years later. Connections. I like that and I suppose that’s part of what makes me “small town”.
As you may know, I grew up in a very small town --so small that technically it was a village. So, here I am living in a “city” and over the span of 10 years, 2 of my neighbours have come from my hometown. And, another 2 neighbours used to work in the same office as my dad. Now, I know this could happen in the big city, but 4 neighbours? I think it’s great.
This time when I’m going to university, I have a bit more “big town” experience than when I went from high school. I moved from a village of, well, under 1000 to Toronto. I seriously did turn and look when cars honked along Yonge Street. I grew up without cable tv and studied broadcasting. How strange is that? So, in class we would talk about programs like “The Tonight Show” and I had no idea what they were talking about. Seriously. Not a clue. Needless to say that it didn’t take long for me to get the small town sign on my forehead. But, I didn’t mind because it was all true and I loved being from a small town. And even though I was surrounded by thousands of strangers, sometimes I would accidentally meet up with people from home. That always amazes me that out of a sea of unfamiliar faces, you can somehow manage to connect with a face that you know. And, maybe it’s not even someone that you have met before. Maybe it’s just another friendly person who knows the benefits of a smile.
Today we all walked to the market for a family activity. That’s always interesting – walking too slow, walking too fast, walking sideways into someone… you get the picture. Nevertheless, it was an attempt at a family outing. It’s great at the market – fresh food and you run into people that you know. My grandma used to bring eggs into this market every Saturday when she was young. I think it’s cool to be living in the same area and going to the very same market many years later. Connections. I like that and I suppose that’s part of what makes me “small town”.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Finally On My Way...
Backpack is ready to go!
Well, yesterday was my last “normal” day with the kids for a while. We enjoyed our day together making cookies and some banana muffins. Then we hopped on our bikes and rode to the park for some sunshine and exercise. Now, speaking of small towns, I love the fact that we can go for a bike ride and stumble upon friends when we arrive at the park. How excellent is that? After a visit, my daughter zoomed over to check out the new playground equipment (still not too old to climb on the spinning-net-climbing-contraption). My teen decided he’d had enough and rode back home. My daughter and I hung out for awhile longer, eventually making our own way home to get some dinner together.
As I started packing later that evening, we all ended up congregating in our bedroom. Although the kids were watching tv, I think they just enjoyed everyone being together. Maybe we’re all a bit nervous about this new adventure – not sure exactly how the kids feel. I know I’m nervous.
I didn’t sleep very well. I was dreaming that I was on my first teaching placement and it was a complete bomb. Why is it that you feel like you are awake most of the night but when your alarm goes off, you are dead to the world? I dragged myself out of bed at 4:30, gave my cat a pat on the head and hopped in the shower to wake myself up. Of course, everyone is sleeping and that’s the time that I manage to drop the soap repeatedly and loudly.
I packed the car the night before, so all I had to do was make my tea, load up my backpack and prepare to hit the road. My dedicated husband always wants me to let him know when I’m leaving so I wake him up to say goodbye and then hopefully he falls right back to sleep. I’d much rather just sneak out and let him rest, but this little farewell gesture is important. I’m glad for it.
5:00 am and I’m on the road. Should make it by 7:30 if the traffic is good. Well, guess what? How could I possibly manage to get behind a ridiculously slow car at 5:30 in the morning? I don’t know but I did. I think I fould the only one. Once I lost this car I picked up a transport and then I was slowed by construction. Ahh! I did make it by 7:40, so still time to find a parking spot and my classroom.
I must admit that today I was actually looking forward to class. After years of wanting to do this, I am finally getting my chance. I miss the kids but now that we’ve experienced being away while I took a course in July, I know that we can all do it. It’s also great to be staying with my cousin because I don’t feel as lonely.
I picked my locker today, too. This just feels like high school all over again! I choose a locker number that matches my birth year (which will remain secret). That’s one of the hazards of going back to school in your… ah, well..later in life. It’s harder to remember where you left things. That being said, I must say that I am using my lock from high school -- can remember that number. I’m pretty proud of myself.
I really am, you know. Proud of myself.
Well, yesterday was my last “normal” day with the kids for a while. We enjoyed our day together making cookies and some banana muffins. Then we hopped on our bikes and rode to the park for some sunshine and exercise. Now, speaking of small towns, I love the fact that we can go for a bike ride and stumble upon friends when we arrive at the park. How excellent is that? After a visit, my daughter zoomed over to check out the new playground equipment (still not too old to climb on the spinning-net-climbing-contraption). My teen decided he’d had enough and rode back home. My daughter and I hung out for awhile longer, eventually making our own way home to get some dinner together.
As I started packing later that evening, we all ended up congregating in our bedroom. Although the kids were watching tv, I think they just enjoyed everyone being together. Maybe we’re all a bit nervous about this new adventure – not sure exactly how the kids feel. I know I’m nervous.
I didn’t sleep very well. I was dreaming that I was on my first teaching placement and it was a complete bomb. Why is it that you feel like you are awake most of the night but when your alarm goes off, you are dead to the world? I dragged myself out of bed at 4:30, gave my cat a pat on the head and hopped in the shower to wake myself up. Of course, everyone is sleeping and that’s the time that I manage to drop the soap repeatedly and loudly.
I packed the car the night before, so all I had to do was make my tea, load up my backpack and prepare to hit the road. My dedicated husband always wants me to let him know when I’m leaving so I wake him up to say goodbye and then hopefully he falls right back to sleep. I’d much rather just sneak out and let him rest, but this little farewell gesture is important. I’m glad for it.
5:00 am and I’m on the road. Should make it by 7:30 if the traffic is good. Well, guess what? How could I possibly manage to get behind a ridiculously slow car at 5:30 in the morning? I don’t know but I did. I think I fould the only one. Once I lost this car I picked up a transport and then I was slowed by construction. Ahh! I did make it by 7:40, so still time to find a parking spot and my classroom.
I must admit that today I was actually looking forward to class. After years of wanting to do this, I am finally getting my chance. I miss the kids but now that we’ve experienced being away while I took a course in July, I know that we can all do it. It’s also great to be staying with my cousin because I don’t feel as lonely.
I picked my locker today, too. This just feels like high school all over again! I choose a locker number that matches my birth year (which will remain secret). That’s one of the hazards of going back to school in your… ah, well..later in life. It’s harder to remember where you left things. That being said, I must say that I am using my lock from high school -- can remember that number. I’m pretty proud of myself.
I really am, you know. Proud of myself.
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