Thursday, August 09, 2012

Signs Mama is Back at Work

1.  The house gets out of control.  There's clothes in the livingroom, possibly folded or needing to be folded on the couch.  The kitchen bar counter becomes a catch-all for laptops, backpacks, and work-out bags.

2.  The oven hasn't been used in a week.  So when I turned it on today to cook, the house started filling up with smoke.  I forgot that my oven stew spilled out, and I haven't cleaned it yet.

3.  Despite the lack of cooking, the kitchen is a wreck.

4.  We are doing laundry at 9 PM because Case is out of uniforms for school.  aka: I forgot I had to do laundry over the weekend.

5.  Why did I forget to do laundry last weekend?  Because we had a big hoo-rah last weekend, planning lots of things with friends to celebrate summer ending.

6.  Even though it's my week back at work, I'm still not at work full-time.  Every August, I forget how tired I am after work and after the kids are down for the night.  I forget that there is no way I'm going to go grocery shopping at 9 PM.  So shopping during the day is what happens.

7.  Did I say I'm exhausted?  By 2 PM, I'm wishing I could still take naps.

8.  If it's not exhaustion, it's my short attention span.  I have trouble focusing on one task for over 20 minutes.  Hence, I'm blogging.

9.  My conversation is a lot more chemistry and teaching - even to non-educators.

I was going to make #10 that I'm happy.  Of course, that makes it sound like I'm not happy staying home in the summer.  That's not it at all.  By May, I am overjoyed for summer.  I love being able to stay home with the boys and play.  I love that my house stays a bit cleaner.  I like being able to take the boys weekly to the library, the bookstore, you get the idea.  By mid-July though, I'm itching to get back to my routine.  I love my work.  I like planning the semester out.  I enjoy reviewing chemistry and learning some things I didn't know.  I love talking to my students.  I love the quiet time I get daily in my office.  And I love the late afternoons and evenings I get with the boys.  So I'm happy.  Not any happier that I am in the summer, just different.  So maybe #10 is I'm a different kind of happy.
Fulfilled, counting my blessings.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Wow, judging by your first three, I must be back at work too! He he he :)