First week of school and work

 The children (3 peas) started school on Monday.  I started a job as a Graduate Assistant the same day.  Sadly, I was not there when they came home from school because my orientation meeting was 2:30 to 5pm.

At the orientation meeting our supervisor invited us to work out a schedule between the 8 of us.  5 people wanted the AM shift, and only 2 can get it.  Another mom J has the most seniority and was hired with the understanding that she could only work during school hours.  She is from Nigeria, studying materials engineering, and she has 2 children in school.

Over the past week I have made it a priority to be early/ontime each day to show the supervisor that she can count on me to be reliable.  My default is to be eagerly working, rather than just present.  But with the hope of securing that AM slot, I have made sure to get L off to school, dress professionally, and show up!  One day L forgot his medicine and I was so torn about what to do.  I would be late if I went to school as I had in the past when he forgot his medicine.  So I went to work.  As soon as I was done I went to L's school to give him some medicine.  He reported that he hadn't had any trouble.  

The graduate assistant position is with the freshman academy.  We'll man a desk for students to see their advisor, and in the tutoring lab.  We won't be tutoring, but will be supervising, and sometimes evaluating the tutors.  I originally approached the supervisor because I wanted to become a tutor for the CSD department.  Last year my classes were during the day and I wasn't ready to miss family time for work.  This year my classes are at 1-2 (Tuesday/Thursday), and 5-8 (Monday/Wednesday).  So I have most of the school hours to work. When she interviewed me this year she said I could offer a weekly session to CSD as part of my work schedule.

With M at college I'm working on switching the children's rooms.  lP is really not liking this.  She'll have her own room for 4 years though.  There will never be a good time, and there will be worse times.  So, now it is.

flights and adulting

G had an opportunity to travel to Utah as an FSY counselor.  He missed his flight because he was asleep when his grandparents came to pick him up.  It's so frustrating that being deaf and having sleep difficulties create such a terrible dynamic.  His grandparents were so helpful, taking him to tampa in the middle of the night to catch another flight to get there on time.  My brother picked him up and helped him get to the meeting.

M was working in Maryland this summer and we had a tight plan that involved her flying in the day before she was to move into her dorm.  Unfortunately there were bad storms at BWI and she was stranded for 22 hours with delayed flights, canceled flights, everything!  She was on a flight at midnight when they canceled it.  She called P who was already driving to pick her up.  Some moms heard her conversation with dad and adopted her.  They took her to the front of the line where a man gave up his seat on a 9am flight.  I was able to pack up her things and pick her up in Nashville, drive straight to Auburn and get her to the mandatory 4pm meeting.  What a day.

I'm grateful for the good things they are involved in and the kind people who helped them get there this summer.

Band Camp

 lP started band camp this week.  She loves playing in the pit.  All those years of piano, and then not so much piano, and now she's playing the vibraphone.  She's proud to be the only freshman on a board.  The director said she took to double mallets very quickly.  I think that's because of her work crocheting.  She's used to contorting her hands for long periods of time. 

I'm helping with the uniforms.  It's a huge job even as the assistant to the amazing, long serving person.  There is a very detailed series of steps that have to be taken to get the uniforms ready, maintaied, and accounted for.  

DC trip

 We went to DC to visit my dad.  We also sepent a lot of time hanging out with cousins.  

On the 4th of July we attended a breakfast with my childhood homeward and my dad even initiated going.  In the past he declined invitations but he started going a couple of years ago.  That was nice.  After breakfast we took a quick metro trip into the city and the parade was still going on.  We drove over to P's friend M's house and had a BBQ then over to Aunt R's house for more BBQ and pool time followed by fireworks at a local park.

The zoo was fun. Cousins V and X were very sweet and good travelers.  They stayed with my making it really fun and easy to manage.  I carried a camelback with 2 water bags, one for each family, and many bags of snacks.  The weather was surprisingly nice and the crowd was very small.  Having been to the zoo many times, I was very pleasantly surprised.

We were only there for 3 days but it was packed with outings and family time. We went to great falls one night and enjoyed beautiful scenery and a nice long hike with the children.  We stayed until it was dark!

Traveling with just 3 older kids is surprisingly easy.  We drove home on Saturday and had enough time to take a detour along the skyline drive.  I'm grateful for P looking out for little extra moments of beauty for us to enjoy.

I was able to get a lot of studying done. P was listening to youtube videos for his AP computer science certification.  I was listening to youtube lectures of my classes.  LP was reading a book series on the kindle.  B and L took turns playing the switch and on ipads.  So technology and entertained.  We never had this sort of luxury when the 5 kids were taking road trips before.  I'm grateful for each season we've enjoyed with the children.

We are a happy family

 P came home.  Yay!  This has been a busy summer.  M went to be a camp counselor.  We visited Gtowne. lP and B had camps.  L did homeschooling pretty well this summer.  I took 4 classes for grad school.  P took 2 trainings for AP classes where he was gone for a week.  We visited DC.  B's church group hiked/camped the walls of Jerhico.  lP's group went white water rafting.  I got to do a formal observation and see a lot of great therapy sessions.  I just have 2 more finals.  4 more sleeps until I get a month off.  During that month off I'll be helping with uniforms for the band, and studying for my fall courses.  No rest.  

G is going to the ASL FSY next week.  M flies home July 31 and I drop her off for college August 1.  

lP starts band camp in 8 days.  

lP is doing cross country so I have been waking up every weekday and walking 3 miles with a neighbor.  My knees and hip don't ache anymore!

Life is good.

Super Busy week

 P has been at a training for one of the AP classes he will teach in the fall.  B has been going to a daily space camp.  lP has been going to cross country.  L sometimes gets his work done.  I have been going to observations for my clinical experiences.  I have also been trying to finish out the semster.  I have 2 more exams.  Hurray!  I just have Friday, Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to get through.  Then I'm done!  I am pretty sure I'll get high Bs for at least 1 of my classes.  I'm OK with that.

DC fun

 We've arrived safely in DC to visit my dad.  I visited last summer with M, but the kids haven't been since Thanksgiving 2023.  We'll be here 3 days and hope to see cousins, and siblings too.  M is at camp just 90 minutes away.  We're going to the zoo today.  M was the major zoo girl but everyone likes it too.  It just feels weird to go without her.  Having kids grow up and move on is strange.

When P and I went to California 3 years ago, it was so strange, and nice, to experience travel without the kids.  So much of what we do has been dictated by the kids for the last 21 years.  L will graduate in 9 years. P has 16 years until retirement.  I hope to be an SLP in 2 years, so I'll have 14 years of experience at that point.  There is something called Travel SLP where you get a 6 month or 1 year contract and they pay really high wages because you are moving to fill a short term contract.  I think that would be a fun way to travel, and still work after P retires.

The years fly by.

Update: We had such a great visit.  We took cousins to the zoo on Wednesday.  Thursday we spent more time with my dad and went to his favorite buffet for lunch.  We had to come back and take a nap!  In the evening we went to 

Thursday night we met up with R at Great Falls.  It was so beautiful and we ended up hiking the trails until it was dark!

On Friday we went to the church breakfast with my dad and sister's family.  We dropped my dad off and took the metro in to town.  The parade was still going on when we got there!

We went to R's house afterwards for dinner, swimming, and local fireworks.  It was a great visit even though it was a bit fast and busy.