Sometimes there is a week that you just look back on and say WHAT!!! Well this week we need to add an extra hundred exclamation points.
It all started Good Friday night, actually it was early Saturday morning, when Michael was having trouble breathing. It had happened a couple of weeks before but we just gave him his inhaler and all was better. After two rounds of his inhaler and 10 minutes standing outside in the cool air I packed him in the car and drove him to the ER. As it turned out he had croup. They gave him a treatment and he was much better. Saturday night was a bit rough but not as bad as Friday.
Saturday was fun in that we decorated our Easter eggs. Easter Sunday was not too even though we were 30 minutes late for brunch. Kaitlyn had a bit of a rough afternoon when we went to my Aunt’s for Easter dinner. First she got bit by the dog and then she got some sort of nasty bug bite. Easter Monday was quiet as Eileen was in daycare so it was only me, Kaitlyn and Michael.
Tuesday we went to the naturalpath and that started our week of no dairy or wheat. Wednesday was pretty normal but that evening I the opportunity to hear General Rick Hillier speak, and it was amazing.
Then came Thursday! At 2:00 I sat down and said out loud: “Is this day over yet???”
I don’t know if I have ever had a day like this. It started in the morning with a massive wind storm. We get a lot of windy days where we live so I didn’t notice at first. I didn’t realize how windy it was until my cleaning lady called and asked if we had power. The next think I knew our large wooden playset had blown over, Eileen was staring out the window crying “Playground”, and then one of our very tall pine trees came crashing down over our driveway, on to the front lawn, barely missing the house. I picked up the kids and moved everyone to the basement. Kaitlyn was in full panic mode because she thought a tornado was coming and had just seem some the destruction in the United States on the television. I called my parents, who did not have power, and they came over. I think they weren’t too worried but wanted our electricity to make coffee. LOL! A couple of hours later the wind calmed down a bit and my parents headed home (even though they still didn’t have power). Then the phone rang – it was the school. There was no initial worry as Kaitlyn wasn’t at school so I knew it was for me. (I teach at the same school Kaitlyn goes to when I am not on maternity leave). It was my principal (my boss) informing me that next year I will not be the teacher-librarian but instead would be teaching kindergarten!?!?! I pretty much went into a complete meltdown. I don’t know if I would ever have taken this news well but with the day I had been having this new put me over the top. My job was my dream job at the school I always wanted to work at. I had a great library program and also was to teach computers to all primary classes. My goal was to be a true 21st century teacher giving my students the key research and inquiry skills needed to succeed in today’s world, while also instilling a love of reading. I had been beginning to explore becoming involved in the Ontario School Library Association, I presented at their annual conference this year, and I had developed a board wide literacy festival for grade 2 students based on the Blue Spruce Reading Program. The rug was pulled out from under my feet and all these ambitions were taken away from me. It took me a few hours to compose myself enough and I headed into the school to talk to the principal myself – I was almost ready to leave the teaching profession. I love being home with my kids, was starting to feel guilty going back to work, and was only going because I was returning to my ‘dream job’. I knew though it would be a bad idea to make any rash decisions. Instead I just wanted to get the whole story and figure out what my options are. So I have not made any final decisions yet but I think I am going to take a part time leave and teach kindergarten part time next year. I am not ready to leave teaching yet, and you never know if I will love kindergarten. We are not a full time kindergarten program until fall 2012 so I am able to have one kindergarten class and only work every other day. This will give me another year with Michael before returning to work full time, at which time I can decide if I want to teach full day kindergarten or look for another position. I will very much miss my library and really hope that all the programs and hard work I have put in continue under my successor but this may be a blessing in disguise. My family will come first, and this will give me the opportunity to do so, without going insane.
Then we came full circle to Friday again. After Thursday I was exhuasted so this was a quiet day. Kaitlyn was in school and Eileen in daycare so Michael and I had a quiet day at home and in the evening Gord and I went out to dinner with his firm for our end of tax season celebration!
Here’s hoping this week is better. But then again it will be a great one – we leave for Niagara Falls on Wednesday an a much needed trip to Great Wolf Lodge!
Mommy's Lessons 