What a year it has been!
I do realize that I cannot say that I've always been great at keeping up with my blog or anything. But I do feel like I am being honest when I say that life really did go on fast forward this past year. In fact, blogging is not the only thing that has suffered. I have been so busy surviving a new load of work, so the usual things I do for fun (girl scouts, church, gardening...) as well as basic housework have all probably suffered quite a bit. As soon as we got back from Mexico, it was time to get back on the saddle. I got on my laptop to get to it, and I noticed a few of my classes were a bit small, so I wrote my admin and the other teacher in my department to let them know I was considering cancelling a couple classes. It should have been a bummer ---except I would be veritably relieved to have those hours back.
I have not even had a chance to write about my new job! My siblings have all expressed their surprise as they found out one by one that I have been teaching again.
Yup. I have been teaching again! I started looking for a part time or flexible hours kind of job a couple years ago and had a few very painful interviews. I do not interview well, and I feel like that alone is a chisme-rant that could be its own blog post, but I should try not to digress too much. Then, a friend of mine who has been teaching through the Classical Learning Resource Center asked if I would be interested in joining their Spanish department. It turned out to be a really great program! I really love our administrators, and I love having the freedom to decide on what to teach, how, and even when. I can even decide, like I might this semester, that I wish to lessen the load. I started out teaching a couple conversational courses for High School and Middle School, which was extremely comfortable and easy to do, and back in August/Sept I started an Elementary Spanish class, too. I also took over the grammar classes for Middle School. I am still trying to adjust to the workload, though. It has been wonderful, but also a little bit overwhelming.
The kids, too, have felt a bit overwhelmed. I do not know if it is because I have been what-ever-the-opposite-of-on-top-of-the-ball-is, or because they themselves have been taking up a lot of new activities, but both of them talked to Q and I about taking it slower next year. We will have to sit down and decide where their priorities lie and make decisions, hard decisions... uff.
I am looking forward to seeing how next year develops! Of course, there are lots of other things we want to do more of, too. Things which have been put on hold, such as learning Nahuatl (for me) and Spanish (for them), and more outdoor time and exercise time. So, there's that.
I am hoping for a better sense of overall balance. I am thankful for the chance to catch up on blogging, crafting, and cleaning, and to get some seriously needed prep work done. We have also made some purchases for the house which we have known for a while that we really needed to make... It feels like a good start. I think I am mostly caught up! Gotta keep chugging along...
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PS If you are reading this "on time" please pray for my mom, who is having surgery on Saturday for her back pain/overall health. Thanks! Hope you are well, too.
