Okay. Parents are gone. I can feel the stress oozing out. The stress of pre-parents, the stress of being in the moment of parent visits, and now .... it's oozing out.

But now there's the stress of one day until school starts for me. Also the stress of this week, which is a weird one, b/c I am in school, and the kid folk are not.

For the past 2 years, the kids have spent this week with my parents. The first year, they went camping and did other vacation-like things, and last year, they hung out at my parents' house (which is in the country). This was good and bad.

Good: I got to have my first weeks of school with a single focus. This was necessary in 1L, b/c I was starting law school, fearing I bit off more than I could chew, and freaking out. This was necessary in 2L because I was starting the Class that I Was Teaching, was realizing I bit off more than I could comfortably chew, and the demands on my time were extreme.

Bad: The kids had recently returned from thier Summer Away, and it added another layer of transition, which was not always welcome. They were okay once they were in it, but during the prelude and the farewells, they were UNHAPPY about leaving.

Last year, Beloved was working during this week.

The year before, we made the plans while we were still in California, and we thought that Beloved would be working by the time my school started, but in reality, he did not start for a month after (which worked out well, b/c we hadn't found childcare until then, either).

This year, I have nothing extra. I have a very sparse schedule.

But that's not really why they're home.

they're home, b/c in the spring, Thing One was approached by one of the women who run the little community theater that the girls are involved in, asking her to audition for a special troupe that uses this week as intense preparation for a short spurt of performances at the schools in town during September and October. She was very honored and excited. Beloved and I were happy for her, but saw the conflict with the dates right away. At the same time, however, we had already decided that due to my Summer Employment and his company moving, Beloved would take the Summer Off. So we decided that he would either 1) continue with his time off; or 2) take a week off during this week.

So the girls are not going away with my parents. They are staying home. Tomorrow is Thing One's first day of practice, and she already has her lines memorized (which is what they wanted of her). I do not have school tomorrow .... I start Tuesday. I will bring her to her practice for 9, and Beloved and Thing Two will go grocery shopping (I think that's what I heard them planning). Perhaps I will stay out and have some time to myself, which I am oddly craving, and pick her up at noon.

For the rest of the week, i will likely continue to drop her off for 9, and Beloved and Thing Two will pick her up at noon. They will spend their days doing whatever they do (I think he's talking about doing a Mapping project with them), and I will rejoin them when I'm done. On Thursday, I have nothing until 3:15 p.m., so perhaps I'll hang out with them all day. I guess it depends on how much reading I have to do already.

It will be an odd week (or so), though. The girls won't be in a routine yet, Beloved is not working again yet (isn't planning to until we return from Disneyland), and I will have to start full force. The kids may not be so willing to accept that. Nor may be Beloved - sometimes the transition is tough for him, too. It's hard to remember that after 3 months of being able to watch movies together in the evening, or just hang out and chit chat - I may have to start cracking the books.

but maybe it won't be the case. I feel like this will be a pretty light quarter. We'll see.

posted by Zuska @ 3:08 PM

0 Comments: