Last Wednesday marked the end of the school year for my little class. They were so excited they couldn't contain themselves. The last few days were a party filled with clay, creating posters, treats, snacks, movies, and autographs of friends.
Last Wednesday marked the end of something else for me. It marked the end of my teaching for the foreseeable future as I stay home to raise my baby and her siblings still yet to come. I wasn't sad while winding up the school year and packing my classroom. I am a little now, however, as I put the changes into words.
What a great opportunity I have to be able to stay home and be a mom! It's what I have looked forward to for years. I am grateful for PC's willingness to agree to this arrangement and he is grateful that I have a desire to do so. My attention will no longer be divided. You see, I'm the kind of teacher that is always thinking about her students and what I can do better. It's a blessing and a curse that I can't "turn it off" when I get home. I am also the kind of teacher that goes in early, stays late, and brings home work at night. I think that was the hardest for PC to get used to. But he was very patient with my work habits.
He was also very patient when he came to pick up my boxes. :-) It took me 5 days to pack up and clean my classroom. My sweet mother came to help for a couple of days and my wonderful PC came to load up the cars. (I was in the hospital a couple of weeks ago with signs of pre-labor. They discharged me after determining that I was wasn't in labor, put me on bed rest for a day, and then let me go back to work as long as I was careful and took it easy.)
When PC came on Friday to pick up the boxes, he was surprised. In my defense, I did give away lots of stuff. In the end, I had 3 (big) boxes of storage and organizers, 18 boxes of files and supplies, and a few odds and ends. What can I say, I taught for 6 years!
And now I'm home, looking around at my 3500 sq. ft. house and wondering where to begin. We never fully unpacked from the move and there are boxes in the baby's closet. I'm not quite sure how to do this housewife thing but I will figure it out. I know that I will be very busy once the baby comes. I just need to pack (or unpack) as many things in the next 6 weeks as possible.
I think it's time for a list and schedule.
You are wonderful and you will be wonderful at the stay-at-home mom gig. I am so excited to see what a wonderful mother you will be! I don't think anyone has ever doubted that Diana is going to be wonderful at this part of life -- I know I've never doubted. (I've used a lot of wonderfuls in this comment.) At that, have a WONDERFUL day. I'm so excited I get to talk to you through the day now. Wonderful!
ReplyDeleteAhhh the years of "list" making begins!! And your lists will be filled with wonderful things like ... Things to Get: diapers, wipes, bum cream, more onesies, sleep :)
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited for you! It is a blessed challenge to be a stay at home mom. Be patient with yourself and give yourself time to grow into. You can only climb a mountain one foot in front of the other! LOVE YOU!!
You said it well – it's a little sad to say goodbye to the old life (sad because we're nostalgic, memory-oriented people), but wonderful because of what it means.
ReplyDeleteI know you'll be great at the stay-at-home thing. I'm excited to be figuring it out concurrently with you; I'm sure I'll call you lots with the latest challenges and wondering how you've been handling them, too. I love you.
Oh, no, here come G:ma with her advice!
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to tell you that your lists and schedules will work well UNTIL that little girl gets here. After that you will be so wrapped up in that bundle of wonderment that you'll forget about schedules. After your mom was born, I even forgot Cal was around. It's true!! A friend asked me after three weeks how Cal was doing and I paused, with a puzzled look on my face, and said, OOOOHHHHH, CCAAALLL!