Slacking

It has been too long since I last posted--possibly the longest I've ever gone between posts. I feel guilty that it has been so long, but truth be told, I am exhausted. I won't go into details because, well, I don't want to, plus there's just not a lot to be said. Let's just say that between work and home, there just isn't enough time, and I'm trying hard to do a good job where it counts--which is everywhere! Thank you for not laying on the pressure and understanding.


ADDENDUM: I am okay. Just overwhelmed and stressed, as most work-outside-the-home-full-time moms are. I have posted so many times about the demands of life as a working mom, and I'm not sure how to phrase this one in a way that doesn't sound whiny and redundant. On a good weekday, I get 3 1/2 hrs. with Lydia, spend 9 hrs. at work, and do more work after she goes to bed until I'm too tired to continue working and I go to bed. Lather, rinse, repeat. Robin and I try to squeeze in time together as well as take care of ourselves physically and emotionally, but this semester particularly, it's been difficult. There has been little time for the things that make me feel a bit more human like yoga, reading, blogging, even TV and as early as September, I'm feeling it.

Things at work have been stressful. I'm not sure if it's always this way and I always forget, or if this is a particularly difficult year, but a lot of people are frustrated, and that doesn't always make for a pleasant work environment. There are a lot of good things going at work, too; one of my classes was observed by a writer from a national education magazine, and she will be writing about a specific student in my class and how my lesson helped him break through writer's block, I feel like my behavior management is finally one of my strengths, and I have more students who love to read than I have ever had before.

As I said, I'm doing lots of reflection and trying to figure out if this is the same old beginning-of-the-year stress or if something this year is different, and honestly, I'm not sure. I wonder whether this struggle to balance will be ongoing or if with time, I'll figure it out. It's a tremendous challenge.