While I may be having some serious issues determining my future career (tonight I spent the better part of an hour researching Home Staging because of a show we were watching on HGTV), I genuinely love my current day job(s). Really though, who wouldn’t? A few of my comrades had suggested working with children practically nonstop would trigger more stress than it would merit. I’m finding it’s quite the contrary – the more time I spend outside of my little “kid bubble,” the more I want to rip my hair out. Traffic, bills, traffic, decisions, traffic, responsibilities, traffic, priorities, traffic, deadlines… have I mentioned
Once I got settled with the boys this morning, my commute consisted of a high powered 30 minute walk to a board meeting – puzzle time at the local library. Afterwards, came a leisurely Autumn stroll back to the office (the playroom in the basement), where we played everything from Name That Animal Noise to Peek A Boo to Fly Me Like A Human Airplane. Naturally, we had to break for lunch which is promptly followed by a 2 hour nap. After naps, of course, come juice and a quick snack and then B and I are off to the next part of my day – the BIG KIDS!
At the after-school program today I was in charge of floor activities. This means that for the hour we spent outside soaking up the last of the day’s (and possibly the season’s) sunshine, I lead a series of relay races. When we went back inside, I supervised a game the kids and I made up yesterday afternoon that lasted well until the last half hour or so of the day. We ended our busy afternoon with a rousing game of Dodge Ball.
Sounds like a piece of cake, right? It’s almost as though I’m really not working at all…
Well, I also cared for a toddler who preferred screaming for 45 minutes straight to taking his nap. I dealt with a third grader with an attitude problem who insisted on hitting her classmates. I repeated the phrase ‘please keep your hands to yourself’ about 100 times. I was forced to hold my breath for the better part of 2 hours because a second grader is having hygiene issues. I kissed, cuddled, bandaged and iced several bumps, scrapes, bruises and emotional boo-boos. I cleaned mashed up chicken and broccoli out of a baby’s hair, off of clothes, out of my hair and out from under a booster seat. I’ve been bitten on the arm, kicked in the leg and almost hit in the head with a ball. I read Where The Wild Things Are for the 10th time this week – and it’s only Tuesday. I bent, tugged, lifted, pulled, carried, cleaned, wiped, maneuvered and stretched my way through the day.
And you know what? I still genuinely love my job(s). :)
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