Back on Track
We're starting back on Monday. I'm looking forward to getting back on a regular, albeit new, schedule. It was a good break but I'm ready to get rolling again. I missed the people and the classes. I think I like this.
Scheduling has been the hardest part of this degree program for me so far. It's impossible to please everyone, to be everywhere I conceivable could be simultaneously. I've been fiddling with my schedule for this semester since November and have the final version at last: one class on the web, a Monday night class and a Tuesday morning class. None of my classes are at Shady Grove this semester. I'm a little concerned about being on the road twice in less than 24 hours, but then I'm done travelling for the week. I have a feeling I will not be doing much on Tuesdays after class. It should be interesting to see how the evening class goes. Five of the class meetings are in Annapolis, rather than Baltimore. I know I am going to have to leave early to get around the DC Beltway and out Rt. 50 in the late afternoon.
I've been trying to get organized on the home front, doing all the little things I can to get just a little bit ahead. The girls do not want to do winter or spring sports as school (whew!) so hopefully activities will hopefully be limited to Saturdays. My husband is going to have the homework-dinner-bed-duty on Mondays. I can only recall him doing dinner and bed by himself a few random times in the past; I don't think he's ever had the homework piece with the other two entirely on his own. I think, except when the class meets in Annapolis, I should be able to pick the girls up at school and get them home, maybe even in and out of the bath/shower depending upon the level of cooperation, before I leave for class. I have been trying to figure ways to have dinner basically ready to go at 6pm -- like using the crockpot or cooking earlier in the day so all that is needed is a zap in the microwave. My husband's culinary skills do not extend far beyond opening a can of soup or tuna, and the kids won't eat either of these things.
My husband thinks he is going to be able to work from home on his laptop before dinner. I've tried to tell him this is unlikely to be possible but he maintains otherwise. I know I never get anything but kid stuff done at this time of the day. I stopped fighting this quite some time ago. I suspect there are some moments of frustration ahead for dear-old-dad. He's not computing the time-absorbing nature of the lunchboxes that will need cleaning, the homework that will require "help", the dinner that will need cooking, and the multiple crises that will command his attention. I am never really sure what happens to the time between 4 and 6pm. It just seems to evaporate and suddenly everyone is standing there, hungry, expecting a warm, home-cooked meal on the table with the snap of a finger.
You would think it would feel good to relinquish the end of the day responsibilties for one night a week. We are only talking 16 weeks here. But I have to admit I feel more guilt than relief. Like I'm not doing my mom-job. I know, dad's a parent too. I just have never depended upon his participation in this way before. Cross your fingers that all goes well. I may have to do the night-class thing again in order to finish this program; I hope dad is not turned off early in the game.
I don't have much more to say at this point. More details to follow as things get fully underway....
