The Author

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I am a high school English teacher, and mother of two charming little ones of my own. I teach in a high poverty urban charter school, while I live in a typical American suburb that has frequently been rated one of the safest cities in the country. It is a paradox I struggle with constantly, but it is my life.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

A Stay Local Week

So, Vinny has been at Vacation Bible School this week, which has meant me staying around town, which was rather necessary. My to-do list was crazy out of control. 

The first day of VBS, I have to admit, I was not feeling great about it. The line to pick up their t-shirts was so long that even though we got there 20 minutes early, I ended up having to run Vinny in 15 minutes after it started and search for his leader. At first, none of the leaders in his color group seemed willing or able to help me find who his leader was. Once I found her, she seemed unsure of if Vinny was really in her group, and I was a little unsure of if she was really a leader. I guess it is hard to find that many people who are free during the week to volunteer to run something like this, so they let students who are above VBS age help as leaders. But this girl really must be just above the VBS age. She is really young. On the way there the second day he asked, "Can I sit with that kid again?" I asked him, "What kid?" He replied, "The one you talked to, what was her name?"  I was confused for a minute and then I tried, "Erin?" "Yeah, Erin! She's nice." I sort of chuckled. 

But she has really grown on him. If I had a quarter for every time I heard, "Erin said..." today, I'd be rich. Okay, maybe not rich, but I could definitely get myself a venti latte. Last night, when he realized that VBS is only 5 days, he started crying and asked when he would get to go back. When I told him next summer, his first question was, "Will Erin be my leader again?"  I chuckled. "I don't know Vinny." He started bawling. He even brought it back up again today. Wow... I don't think I have ever seen my kid get so attached to someone so fast. Half the time, when he starts a new preschool, it takes him an entire week to remember the teacher's names. 

I guess she is proof of what Timothy says in 4:12, "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."  She must clearly be showing some love to my kid, because she has really made an impression on him. Maybe I should give her a little thank you gift. That is pretty cool of her to give up a week of her summer break to hang out with a bunch of kindergarteners.


Meanwhile, I've been getting stuff done. Laundry and other housework, running errands, etc. It has been necessary, but I am over it. Vinny drives me crazy when we are just stuck at home getting things done. 


Next week is my last week of break. I am much sadder about this than I thought I would be. Normally by now I am kind of excited to go back. I am just wishing I had 3 weeks left. I feel like this summer went faster than any of the others before this. I feel like I just started making plans and reconnecting with my friends and getting the feel for summer life... hanging out with my kids, barbecuing, and just feeling free. I'm not ready for it to be over. 


I need to make the absolute best of next week. Making plans, trying to be patient with my son and his 5-year-old bad attitude, going to the gym as much as possible. 


In addition, I think I need to ease myself into the school year. I am going to make myself a rule for August. I must leave by 4pm four days a week to still attempt to enjoy the summer. 


Sigh...  I think its because I have two of them now. Kids, I mean. I need twice as much time to completely savor them. :-)




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