Warning: kind of a whiney post
As I reflected on work-life balance last week, I also felt like I was not balanced at all. life this past week felt like I was drinking out of a fire hose. By the way, I must credit Kendra Adachi for this “fire hose” term- she even has a podcast dedicated to remediation of the fire hose feeling of overwhelm. Let’s unpack.
Work. Was rough in terms of the sheer volume of tasks. I had to update the final exams (verbal and multiple choice portions), study guides, and create Scantron answer keys for both levels. I also had to teach, because – the school is still in session and the students are to be learning. Plus, we needed to finish the units! We can’t just give up, not an option (that’s what I told the students). Although it’s May and everyone is tired and ready to go on summer break, we must finish, and finish strong. I also worked on the qualifying exams for students who wish to try to qualify for honors Spanish next year. I had my student teacher help out some. We also had NJ State testing and you know much much I love that 😦 But, as Naomie wrote in her latest post, the end of the tunnel is near. We have two more weeks of school, including the finals week, and soon we will be done. While I do feel a bit flat motivation-wise, but it is natural. The students are feeling the same. So next week, we are working on our verbal assessment and study guides, and the week after are the final exams. The classroom is stripped down to the bones.
Family. L got two awards from her school. R had an international parade but I had no Russian outfit to dress him in. I had an appointment with our attorney to talk will/trust and that is whole thing is A PROCESS. They have enough info to create a will but trust takes longer, it seems. Creating a trust is also more expensive. The will is covered by T’s legal insurance – why he has legal insurance I have no clue, probably through work… A trust is not covered so we will have to cough up the money to pay for the trust creation. I do not know how much that would be yet.
Self. Feeling flat and unbalanced. I think I am too much in my head. I love to write, to plan, and all that is in my head, constantly. I need to get out of my head. Maybe get into the body instead. I continued my meditation (even tried a walking meditation), and made sure I had time outside every day in the evening. I made sure my bare feet touched the ground. I read every night. I watched a documentary with T. So, yes, I did things for myself. I watered the flowers and planted sweet alyssum in our semi-circular flower bed.
Also, camping has been on my mind- a lot! I did a trial run- set up a tent in our living room, inflated the mattress. Soon I will have to do it all by myself – the kids can help but during the trial they were pretty much useless. I keep purchasing stuff, and so far I spent about $500. I wish I could borrow but I have zero camping friends, and I don’t use Facebook to do the marketplace.
Memorial Day Weekend. I have five days home, Friday to Tuesday. The only plans are on Monday and Tuesday. On Monday, R and I will visit the Liberty Science Center. He is very much into astronomy right now so I think he will get a kick out of a visit – they have a planetarium!
And on Tuesday L and I are going to the New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx to see Wonderland: Curious Nature installations. Think giant rabbits made of flowers, half-eaten mushrooms sculptures, and red queens. We went three years ago to see Kusama installations, and it was amazingly trippy. I should have brought a wine spritzer to sip on. Note to self: read/watch Alice in Wonderland with L before going.
Kusama at NYBG with L Summer of 2021
Mom of Children 