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Daria

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19 comments on Goodbye, September; hello, October

Goodbye, September; hello, October

Oh gosh.

I am still- still – in a very busy period of my life. Some stuff I can blog about, other stuff is unbloggable.

AM trying not to dwell on the negative but I am truly feeling so much pressure at work, parenting, and trying to take care of myself (exercise, reading, etc)

This blog fell by the wayside side which makes me sad. BUT! I am back.

September

September was rough. Very rough. We had some issues with aftercare (remember my rage-vomit post?), T was traveling for work quite a bit, Back-to-School nights for me and for the kids, and focusing on the most basic things like work, family and self.

Some highlights were a date night (seeing Beetlejuice the musical at the State theater). A great musical. I always enjoy doing live theater.

Pre-show drinks

Swimming after work – just a few times but it was like liquid meditation. Swimming takes about 30 minutes but makes me feel so nice and tired afterwards.

I was also dropping off the kids quite a bit – and it always, always brings me some guilt… Since I have to be at work so early. We got my daughter a flip phone and she called me one morning “just to talk” – it was cute.

And now we are almost in the middle of October…

At work I am feeling more in control. But feeling in control does not mean that I have less work. By now, I know the students and they know me. So it’s easier but I still have to remember- I am spinning three levels and constantly have to “think” ahead, for each level.

My husband has not been away last week and he is home this coming week. Which is always easier.

Before heading out to brunch
Brunch to celebrate my sister-friend’ birthday (next to me)

Another highlight was a dance performance for me and my daughter. Hervé Koubi dance company (France/Algeria) had a performance at the State theater in New Brunswick. The performance was rescheduled from last March since the troupe could not get a visa to enter the US back in March. So they rescheduled for this October.

The performance was incredible – a combination of modern dance, break dance and ballet. It was called Sol Invictus and was revolving around workshopping of the Sun by humans.

Sol Invictus
Pre-show dinner – a Shirley temple for L

Media/books/links I found useful:

1. Our 10 money principles from The Purse

2. The Friendship Paradox Chinese Zodiac podcast episode

3. Sarah’s episode on seasonality really hit home because I’ve been absent from my blog for three week precisely because of that- a busy season, tons of balls in the air.

4. Recent reads and listens.

My current novel: tragically magical.

I hope to write more this weekend!

Daria's avatar

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Daria

Mother, teacher, partner, friend. I love coffee, books, and travel with and without kids. I dislike exercise. Nothing glamorous here but do have moments of insight.

19 responses to “Goodbye, September; hello, October”

  1. Lisa’s Yarns Avatar
    Lisa’s Yarns

    It’s good to see a post from you! Life feels really chaotic for us now, too, so you are in good company. Luckily our school has on-site before and after care. The doors open at 8:15 (I think? or 8:05? We always due before care so I don’t even know when their days start and end!) which is too late for us to drop them off. Before care opens at 6:30 and we tend to drop them around 7. And then they do after care and we pick up around 5. They are there for 10 hours, except on Fridays when they take the bus which picks up at 7:40ish and drops at 3. It’s a long day but they have always been in childcare for that long. They come home with PLENTY OF ENERGY so it’s clearly not too much for them. We don’t feel guilty about this, though. It’s the reality of 2 parents with demanding careers. I do not understand how other parents work without wraparound care. Having the boys home at 3pm on a Friday is really tough and we’ve threatened to put them back in after care because they mess with each other and make it very hard for us to work… But hopefully as they grow/mature, it will be easier to have them around for that last hour of work for Phil and me.

    So all this is to say that you are doing a great job and the kids are alright. It sounds like aftercare is maybe not going great though so that really really sucks. We luckily love our program. I’ve been traveling way too much and now it looks like Phil and I are going to Chicago for depositions next Wednesday except it’s not final yet (I won’t bore you with the details). The whiplash about whether the depos will happen has been so stressful and I haven’t prepped yet because I don’t want to prep and then have them postponed again. LAWSUITS ARE THE ABSOLUTE WORST. No, actually, INSURANCE COMPANIES ARE THE WORST.

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    1. Daria Avatar
      Daria

      Lisa! Thank you for stopping by. Oh how o wish my kids had before care!
      I am so sorry about the lawsuit dragging on and on. Sending light and wishes that it all comes full circle soon.

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  2. NGS Avatar
    NGS

    In my head I had Dream Count confused with Dream Hotel and I was trying to figure out how that could be magical. But then I sorted myself out.

    I don’t have children and my life is crazy bananapants right now. That’s okay, right? It will eventually slow down.

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    1. Daria Avatar
      Daria

      Oh sure, it will! For me, probably some time in December… when does your semester end?

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  3. jennystancampiano Avatar
    jennystancampiano

    The beginning of the year is always extra hard for teachers! You must be relieved at making it through to mid-October, but as you said, it’s still super busy. Yay for a date night and good books… and having your husband home. Eeesh, dealing with work and three kids all on your own must be hard!

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    1. Daria Avatar
      Daria

      Hugs, Jenny! Your words feel warm to me ❤️

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  4. jennystancampiano Avatar
    jennystancampiano

    Oh wait- I think you have two kids, not three. Ha ha! I just tried to make your life even MORE insane!

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    1. Daria Avatar
      Daria

      Haha! No worries at all!

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  5. Michelle G. Avatar
    Michelle G.

    I’m glad to see you back on the blog, but I’m so sorry you had such a rough September. It’s nice that you had some fun things as well. I hope things will go smoother now.

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    1. Daria Avatar
      Daria

      I truly hope I find a better cadence as school continues. Thank you for stopping by!

      Liked by 1 person

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  6. Grateful Kae Avatar
    Grateful Kae

    I an right there with you!! I don’t know what’s going on but I have felt like I just have no margin for blogging in the last few weeks!! My work has been really busy/stressful and i definitely think that’s a big part of it. I’ve posted like once in the last 2+ weeks too and it’s sad!! 😦

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    1. Daria Avatar
      Daria

      I know! Hang in there Kae! SHU’s latest episode on seasonality was spot on.

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  7. Common Household Mom Avatar
    Common Household Mom

    I hope you are able to find someone trustworthy and discreet to share the unbloggable difficulties with. That can help, sometimes.

    And I am glad you have been able to find the joyful things in the midst of all the stress. Hooray for all the books! And the meetings with friends! and the theater! and the swimming!

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    1. Daria Avatar
      Daria

      My therapist and my husband lol

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  8. Coco Avatar
    Coco

    swimming is really meditative. I want to do more of it too.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Daria Avatar
      Daria

      It truly is: me, water, and the bottom of the pool. It’s amazing how quiet it is in the pool.

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  9. Elisabeth Avatar
    Elisabeth

    That is a lot of different things to be juggling right now, my friend. It feels hard because it IS hard. And you clearly care deeply about your students, your family, your friends… and it’s hard to show up for everyone and still have anything left in the tank.

    Any chance you could hire a nanny to do some afterschool or before school pickup/dropoff?? Or maybe someone to do some extracurricular driving on the weekend? Just to give yourself a tiny bit more margin.

    I know that becomes one more thing to manage, but even a little extra support can feel like a major win and logistics when kids are so young can be utterly exhausting.

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  10. K @ TS Avatar
    K @ TS

    How was Beetlejuice? I love going to live productions; they are so much fun! I often see what’s available at the last minute and go to it, and have been pleasantly surprised a few times (I saw In The Heights with Lin Manuel Miranda in ~2009 or 2010 and had no idea who he was or that he would become so famous!) I hope that things start to level out a bit for you and that you get some time to prioritize more personal stuff (aka me time) soon!

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  11. J Avatar
    J

    That dance performance sounds great! I would love to see that.

    I’m sorry September was so hard. The beginning of the school year is tough for both teachers and parents (and students of course), and you had both – the teacher side and the parent side. I hope your husband is able to be around more and be there for drop offs and so on.

    I haven’t been swimming in SO LONG. I should make that a priority.

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