I realize I haven't posted for over 3 weeks-make that 4, but my life has been a whirlwind! Right before I left for Europe (meaning on the way to the airport) I dropped off my letter of resignation after being hired by a county Educational Service Center as the new "Director of School Improvement & Curriculum Services." Basically this means that I will be helping administrators and their staff dissect the local report cards issued by the state, doing test-item analysis and using that data to drive education-based decisions regarding teacher planning/curriculum, instruction/delivery, and assessments. This is the short version of my job....the long version is a two page single spaced document which I won't go into right now! All you need to know is that I have a extremely long title and therefore, I must be important! LOL!
So....returning from Europe....let's see, after arriving by plane in London from Venice, the ATM machine promptly ate my credit/debit card because I couldn't figure out the corresponding letters to the number pad (I use a letter code and the number 1 is not ABC like you might think). Like Jennie, I am no longer fond of flying....it used to be fun, a novelty, with free peanuts and a can of pop and now I just regard it as a huge pain in the ***. I was happy to be in back in the state of OHIO!!! I felt too sick and tired to drive that night when we first arrived (mainly sick), but I couldn't wait to see the girls so after a few hours sleep, I woke up early and headed for my parents'. The girls were in bed when I got there so I had to wait for them to wake up! However, I did peek in on them and it was so good to just see them! They made welcome home signs for me too!
The girls had a a great time with my brother's family and my parents, but they were happy to be heading home to their own toys and beds. The funniest thing happened on the way back to our house; we stopped at the store for milk, eggs, bread and in the parking lot holding hands, Zoe told me it was nice to be going home, but it would be much nicer if Daddy were home too (he had to stay in Switzerland for his 3-week grad class). "Daddy's a lot of fun to play with," she said. I agreed. "He's a nice daddy." I agreed. Then she looks up at me and says matter-of-factly, "Mom, you picked the right guy!" I was holding Sammy in my other arm and just about dropped her because I laughed so hard! I'm not sure where that came from, but it was my "official" welcome back to Ohio, to motherhood, and my life!
Later, Sammy also gave her own version of welcome, by a comment she made while I was reading her a Winnie the Pooh book. It was a book about colors and so I was asking her questions about the book: Can you find something purple? What's your favorite color? Etc. When I asked her who her favorite character was and gave her examples like Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, she answered, "Mommy! Mommy's my favorite!" Doesn't that about melt your heart?
Even with these warm welcomes, unfortunately, it took me a while to get back to normal. I experienced jet lag and woke up wide awake at 3:30 in the morning three nights in a row (8:30 London time). I finally took an Advil PM and only woke up long enough to throw the wet towel from my hair onto the floor. That was a major improvement!
In the first week, I spent a lot of time doing LAUNDRY, LAUNDRY, LAUNDRY. This was very exciting for me after being on vacation. I had had to pack light so I was forced to wear some things more than once and I was so happy to have fresh from the wash CLEAN CLOTHES! I unpacked clothes, traveling brocures, flyers of where we'd been, souvenirs, all of the girls' belongings, etc. I also went to the school and PACKED things up as quickly as possible. My parents helped me with this huge task. I wasn't sure what I would need for my new position, so I took what was mine and left the rest. The good stuff was on my work laptop so there were over 600 living documents I left behind which were probably the best since they were the most current. There wasn't a huge rush to pack up so quickly, except I was going to spend a couple of days with my predecessor and in my mind I only wanted to work one job at a time so I hurried. Everything was stored in the garage (and most of it is still there). I can't really explain this whole process except is was CRAZY! I ended up taking the girls with me and I let them play games, write on the board, and one day even took an Elmo movie. We all survived.
Now I am in my new job and loving it. Instead of a classroom, I have an office....with a PHONE, two computers, and a window! I've given two presentations already to K-12 school districts (including some preschool, cafeteria workers, and bus drivers). It was a little nerve-racking, but again, we all survived! The cafeteria workers were the funniest....I asked everyone to do an activity and walked around to help and asked how they were doing on their project. One guy told me that he didn't make anything but hot dogs! WORK WITH ME HERE! Too funny!
I wish I knew more, but it's like starting all over. I am fortunate that my new boss is fantastic! He and my principal (she'll always be my principal!) have the same management style. They're direct, honest, don't play games, and bring out the best in me! I'm a lucky gal! His vision revolves around being customer-driven, user-friendly, high quality, and cost effective. I can buy into that. It's a good thing. He also believes in the TEAM. There are a great group of people working there. I'm really fortunate. I really miss the classroom and the people of my old school, but it was the right time and I'm in the right place. Plus, I just went out to dinner with my former staff. I'm still a part of that family! They're super people! Now that I am no longer Allie's teacher, we are planning a sleep over!
In the process of this transition, Robert graduated from the University of Michigan in Genova, Switzerland. He was in the first group of students to graduate in this new global program (which I got to watch online!). I can't tell you enough about how great of an opportunity this was for him on so many levels. It was an advancement of his knowledge base, an international experience, and best of all, he made some fantastic friends. Plus, I got to go to Europe!
The four of us are back home together and doing fine. Zoe starts Pre-K tomorrow and will actually ride the bus to school. I'm very excited and nervous for her. She's ready; I'm not quite sure I am. More later!
Drinking the last of my 6-pack right now. TGIF!
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