It's been a rainy week, but muggy. Today though and this weekend, Minnesota weather folks are promising us a preview of fall, even though it's supposed to heat up next week to near summer temperatures again. I've got the two weekend countdown of procrastinated housework and projects before a house full, so will be out and about just in small spurts enjoying the cooler temperatures. It's raining now, and while I'd like to work from home, I have a couple meetings that need to be in person. Minnesota drivers become idiots with any precipitation, rain and snow, so the commute will be no less than an hour.
Wine club is tonight, but not sure if we will go or not. We might head there in time for the wine talk, but DH works until 6:00 and I hate rushing him to get out the door to get there at the beginning. DD2 is playing in a community concert in the morning, a kick off for the Arts Center open house later in the day. She just got new strings and is disappointed in how they sound, but I wonder if it is just that her old ones were so bad, she's forgotten what she is supposed to sound like.
If only snippets for now of the fall weather, our schedule tells us we are out of summer. DH had the first NFL game on t.v. last night and DD already had homework. I had a small pile of papers to read and sign; papers like emergency contacts updates, technology use and plagiarism agreements, also signed by DD, and others that I may not be sure I knew what I was signing. Signing a lot of papers is a sign of my fall. In reading what I've typed, it reads so dull, but we are busy. Busy with the everyday, the things that need to be done, and busy transitioning to changes in school and work for each of us. I guess the F word is here.
I am pretty good with computer software, have a pretty good command of the Office Suite, and can figure out access issues pretty confidently. What I do not have a brain for at all is the behind the scenes coding and hardware. Cameras also scare me. Part of it is my eyesight is pretty poor without glasses, and to really use the focus lenses, gauge picture quality, having a decent view to begin with is essential. I finally bought myself a camera that I hope is going to fit my needs for a long time. Funded through a combination of gift cards, and future gift to myself, I am now the proud owner of a Nikon L840. It looks much more "real" than any camera I have ever had, but still is basically a point and shoot. I could have spent about $50-$75 less and just got an updated version of my Nikon Cool Pix small camera, but I have really struggled with the size. My dexterity is not great many days, and this larger camera fits my hands really well.
After figuring out the camera and the video, I hope this will give me hours of blogging/vlogging fun, and help me capture memories in my daughters final years of school. Speaking of DD2, she has decided to not run cross country this year. I can't say I am not disappointed, becasue she really did a good job. However, it is a wise, mature decision with all she had on her plate, and opportunities she wants to add this year. As she said, she can run whenever she wants, can put the money we would have spent on the athletic fee towards fun runs, and she now will have both Thursday and Fridays free after school to put towards other pursuits. She may decide to audition for the fall play and for another choir ensemble, and the arts center is thinking of starting a youth orchestra. None of these things would be possible if she ran cross country on the team-there are jut not enough hours in a day or days in a week. She was on the fence all summer, and made the decision in the final hours before registration closed last night, but it was her decision.
We are off tomorrow morning bright and early, aiming to be to the airport about 30 minutes away by 8:30. My niece stopped by for pup and fish instructions and most important, the WiFi codes. I have yet to start packing, throwing in the odd load of clothes in the wash. I never sleep much the night before flying. I think my body tells me it needs to be really tired to relax, so I'll be up late making sure everything we need is packed. DD1 is coming here and staying overnight-too far to drive that early, and I bet she'll come with some laundry. Depending on my WiFi situation, I may be silent until next week. I look forward to sharing pictures and stories and hearing yours.
When you have kids in school and activities, it always feels like seasons are marked differently than traditional calendars. Tonight is the big finale of show choir. Two performances and then the dresses will be packed away, probably forever as each year new costumes are ordered for the new theme. While soccer has started to a certain extent, DD#2 will be full on soccer mode by the end of April. She does have another month of school play practice, and then weekend performances the first week of May. In another three years, I will mark the year as winter, spring, summer, and fall, For now, it will be cross country, show choir, soccer, and rest! Of course, just like the play, she is always throwing in additional "seasons".
However, June 13th starts a new chapter in parenting. She starts Drivers Education. She was originally signed up for April but the play threw that off, then in six months she can take her test in January on or after her birthday. I may be free from the taxi cab in less than a year. I don't know which part of my brain is dominant-the fearful one of another kid driving, or the happy dance one, ready to have a bit more control of my schedule. As I juggle work and her schedule, this week, happy dance mom is winning.
Remember the ripped jeans incident and my decision to not go back home to change, but rather saved my personal time and bought new clothes instead? I must have been thinking ahead to when I really needed to tap into those two personal hours. I hate to think how I would be handling the taxi schedule, pick-up drop off, push to get dinner, and then out the door schedule I had yesterday, and still get the sleep I desperately craved without cashing in two hours. I left work at 3:15, to get DD#2 picked up at school, home, changed, and then to her violin lesson. These are days when my long commute is not a friend as I still was hitting the front end of rush hour. A quick peruse of things that needed to be signed, paid for, and returned to her, the three of us, including DD#1 grabbed a quick bite, and then headed to the high school to drop her off for her orchestra concert. Then it was to park, and get in line for tickets. Four sections of musicians later, I was gathering her up and heading back home.
DH, my brother and sister-in-law had met us there, but not much time for chatting. By the time we were home, heated water up, had a tea and hot chocolate, it was nearing 9:00. The musician still had homework to do and I had the choice of starting up the computer and working for a couple hours, preserving my personal time, or doing what my body was saying, and go to bed early. I let the Zzzz's have it. I chose wisely, and now am up this morning having had nearly eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. Nearly because for some reason, pup has a 6th sense that tells him that when I go to bed early, I should be woken up with paws to my face for a middle of the night potty outing.
I am salary so technically, I could flex back that time in the next pay period, which starts today, but having had last Friday off, and with next week being a holiday week and DS home, I don't want to work longer. While no one is watching the clock, I have always believed that if employees want their employers to treat them with respect, the same needs to be given in return, so I will tap into the leave. Isn't that what personal hours are for?
Speaking of personal leave, a dear friend, and past coworker of more than twenty years together shared she is going to be a Grandma. She made the decision that she will negotiate with her employer for a reduced schedule, in lieu of other benefits she doesn't feel she needs any longer in order to be there one-two days a week as needed to help her family out. Interesting in that she was actually the manager that hired me for my first managerial job at previous company, but I ended up being her boss a decade later. She had made the decision much sooner than I that when the demands of the job started creeping into her personal life, she was going to slow down the craziness, and chose to stay lateral in her job. Much of my past work has drizzled onto her plate, and she feels she has some good leverage and collateral to negotiate a new more work friendly schedule. I'll keep my fingers crossed for her.
Wine club is tonight, but not sure if we will go or not. We might head there in time for the wine talk, but DH works until 6:00 and I hate rushing him to get out the door to get there at the beginning. DD2 is playing in a community concert in the morning, a kick off for the Arts Center open house later in the day. She just got new strings and is disappointed in how they sound, but I wonder if it is just that her old ones were so bad, she's forgotten what she is supposed to sound like. 
