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It’s night two with the kids, and I’m exhausted. How do people do this all the time? The dishes never end; the laundry never ends; there is always at least one little girl asking for a drink of water or complaining that one of her sisters was mean. And nearly all of my tweets this past day and a half have been about the kids. Already I’m losing my ability to be interesting. At least my brother and sister-in-law return tomorrow (sometime), and I will return to my regularly scheduled programming. Plus, the plan so far is to go home on Thursday, but then sometimes I get nostalgic and feel like I should stay longer. But I have to get ready for school to start on Monday. Yikes. School. My last year for this masters degree.
At the theology pub tonight, I’m missing the discussion about Gender Identity (from Volf’s book Exclusion and Embrace), which I had really been looking forward to, but I suppose it might be better for me to not be there? I do get a bit hot under the collar about that topic sometimes. But as my brother left me a beer (he always does when I watch the kids–funny, right?), I had that today and had half the experience of theology pub.
Well, although it’s early yet, I hardly slept at all last night and since the kids are already in bed, I think that’s where I’m headed, too. Getting in bed before 9pm… It’s true.
Today, I am going to watch all four of my nieces overnight until tomorrow night. I think this is the first time my brother & sister-in-law will have had a night to themselves in years. They are going to the city at a hotel that William Shatner found them. Apparently they will have coffee with him at Tully’s. (My brother is hilarious.)
To gear up for the next two days, for breakfast I am having a piece of DQ ice cream cake (my sister’s birthday was yesterday) and a cup of black coffee. So delicious.
I don’t think the kids know I’m leaving for grad school. I think my brother & sister-in-law are waiting for me to tell them, which I will today. Which will probably ensue in crying from the oldest one. The two youngest won’t understand and the second oldest won’t like it, but she’s not as emotional as the oldest. At least I won’t be that far away. And it’s nice that I get a solid weekend with them before I leave.
So, me and four children, ages 2 years, 3.5 years, 6 years and 8.5 years, for two days. And let’s not forget their labrador and their kitty. I just hope the weather is nicer than it promises to be so that we can go outside.
Every so often I have moments of slight to medium panic when I think about grad school (online) starting the end of August. How will I pay for it? Will I be able to work and do full-time studies? Will I ever manage to learn Greek and Hebrew? Then, that reminds me: I must, must, must begin to work in my books I purchased (see previous post).
Today, I started in my Greek textbook. According to the author, if I work through two lessons a day, six days a week, I will get through the book in one month. It sounds feasible. But all I did today was copy the alphabet onto flashcards, and now I am practicing the sounds of the letters.
The other night, I babysat my nieces, and when my brother and sister-in-law came home, I mentioned to them about leaving in a year or two to go to grad school. My eight-year-old niece overheard me and started crying. I felt terrible. I did not tell her that I might not get to come back to the area, that it all depends on where I manage to find a teaching position… I really don’t like the idea of leaving. Alas.
It’s much harder to leave children than adults. Adults understand; children do not.
Living in Hebel 