Working Moms

I don't breathe deeply enough. "Take a deep breath" is so easy to ignore when I'm going or planning or worrying or cooking or working or feeding or cleaning or driving or... you can fill in the blank. I need this air to live and most of the time I'm breathing so shallow, not taking enough of it in. That's not good. We're supposed to breathe deeply to calm down and even to manage pain and I HAVE to do it to survive, so how can I forget to just do it better? One quick Google search and I find this. (I did NOT know there was an American Institute of Stress! Cool.) So, I'm sitting here, writing, taking some deep...

After 2.5 years as a stay-at-home mom, I reentered the corporate workforce. Finding childcare was stressful to say the least, and I wasn't really sure what to look for.  My criteria were something along the lines of affordable, keeps my kid alive, and doesn't have a wait list of 2 years. The transition was very smooth, and Etta Mae was very happy with her new daily routine.  I accepted from the start that there were going to be things that wouldn't thrill me about daycare.  But I was committed to giving the benefit of the doubt as long as she was happy and healthy. Naturally, I got to know the teachers and aides in the 2-year-old hall.  And despite my...

The waves can crash at any time these days.  In the middle of cooking chili or in the middle of a Friday Night Lights marathon with my husband or even mid-step on the stair climber at the gym.  The waves of anxiety and anticipation will overcome me.  This may sound like a serious issue, but don’t worry, it’s just typical middle-of-the-summer panic for a teacher.  This may surprise you, but we teachers get nervous before the start of every school year just like you and your child.  We, too, anticipate the unknown and ask some of the same questions your child ponders.  Do these sound familiar? “Who will be in my class?” “Will they like me?” “What will my day be like?” “Can I...

It's no secret that the Baton Rouge school system is...well....complicated. Parents of "typical" kids often struggle with the decision about whether to send their kids to public, private, magnet, charter, or home school. When your kid has special needs, there is a whole other layer of complexity added to this already complex space. And if you are anything like me, you sometimes doubt whether or not you know what the actual "right" decision is. This year since the kiddo is turning 4, our big "are we making the best decision?" dilemma has been preschool. I have a saying about our lives raising a special needs kid and maybe all parents feel this way: I feel like our lives are like an...

I’m a thief. It’s 11:47pm on Sunday night and I’m settling in to write. The weekend is over and I’m purposefully extending it a bit. I “steal” time. That’s what I call it. I only ever steal from the guilty – myself. I have two children, a husband and I work full-time. I’m tired. I know there are women out there that have more children and less husbands, who work longer hours for less money. I’m not complaining. I’m just tired. I think this is the way that it is until I decide to do less or be less. Or if someone would agree to potty-training already. I like to spend time with my husband (awake). I like to spend time with my...