Hello my friends. I just wanted to post and give you an update. So many of you have emailed, commented, called or texted me to ask how we're doing, and you're just all wonderful for doing so. It makes me feel very loved.
We are doing great. I've said before that I hate the whole "meant to be" notion. It just makes me want to scream and rebel against whatever is "meant to be," and I am still not willing to give in to that idea...however, I do feel like things have fallen nicely into place. So here's a rundown of our first week...
The Daycare:
The kids are doing well. I am still a bit apprehensive...it just seems too good to be true. It's inexpensive and in a beautiful house and on my way to work...just seems like my luck could not be this good. So I keep wondering if everything is okay. And we all know how I love to worry and obsess. So I've been worrying and obsessing that Ainsley is not getting the education and curriculum that she needs. I've been worrying and obsessing that they don't have playmates their own age. I've been worrying and obsessing that maybe this very clean and tidy business is not so.
BUT...she is, and they do and it really is! Ainsley comes home every day with worksheets. She's beginning to recognize more letters and she can even trace and write some on her own. There are plenty of kids there Freddie's age, and one of the teacher's even has a daughter around Ainsley's age. I don't think she's there all day, but I often show up in the afternoon to find them playing together. I've also met a couple of the parents, and they've been taking their kids there for years. The mother I met today has had her 20 month old there since she was 4 months old.
This all makes me feel great. I feel like the process was so rushed and that the cost and location were just too good to be true. It seems that the kids are thriving there and that makes me worry and obsess a little less.
The Commute:
This actually is not so bad. I mean, living 6 miles from your office in Richmond, where it takes only 15 minutes on a bad day to arrive...well that can't really be beat. However, my 60 minute commute is not bad. I leave early. Way earlier than I've left for work in a LONG time. And I have to get the kids up early...Ainsley does not like that. But, once I drop them off, I'm usually parked 40-45 minutes later. And really, the traffic is not stopped, like I remember from my commuting days 10 years ago. It moves, just slows down here and there.
Then I walk about 10 minutes to my office. Which I also like. I have to admit, I am CHEAP. So I could have spent $250 a month and parked right next door to my office. Instead I chose a garage about 5 blocks away for $200 a month. It is cold right now, but I enjoy walking through the city. It actually gives me an excuse to go shopping. I definitely need a new, longer coat, rain boots and probably some actual real UGGs...not my fake FUGGs that I have now. FUGGs (Fake UGGs for those of you not in the know :) are not water proof and not completely wind proof. And I need a big bag to carry all my stuff in...so I don't have my purse, my pump, my lunch and any other crap that I need to carry back and forth that day. So I'll need to start saving, but I'll work all that out eventually.
The Job:
Not bad...as far as jobs go. So, for those of you that don't know me that well...I'm pretty lazy. I mean, not in a no work ethic kind of way. More in a, if I won the lottery I totally would never work again kind of way. So maybe it's not laziness. So the job is good...it's just, I'd much rather be writing my blog all day everyday or playing with my kids or exercising or shopping or traveling. But if I have to work, this job is as good as any. As far as perks go...WAY better than my last job. I mean, DMS was fine...and I do understand why they operate the way they do. When your at the end of the line (as DMS is in the direct mail industry), well then you need to bend over backwards for your clients. That includes working weekends and holidays and snow days and never closing early and putting in long hours. When your at the bottom of a hill, the shit rolls down.
But see now, I'm working for a nonprofit, and I'm at the top of the hill...so you know what that means :) Lots of holidays, lots of early closures, lots of snow days. They don't stay late here. I leave at 4 and I'm one of the last to leave. For instance, I have this Monday off for MLK day. I haven't had that day off in a LONG time. Plus, yesterday, I got an email saying we're closing early on Friday because of the long weekend. Freaking AWESOME!!
The Rents
As most of you know we're living with Kip and Denise right now. So far, it's going great. It's not easy living with parents. It has nothing to do with Kip and Denise specifically...I'd feel the same way if it was my mom. It's just hard to live under someone else's roof without feeling a little bit like you're imposing and being a bother. Kip and Denise have been great. They've done nothing to make me feel these things...just my own internal feelings.
We're working on getting the basement cleaned out so we can have a living area down there and so the kids have a spot to play. Hopefully that will get done in the next couple of weeks.
It's also been hard for me to let go of the single parent stint. I mean, it's not like I loved doing it. If I had, I may not have moved. But it's just kind of ingrained in me to take care of everything. So I'm working on letting that go.
And that's it really. Our computer is not set up yet, and I'm not sure where the camera is at the moment, so I'll have to post pictures another time.
Thanks again for all the love...it means a lot.
