my week in (lots of) words - Monday & Tuesday









Another week ... the weekend was far too short, as usual. I am not cut-out for full time work but that's the way it is a the moment. I have spent far too many years putting my own career on the back burner to have time to be a reasonably engaged mother but there came a point in my life when I questioned the sanity of completing a PhD and and MEd to then do nothing much with it. So here I am, with a list of titles to my name, working full time but still not happy.

There is always a mad rush on Monday mornings because we have still not learned to get school bags and whatnot ready on Sunday evening. Work doesn't get off to a good start on Monday. I receive a phone call from a student, whom I don't understand well and who already had called my colleague twice and has received all the information she had required in writing. She tells me she had deleted this email and wants me to resend it. I feel tempted to put the receiver down and walk away, she wants me to agree to something I could not possibly agree to and we go round in circles. Many times. I end up being 15 minutes late for a meeting. There is always one student each year whom I wish to the bottom of the sea. I am making sure I keep correspondence polite and professional but firm and matter of factly. I remind myself of all my experience of handling difficult students and the various courses I have attended to treat students with the respect and fairness they deserve. Unfortunately neither covers how to deal with obnoxious people. Don't get me wrong, I do love my students and they mostly love me. The rest of day passes without further problem and I finish just before 5pm and worked well above the hours required, which will make it easier to be flexible during the remainder of the week. I do start early, which helps, too. I spent half an hour at lunch time stitching and people watching in the cafeteria. With the beginning of term, there is a vibe of expectancy and excitement in the air, which is lovely. I briefly wonder how Sam is enjoying his first day at lectures. At home, I prepare k a nice dinner of small smoky burgers in pitta bread, risotto balls (from leftovers) and salad. Not bad all things considering. Sam has a bit of ago at me for waking him up too early so he would be at his very first lecture on time. I know, I suck. Everyone else is a bit subdued and feeling poorly with a cold or a sore tummy. We don't talk much. Homework is partially done. Bedtime is uneventful for once and I spend the evening listening to a book, stitching. Richard does the grocery shopping. We urgently need to discuss after school childcare, which we only have for Monday and Friday but as usual, we decide to wing it for a while longer. 


Waking up feels less traumatic Tuesday. Tuesday mornings are easy. I usually squeeze in an hour of work at home before the kids go to school but today I can get straight into it because Tuesday is a breakfast club day and I had planned to work at home in the morning anyway. It is incredibly noisy in my office, even with the door closed. Two ladies previously sharing an office are now in adjacent offices but unfortunately still talk to each other as if they were sitting side by side. That plus work men and a steady stream of students proves too distracting. It is the day of my personal development review. Never a joy but my line manager is really good and she motivates me every time I see her. I need to improve my self motivation skills. I have not achieved all of my SMART goals (all very corporate: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-based). I am glad this was due to external circumstances, not my incompetence. My line manager suggests not to be so hard on myself and maybe to lower my standards a bit because I am my own worst enemy. I know that of course. After my review, I pick up some mince at the butchers on my way home because I have a hankering for a rich lasagne. I also buy curries that the butcher makes and other assorted meats that might be required for a camping trip this weekend (weather permitting). I find a parking spot outside the butchers. I am promptly parked in by a delivery van and have to wait for his return. At home, I find a little package in the porch and wonder what I have ordered and forgotten about. I haven't, it is a little surprise from my friend Jo. It is a EPP glue basting stick and refill! I felt like texting a big line of happy emoticons but I don't have Jo's number, we are online friends. I am sending a big hug and thank you now, via this post. After school is a bit of a rush on Tuesday. I stop work at 3:20, thankful for being able to work flexibly. Alistair is home first, James an hour later. Dinner is fish-finger sandwiches on white bread, hold together with a generous helping of mayonnaise (just me) or ketchup (everybody else). James eats first because he has joined a running club on Tuesdays, starting at 6:15. Silly time. He is still on probation (they do take their running seriously in this wee club) and I've already had "the chat" because James likes to monkey about. Richard is taking James and the dog. Alistair and I eat dinner together, condiments dripping from our fingers but happy otherwise. Alistair still loves his origami ninja stars but also has a collection of origami claws that can be turned into a flying ring, which shatters on impact. Epic, he says. We have fruit for pudding and notice a cloud of fruit flies when I pick up a banana. We decide to make an apple vinegar trap to get rid of the infestation. All fruit that can't go in the fridge is moved outside, as is the compost bin. The fruit flies love my vinegar trap. Fascinating really. Sam and Annie are out. I walk Alistair to cubs then do a little housework. I managed to wash and dry bedlinen today. Richard and James return, James has a bath and Richard continues to work for a bit. By the time I pick up Alistair from cubs at 8:30, James is asleep, Sam and Annie are back and all is well. I spend what is left of the evening with an audiobook, needles and thread.


Comments

  1. The apple vinegar trap didn’t work for us this time. Red wine pretty well did the trick though.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I’m reading and nodding with your emotions of the days. Balancing home and work life is never easy, particularly with your large spread of children’s ages. I’m always in awe how you do juggle your life so well. I’m liking the sound of the weekend's camping trip, fingers crossed for good weather and I’m off to look up how to make a vinegar trap. Hope the rest of your week goes smoothly. B x

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love your wordy day posts, I keep starting one of my own but it always seems so boring that I delete it. Maybe Ill give it another try!
    Jillx

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am glad I was a little moment in your Tuesday. We are experiencing the same here and I have half as many children as you! Will chat later. Jo x

    ReplyDelete
  5. You have a rich and full life, Christina. I enjoy reading about your days, it really is my favorite kind of post. I'm nosy and I like to see the details of another person's day. I give you so much credit for working and raising a family. I have never worked since I had children, it's a choice we made that I'm not always confident about. I do sometimes question whether it's the best way to spend my life and whether I'm wasting what was by any account a top-notch education (on full scholarship, no less). I do usually conclude that it's best for my own family to live this way, but I also wonder what life would have been like if I'd stayed on a career path. Then I wonder if I'm even cut out for that, since I feel overwhelmed with just the home and family stuff pretty often! Thanks for sharing your days with us.

    ReplyDelete
  6. As busy as a bee, I remember the school days and early morning panics all too well. I shopped with fish finger butties in mine today. running a home and working full time is never going to be easy but needs must and all that.I know many peeps who have wasted their years of learning and decent degrees and then lived to regret it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. A fish finger sandwich sounds just the ticket right now yum! I haven't had that since the girls left home, I must remedy that...Glad you are finding time for some stitching.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Busy, happy family days Christina. I need to work on my self-motivation, it can be a tricky thing at times. But it sounds as if you have it nailed to be honest, you always seem to achieve so much. We always seem to have after school things at ridiculous times, involving eating tea really early or really late. I like to go for really early if I can, so that I can get it all out of the way. But of course that involves a lot of snacking later on when people come home hungry. CJ xx

    ReplyDelete
  9. Do you think SMART targets work? I’m not a fan myself, never found them helpful things. You juggle so much, I am in awe. We’re having lasagne tonight x

    ReplyDelete
  10. I'm sorry you had a rough Monday. I hope the things get easier as the week goes by.

    I completely understand how difficult it is to deal with some students. In some cases I ask students to send me an email so that I can keep a paper trail, and if I feel that things are not going well I can quickly forward everything to our dean. He always says it's his job to deal with difficult students, so I let him do that. :)


    ReplyDelete
  11. I always enjoy your posts so much. I'm amazed at all you get done and take care of your family. I don't know how you manage to find time for yourself. I only had one child and hours that pretty much matched hers and it was still hard.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Just love your posts and your blog, I think you are absolutely brilliant!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wonder woman! I did laugh at the university student thing - boy do i take my hat off to uni staff! Us vintage students shake our head at the younger ones who never turn up to lectures; who turn up for group assignments with stuff not done, who then want us to meet another time (go away!), who whinge and moan about the huge workload and don't have children, live with parents who fund their lives etc etc. I missed my 4th lecture in 8 months yesterday and felt guilty for the rest of the day !!! Sigh. I don't envy you dealing with nonsense like this....

    ReplyDelete
  14. I am in awe of how much you deal with on a daily basis. I went back to work part time after having the kids and hated the whole juggling act. I've also never had a fish finger sandwich which I think I may have to rectify in the near future. Happy stitching. xx Susan

    ReplyDelete
  15. i felt these words... and emotions _ i remember trying to keep it all together when i was a working mom too!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Love these glimpses into everyday life, it's like peering in the window without the risk of being caught. And I well remember those tricky students you really have to stop yourself from throttling. Don't miss them one little bit!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I'm glad you had some time for your audiobook, needles and thread at the end of those days. Busy and full - September always seems particularly so, to me. Hats off to you for juggling it all!

    ReplyDelete
  18. You and your family always seem to fit in so much and although I know it isn't always straightforward or easy I think you do a brilliant job. You always sound like a great mum and it is obvious you care about the students... except maybe the occasional obnoxious one! (Why is there always one?) I hope you manage to have a fantastic camping trip and that the weather calms down a little.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Heavens, you don't stop! I love reading about the rhythms and routines of your day though. These things are fascinating to me, how other busy families make it all work for them. And I love that you serve fish finger sandwiches for tea. I have mine with mayo too. :-)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thank you for visiting and leaving a comment, I love to hear from you, I really do. I sometimes reply by email but I am not all that reliable... Christina xx

Labels

Show more