Almost to the Starting Line~

I'm almost there.  Almost.  It is the day that marks the beginning of a new school year.  You see, in my world, I live August to May, and then June and July don't actually count as time on my calendar.  Those are fun months with few responsibilities outside of my husband, the two little creatures I birthed, and my home.  That's stress-free stuff (most days)!

For the last 8 years, I have relived 7th grade each and every day.  This marks year nine of 7th grade.  I LOVE my job, and I think 7th graders are some of the funniest human beings alive.  Seriously, I should blog about the quips they tell me each day.  One of the reasons I love my job so much is that they make me laugh, and they are honest!  Brutally, seriously, honest.  I've had them tell me necklace is tacky, my dress looks like a rain coat, and even that they thought I was just getting fat when in fact they realized I was 8 and half months pregnant!  So sometimes they aren't so great on my self esteem, but we always use it as a learning tool.  You know the rules, "Is it necessary to say, does it make someone feel better about themselves, or does it improve the situation."  They just don't always have the edit function yet, and I love that about them:-)

With their blessings, they also bring me utter and pure exhaustion.  I always equate the school day to being on a hamster wheel for 8 hours.  I typically end my day by driving to daycare to pick up my beautiful children in complete and total silence often staring out the front windshield with a glossy look over my eyes.  I've made the drive many times when I have absolutely no recollection of the trip:-0  It is this exhaustion that rules my world, and I hate it.

I'm making a resolve now to not jump on the hamster wheel, but to find peace and content with life outside of school!  I'm going to make some goals to help me stay focused.  (Alex is in a leadership class, and he said they told him 90% of people who write down a goal will actually achieve it.  That's pretty good odds in my opinion).  Hopefully these goals will help me find the balance I so desperately need to keep my stress level in check:-)  Here we go!

1. Go on one date a month with Alex!

2. Read 1 book a month for pleasure.  (I love to read, but I am often so exhausted during the school year, that I really don't read much at all.)

3. Post at least 4 blog entries a month. (I love looking back at the pictures, so I'm hopeful I can keep up with this one).

4. Go on a long weekend after both parent/teacher conference weeks.

5. Get up at 5:30 a.m. to start my day ahead.  (At the end of the year last year, everything was a rat race to get out of the house by 7 a.m.  I must be more intentional about this, and I think it may improve my mood;-).

6. Run at least 2 times a week.

Small, simple, but focused.