Coaching has been going well, and I don't regret taking on the extra work. The girls are a really good group of kids, and I enjoy working with them. The time commitment is a huge one, and most days I don't get home until after 5pm. If it's a game day, make it 8pm. That means there are some days that I don't get to see Jackson. It does make me a little sad, but somewhere along the way, I learned to deal with mom guilt, and, honestly, it hasn't been so bad this fall. I am so lucky that Tom happily agreed to be a quasi-stay-at-home-dad while I coach. He gets to have kid time, and take a break from the craziness of school, and I get to have some of my own time playing and coaching a sport that I really love. I haven't made any decisions on coaching next year, as I do have other things I need to pursue (most notably, finishing out my graduate credits). While I do love getting back to volleyball, I will be happy and relieved when the season is over.
Additionally, Tom and I are well into our second year as SGA advisers. When we took over the SGA we had big dreams and visions for the program. Many of these dreams are coming true and we couldn't be happier with the results. We had 72--yes, 72-- students at our first SGA meeting. This might be the biggest number of students in school history. We have an awesome core of officers who basically run the program for us. Our president makes our job exponentially easier, for which we are grateful. We are about to kick-off spirit week, which is going to culminate in the first annual homecoming festival. The festival has been in the pipeline for about a year, so we are excited to roll out the event. It has been a true team effort and, we hope, will prove to be a huge success.
On the home front, things have been, you guessed it, busy. Lily is a full on three year old. For Lily, that means lots of "fits" (her word). She throws epic tantrums, calms down, and apologizes for throwing a fit. Her explanation- "I am SO tired", "I really miss my grandma", or "I really miss my mommy and daddy". I think the back to school transition has been hard on both kids, and, for Lily, that means tantrums. Other than those tantrums, Lily has been growing and changing and becoming a kid. A real kid. Not a toddler. Not a baby. She told my mom she wants to learn to read. She (usually) wants to read to Jackson, so she said she needs to learn to read. She loves school. She is curious and smart and inquisitive. She loves to help. She questions everything. She is joyful. I look at her and marvel that she's mine. I thought losing that baby-ness would make me sad, but watching her grow erases any feelings of baby loss that I might feel. I just love her.
Then there's Jackson. He is a 1 year old, but looks like a 3 year old. He is huge. My little boy weighs 30 pounds and is over 3 feet tall (he measured at 36.5 inches, but he might be longer...the nurse didn't have a big enough measure!). He is so happy, unless he gets "hurt" then he is so sensitive and cries. He has curly blond hair. Big brown eyes. He looks like Uncle Tim. He is talking like crazy. It amazes me the words that pop out of his mouth. He adores his sister. I think he loves Fred, but is a little scared of him...especially when he has food that Fred wants. He is just the best little boy. He makes me laugh, and brings me constant joy. He is my little guy, my little buddy (and Lily's little buddy-- she calls him her buddy, and he calls her buddy-- it is so sweet!).
I don't know if there if there are words to describe the blessings in my life. It's surely busy, and sometimes I am overwhelmed to the point of tears, but I have such support in all of my endeavors. My parents step in with the kids when Tom and I are busy with work. My mom, "the babysitter" (sometimes, Lily calls her that...ha!), watches the kids, which has been an enormous help. Tom is truly my partner in raising our children. He hasn't only watched the kids this fall, but also made dinner. My co-workers Becky and Sarah have supported me with lesson planning. I am so grateful for their support and help at school. Our ninth grade team is really awesome, and it makes the job so much easier to have best friends working by your side.
This fall has been crazy, but I know the crazy will begin to slow after homecoming, and then volleyball come to an end. Once that crazy ends we enter the holiday season and the crazy that comes with those things. I am looking forward to everything the rest of this year has to bring!
