Where Does the Time Go?

 How on Earth has it been 8 years since I last posted? 

Actually, I know the answer to that. 

The first and most obvious answer is that parenthood has been the priority, and as a single parent with one pair of hands, there isn't always a lot of spare time. My daughter is older now, and as a (sometimes helpful) teen, she adds a pair of hands to some tasks. The actual parenting is never easier though! 

Of course there was also the ever-expanding workload in teaching. This eventually ground me down, and in July 2023 I left the profession. I miss the kids and my colleagues. I miss the actual teaching and the 'light bulb moments'. I don't miss the paperwork and inspections, or the weekends marking, or the feeling of dread every Sunday evening and at the end of a holiday. I haven't looked back.

When I left teaching, I also moved North - back to the town I grew up in. I love it here and it's the best move I could have made. However, the move also had its own stresses over the last year or so, and sorting the house out has been a priority over writing blog posts.

I now manage a youth charity and live in the town where I grew up. I live close to my parents, and I am loving being able to see them often. I'm also on the committee of our local volunteer-run theatre. The pace of life is different. It's taken me nearly 2 years to recover from the strains of teaching, but I feel like I'm finally getting my life back.

In the last year there have also been serious health challenges in the family. Thankfully, we are now through the worst, and things are getting better all round. 

Those were the personal reasons, but then we had the small matter of Covid to add to the mix. 2020 hit us all like a train, and I personally feel that life will never fully go back to the old normal again. I find it harder to go out and make plans. I still feel that I need to make more effort to get out, experience things and make memories.

Covid had us shut away for so long that it broke down all the good habits and routines that I had. It's taking huge amounts of effort to re-establish those habits and routines. Perhaps I'll get there sometime.

A lot has happened in those 8 years—lots I could have blogged about, but I lived it instead. Hopefully, now that I have refound my page, I'll blog a little more often, but then I've said that before!

Disney World, Florida 2016

Weekends Mean Work

It's the weekend, so the mental list of tasks which must be completed has begun to build in my head. It is very rare to have a weekend without the to do list these days and I long for the times when I can simply ask C 'what shall we do this weekend?' But it hardly ever happens.

So far the to do list for this weekend consists of:

• Mark two sets of books - English (extended piece of writing, so in depth marking of 27 books) and Science (and intensive week's work in all 30 books). I reckon this is a solid five hours work, or longer since it will almost certain only happen once C is asleep, I am tired and not terribly efficient.
• Remove and replace the marking symbols sheet in the front of my English books
• Laundry
• Change the three blown light bulbs around the house. I've been putting this off for a few weeks now because of painful shoulders, but the house is starting to get dark.
• Book a groom for Wicket. He can't see properly!
• Grocery shopping. This is actually getting a bit urgent!
• File household paperwork and tidy the dining table so we can actually dine at it
• Take C's 4th birthday photo
• Empty the bins (yes, I know this is a small task but it all adds up)

This is all before I add in time for cooking and clearing away meals and other general bits of housework (thank goodness for my brilliant cleaner!).

Obviously the most glaring omission in the list is spending quality time with C, which is the most important item on the to do list. It means that a lot of the rest of the to dos are shoved into the post 7:30pm slot, when C is in bed and hopefully asleep. It means a lot of pressure to get the jobs done in limited time, and it usually means some of that time comes from sleep time.

When I write it all out like this I can understand why I start most weekends feeling like they have already gone!

Friday night, on the way home I am always full of great intentions of knocking several items off the list. In reality, with a small child in the mix, it never quite happens. Perhaps I should just post this, do the bedtime routine and then pop on a wash load.