Category Archives: Formula

Big Announcement! – DAY 111

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Bulleted items before the news:

  • Some funniness to start the weekend off right. I’m sure by now everyone is starting to feel the pressure that comes along with family visiting for the holidays. Perhaps this game will help us all relax and deal with our families a little better! 😀
  • Bug cut his first teeth yesterday! The 2 front bottom little guys. I suspect that because he’s drinking formula and eating iron enriched oatmeal they might come in grey… there’s not enough tooth exposed to tell for sure. What I can see might be grey or might be a little scab as the teeth are coming in through the gums. The grey thing is a normal side effect of a formula-fed baby’s diet so no worries if they’re not the expected white color. So we’re back on the Tylenol train again until both teeth stop hurting so much.
  • I went to a union meeting yesterday (and that’s all I’ll say about union business on the internet) and got to see several of my work buddies. I apologize for my awkward, antisocial behavior… I became a mom and turned into a crybaby who lost her mind and her social graces. For real, I’ve lost my ability to have conversation with people I like! Good thing I didn’t see people I don’t like… 😉
  • I was also a little weirded out to go back to work, walk down “my” hallway, and meet up with the other earth science teachers as they left their classrooms to go to the meeting (the timing was coincidental). After the meeting was over I stopped by “my” classroom and saw that the door was open… I took a quick glance around the room. It was interesting to see how the general format of what was posted on the walls and boards was the same, but none of it was mine! Which is the way it’s supposed to be, of course. If I had had my own classroom when I was a year-long long term sub (which I didn’t – I traveled to 4 different classrooms, and shared the classroom that had my desk), I would have put up all my own stuff too. All I’m saying is, the events of the afternoon/evening left me feeling a little woogity. Not in a bad way. It’s just that teaching has been my life, all that I’ve done, until Bug was born. And to have this year off has been such a blessing! But going from teaching to suddenly not teaching was a change I didn’t anticipate bothering me this much.

So… all this leads up to my BIG ANNOUNCEMENT.

I’m definitely going back to work in August. Those of you closest to me know that I need to go back for financial reasons. (I’m married, have a baby, and still live in my parents’ house, to begin with!) But the new reason, something I’ve been contemplating since the beginning of the school year, is if I had a choice, would I go back to work? I think the answer is yes. Each experience I’ve had interacting with my teacher friends and hearing about their work stories since going on leave has cemented it. I miss the actual acts of teaching and learning and being with my students (pains that all ninth graders are!). I love being a teacher and being on leave has affirmed my choice to be one.

I also love being a mom. However, I’m not sure if staying home is right for me… right now. Perhaps after another baby or two I will change my mind, with all the craziness that multiple children and schedules can bring. And maybe at that point Daddy Bug and I could swing it financially. I know I’ll be sad to not be the primary caregiver for Bug during the day, and I’m not terribly excited about the complicatedness of being a working mom. But Bug will be over 1.5 years old when I go back, and I have plenty of veteran working mom role models to look up to and learn from. I’ll be ready to tackle this challenge by August.

Whew. It feels good to finally say it. I mentioned it in my Christmas card newsletter (none of which have been sent or handed out yet) but this is my main public forum. Had to say it here first!