Work!?!

Life has become more complex for me as I begin to realize the impact that taking on Substitute Teacher positions is having on my personal and family time. I don't think it is the impact on my time that I am feeling overwhelmed by. Anyone who has been in my home knows that it takes a lot of chaos to plunge me over the edge. Instead, it is intense juggling of children that is stressing my mind.

This week I was asked to sub at a Razdolna Village School. Sounds great. I am an equal drive to these schools as I am from town but it seems farther because there are no houses, no street lights, no pavement. I was all set to go when Falcom woke in the middle of the night vomiting and had to stay home from school. I could not find a sub to be my sub. I had to call Mema who could come to the house but could not drive here. I had to find a ride for Mema. Once I got it all figured out it was fine.

It is not that I foresee illness in all my children's lives starting the day I decide to work, it is just that there is so much involved with organizing this brood and the slightest hiccup disrupts the entire flow of events.

The kids in the village are beautiful and wonderful and ornery. I love their accents and their intensity. The little ones love my fingernail polish. I am glad to be older and to have experiences that have led up to this event. I thoroughly enjoyed reminiscing on my classroom in Saipan: my victories, my errors, my learning curve, the sweet faces that I will never forget. We clicked right through the morning and at lunch they all hopped on their four wheelers and bikes and cruised home for lunch. It was obvious when we were to return to work from the sound of their engines racing back up the driveway. For those of you who may be wondering, no one in Saipan commutes to school on more than their flip-flops.
Because Mothering does not stop simply because the mother has a job, I spent an afternoon developing an emergency back up plan. This plan involves having the kids dropped off at the high school, having them walk across campus and into the classroom of Maygen where they can throw clay for 10 minutes until the school bell rings. To Marina, this is the ultimate supreme master plan of all time! She feels that this is what should occur daily regardless of whether I am working or not!

Meanwhile, DeeJay changed my car tires over to my snow tires and he did a wonderful job! I loved seeing him fully involved and active at something that he is good at!

I then took them to Jerami's shop. Marina sat in the corner working on clay creations. Falcom got right to work. He swept the floor and collected towels. He then was given a mannequin head and a curling iron and he went to work! The curling iron was hard for his left hand to manage and I think we scared him a bit about it being hot and him getting burned so he unplugged it and went for the perm rods. After practicing on his mannequin he rolled up Marina and put her under the dryer. They were both in heaven! Thank you Jerami for making such a great conclusion to our 'Back Up Plan Expo'!