Back to school is a time of great excitement and anxiety for me each year. I’m always happy to have the kids back learning and seeing their friends, but also a bit anxious about how they will enjoy school each year. Will they make friends? Will they like their teachers? What sort of crazy germs will they bring home? Will they stay safe?
This year William (6th grade) started Middle School. He’s a kid that’s pretty put together so I had no doubt he would initially be nervous but do just fine. It is an exciting opportunity for him to be more in charge of his schedule and learning and be accountable for getting himself to school each day and getting his work done on time. It probably doesn’t surprise anyone who knows him, but William is killing it in Middle School. He’s gets up and ready on his own each morning, meets a friend to walk to school, and managed straight A’s in the first 2 quarters. He even decided to participate in the chess club which is a new endeavor for him.
Christopher started 4th grade this year. His Spanish immersion teacher this year he previously had in second grade, and it’s amazing to think about how much he has matured since then. Christopher is a good student and a great friend. We’ve noticed some test anxiety for him this year which is something new for us to figure out as William has never really has experienced that. I keep reassuring Christopher that he’s doing great, but he tends not to be the squeaky wheel so I also find myself knowing I should be doing more for him. Poor middle children. He is great in so many ways even though his older and younger brother are much needier and demanding of attention (in different ways). He still has the cutest freckles and the best smile, don’t you think?
Last but not least our favorite squeaky wheel–Andrew. Man this kid is giving us a run for our money. Flash back to first grade, the kid refused to participate in class most of the year. We had him assessed with the pediatrician, tried every intervention we could think of, and even stumped the school psychologist. (To this day I joke that Andrew may have been the reason she retired.) This year we saw great progress for a couple of months and have at least gotten him to do enough work to confirm he is very smart. Perhaps too smart. Perhaps evil genius smart. A few weeks ago we had a sit down with the vice principal (who loves him by the way), and realized that part of the fun for Andrew is the negotiation. He’s not just going do his work because everyone else is doing it. He’s not going to participate just because he knows there will be consequences. He needs to feel like he is doing work and in exchange getting something from his teachers. Turns out negotiation and relationships are very important to this kid but man his stubbornness is just about killing his poor mama. Some day he may be an excellent international diplomat, if we can keep him from running a gang or drug cartel in the meantime. Second grade is better than first grade, and he has such amazing teachers, but I’m already holding my breath in anticipation of what next year may bring.
In big personal news, I got a new job in September! The company I had been working for over the last 5 years (Telenotes) underwent a buyout by a venture capitalist, and as such, they restructured and changed their product offering and I decided it was a good time to be done with transcription. I had updated my resume over the summer (sitting by the pool while the boys had swimming lessons) and decided to pull up jobs on the classifieds one random morning. The very first listing just happened to be almost exactly what I was looking for in a new job so I sent off an email straight away. I emailed the company on a Tuesday and by Thursday I accepted an offer! Small companies are nimble! I started my new gig in September. I am working 2 days a week (18-20 hours a week) at a nurse practitioners’ office doing reception and scheduling for 4 providers. I job share with another gal who works the other 3 days. There are 13 employees total making it a nice small feel (especially compared to my years working with the behemoth that is Intermountain Healthcare). Why a new job when you were working from home with such flexibility you might wonder. Well it turns out I was ready to actually see people again. Working from home can be very isolating at times. I was also ready to learn new things and use my brain and I missed being in the medical field. Bonus, I’m also making better money working 2 long days, than I was working 5 short days doing piece rate transcription. Don’t get me wrong, working from home was a great fit for a time. When I started transcribing in 2018 the kids were 2, 4, and 6. Now the kids are 7, 9, and 11 and don’t need the same hand-holding 24/7. It’s a great opportunity for all of us to find some new independence. Here’s to hopefully many years to come with my new employer.
In an exciting parenting milestone, the boys are now big enough that Jason and I can leave them for short periods of time and go. on. dates?!? Here are a couple pictures of when we saw Nate Bargatze for Jason’s 43rd Birthday this fall. (It was my first time in the Delta Center. Only took me 18 years in Utah).
This might be a good time to point out why I’m so behind on updates. I meant to do an end of summer update at the end of summer (Covid). Then I meant to do a back to school update in the fall, and proceeded to work both my old job and my new job between September and November (BUSY!). Which gets us caught up to November…and I’ll save that for the next blog covering the holiday season.
PS. We raked all these leaves so I should probably show them off?
PSS: Cute photo evidence the library is still one of our favorite places.
