A Resolution

   They say when you write something down or say it out loud, it becomes more real.  So, this week’s blog references my new year’s resolution.  I’m sharing it, making it “public,” so that my readers who know me can let me know if I start to slip up and need a slight kick in the tush to get back into gear.

      So, here it goes.  

   I’m a public school teacher with eleven years experience.  The longer I’m teaching, the less I’m enjoying it.  And I spent part of this three-week winter break trying to figure out if it was possible for me to quit my job.  It’s not.  We have bills to pay.  And truthfully, I know that being a teacher offers perks (like said three-week winter break) that make teaching an attractive career for a working mommy.

   So, if I can’t quit my job, I’ve got to change the way I do my job.   Teaching, for me, is not an 8 am- 3 pm job.  It never has been.  That’s part of my problem.  I let teaching my students overwhelm me, until my days are consumed with caring for children - my son and my students.  Consequently, many other aspects of my life (my health, my sleep, my marriage, my writing) fall by the wayside.  

   2012 will be the year I set some limits.  One day each week - “Wendy-writing-date” after school.  One night each week, I will not grade my students’ homework (shh, don’t tell them).  One night each week will be a no-school-work-at-home-night.

   I will spend more time in 2012 doing things that make me happy.  Sitting on my patio.  Reading.  I will be more rested so that I do not fall asleep during my son’s bedtime routine.

   During this year-and-a-half medical odyssey I’ve been on, I’ve had some scary moments.  When we were awaiting results from one doctor, I knew that if he had “bad” news to tell me, I’d be quitting my job.  I wasn’t going to spend my limited time being unhappy.  (Thankfully, thankfully, thankfully I have been spared the “bad” news.)  But still, life is too short, and much too unpredictable, for me to be spending so much of my time and energy being unhappy.  That’s not the kind of mommy I want my son growing up with.

   Deep breath.  A whole new year’s adventures await!

   Wishing my readers a happy, healthy 2012 that sees all your goals reaching fruition!