The bus that hit me (aka the first week back at work)

Did anyone get the number of that bus that just ran me over?

Oh, no wait, that wasn't a bus.  That was my job.

I was happy to go back to work.  I AM happy to go back to work.  I will continue to be happy that I work.  (Can you tell I've been teaching developmental reading and writing all week?  I'm stuck in verb tense conjugation.)

So anyway, work = happy.  But, phew, work = BUSY!  Back in the spring, I was simply doing my job every day (the main function of my job is to supervise a tutoring center).  This job also includes teaching a class sometimes.  Right now it includes teaching two classes.  Two, intensive, "put 12 weeks of material into 4 weeks" classes.  And I do not work on Fridays now so I can be home with Nate (using vacation time and occasional flex time to cover those Fridays).  So now I teach every morning from 8am to 11:30am.  Then I have until 5pm to do the job I used to have all day to do plus I have to complete my teacher prep for the upcoming class session and grade any assignments I've collected.

I'm feeling a bit in over my head.  Just a bit.  Like maybe not over my head, but halfway up it, like my eyes and nose are free, so I can breathe and see what's ahead but I can't open my mouth and go, "Heelllpppp..."  But this isn't entirely because I haven't been at work (although it took a couple of days to start to feel my work rhythm again, and I don't only mean dancing to the copy machine), but also because of this new work load.

I realized, while I've taught two classes previously, I've never actually taught two different courses at once.  I always had two English 101 classes or two English 102, etc.   But now I have a Developmental Reading course and a Developmental Writing course - and the Writing course includes mostly students who are also in the Reading class, so I can't double up any of the work.  Everything must be unique.

Truth be told, it's exactly the kind of work challenge I adore, so I've been having fun putting these courses together.  I just wish I had more time.

But I don't.  I don't have fully free evenings and weekends.  I can't stay late at work.  I can't spend all day Sunday on my sofa in front of America's Next Top Model reruns planning out the next week's lessons.  So I think being a mother has an interesting additional aspect to it: it's going to force me to become a more efficient worker.  I still have to get all my work done (and then some these days), but I have to do it in less time and with more distractions.

So while I'm tired, while I have moments during the day where my head feels swampy - I'm feeling good.  I come home happy that I spent the day at work and, today, I'm looking forward to being with Nate all day (and I'm super excited to sleep in since Nate wakes up about two hours later than I get up for work).  Then tonight my parents are babysitting while I go out to a dinner with friends (it's a no babies allowed thing), but tomorrow he's coming with us as a bunch of us go out to dinner to celebrate my and Danielle's birthdays (which are just ten days apart).  Sunday, I have to do work so the hubby will be on primary Nate duty for a few hours.

It's a lot to juggle, but I feel like we're getting the hang of it.  I know it'll be two steps forward and one step back sometimes, but right now it's feeling like things are at least creeping forward.  And you've got to creep before you crawl before you walk before you run, right?