Summer
is coming at us so fast that my head is spinning and it is not a good
feeling. My summer to do list consists
of 1) finding a job, 2) having the kitchen floor and linoleum replaced (not by
choice), 3) getting rid of a bunch of junk, 4) continuing education so I don’t
have to retake all of my certification tests, 5) taking the EC-6 Generalist
test so I can teach 5th and 6th grade should there be a
job opening, 6) being my grandmother’s driver and doing whatever else she
needs, 7) helping my little sister with whatever she needs done should she
move, 8) hopefully getting some more stuff unpacked and repacked at my Dad’s
house, 9) spending as much time as possible with family and hopefully a little
one on one time with my nephew/niece peeps, 10) getting the church office
organized so I can get the office moved out of my house and I can do all church
related work there, 11) vacation, 12) whatever honey do’s the hubster has for
me to do and whatever else pops up
unexpectedly like visiting with friends, yard work, you know the life
stuff!!
1)
Finding
a job: I have been looking for a
teaching job since 2008. I was lucky
enough to work full-time as a second grade teacher the 2011-2012 school year. Unfortunately that job didn’t work out pas
the one year mark. I have been subbing
but that just doesn’t help pay enough of the bills mainly because I am not
always motivated to work every day and I am very picky about the jobs/schools I
work with. If I do not get a teaching
job this year, I will have to give up teaching and find something else to
do. I don’t want to give up on teaching
but the hubs and I would like to make enough money to live on and to find us another
place to live in. . . .a place of our own (which I think we deserve after being
married for 16 years).
2)
The
kitchen floor: we have a sunken spot in our
kitchen. . . .it is a pretty large sunken spot and I am waiting for the
linoleum to give way and have one of us standing on the dirt under the
house. We will be having the entire
kitchen subflooring and flooring replaced.
That means the rest of the house has to be clean enough to house the
microwave cart, kitchen table, refrigerator and stove. I hope whoever does the work does it quickly!
3)
My
sister is having a garage sale once school is out and I have a lot of stuff
that needs to go from my house. Some
people (my husband) consider me a hoarder.
Yes, I will admit that I am a pack rat, sentimental about “stuff”, lazy
about throwing things away, have a ton a teaching stuff that needs a home (see
#1) and that I live in a house with no storage.
I also have clothes that need to be gone through, a cabinet of
containers that needs to be gone through and a misc. cabinet that needs to be
gone through.
4)
In
our great state, you are no longer able to receive lifetime teaching
certificates like my husband, Dad and sister have. You must receive 150 hours of continuing
education for your certificates to be renewed.
I have gotten what hours I do have on my own because I have not been
employed except for one year. My summer
will be spent doing as much online training as possible so I do not have to pay
the $180 to retake each test and the $75 (this were the prices last time I
checked). I also hope to have some
classroom training but I haven’t had a chance to sit down and figure out what
classes are worth the time and money.
5)
About
3 or so years ago that the certificate that I and several of my friends
received was not good as it was thought to be.
My certifications are Early Childhood – 4th grade Generalist
(meaning I can teach any subject in ec-4th grade) and 4th
– 8th English, Language Arts, Reading (this means that I could teach
those three subjects in those grades).
Well, according to the Department of Education, 5th and 6th
grade are elementary and if you teach in one of those grades, you must be
certified to teach ANY subject. . . .math, English, science, social
studies. That is not how the
certifications were set up here. In many
schools in our state, 5th and 6th grade are in
intermediate school or middle school and those students do not have one teacher
for all subjects. Anyway, long story
short if I want to teach in those two grades I have to take a new certification
test. Yuck.
6)
My
grandmother is 89 years old and over the past year she has begun falling, a lot. I have already been driving her to her hair appointments
but I am pretty sure that over the summer I will need to begin grocery shopping
and possibly cooking for her (on occasion).
This means that I will have to be even more organized with my time. I have to admit that it is a little
overwhelming and sometimes I am selfish and wish that someone else would do it
but my Mom is gone and that pretty much leaves me. Yes, I know that sounds selfish and I feel
bad about it but it is what it is and some days I just feel that way.
7)
My
little sister who lives about 5 minutes from me is looking for a job in the big
city. If/ when she gets one, that means
she will be moving 3+ hours away. My Mom
would have jumped right in and helped her get packed, help get her house
cleaned up good and moved. I am pretty
sure that Mom expects me to do what she would do. I don’t want her to move and I refuse to talk
about it. I know again, selfish but . .
. . . .
8)
It
has been 4 years since my parents had to pack up their entire house to get
their foundation cracked. A lot has gone
on since then. My Mom only got to spend
a few nights in the house after it was fixed.
Over this time we, mainly Dad have gotten a lot of the stuff unpacked
but there is still a lot to be done. I
am hoping that I can encourage Dad to get it done this summer. I am hoping that
maybe this will help give me some peace and closure. I don’t know that it will but I know that Mom
wouldn’t be happy knowing that it wasn’t finished yet and I know that there are
some things that just need to be out of storage to help make home, home again.
9)
I
miss family vacations. We haven’t been
on one with my whole immediate family since we went to Alabama back in 2005 I
think. I love spending time with my family
and I never feel that we spend enough time with family. I really need it. I only get to see my middle sister and her
family maybe 6 or 7 times a year. I miss
them a lot. The kiddos are getting so
big and I am afraid that before long they won’t want to spend time with
us. I love them so much and the thought
of losing close touch with them breaks my heart. Hoping to find some extra time to spend with
them.
10)
Our
church just moved into a building of our own and for the last 7 years I have
done all of the church secretary work from my home. I can’t wait to begin working out of my
office at the building. I especially can’t
wait to get all of the paper out of my house!!
11)
Can’t
wait for vacation. Trying out a new
destination this year. More on that
later.
12)
Although
my husband is still in the school business, he no longer has summers off. Since I am home during the summer I get to do
whatever he needs me to do plus the mowing, trash taking out, trailer packing,
gas getting and whatever else pops up.
Well,
that pretty much sums up my summer. It
will be super busy and will go by too quickly but I hope to enjoy it as much as
possible.
