I have been a tiny bit stressed about work. And by tiny bit, I obviously mean I’ve had a white night or two about it. For those that are new here, I am an “occasional teacher”, better known as a supply teacher. I have been teaching for over 10 years and have been eligible to apply for permanent jobs for a while, but last year I made the decision to stay occasional for now as it allows me a little more flexibility. In the past I’ve had the freedom build my own schedule and take off days whenever I need to. With three kids, that’s extraordinarily helpful… particularly during flu…

Oh my goodness. It’s late… and I am SO tired. I didn’t write last night. Honestly, this week has been really overwhelming. There are so many big adulting things happening and even though I keep waiting for someone else to come and tell me what the answers are, no one comes. I need a magic lamp. Or something. So last night I turned my brain off and we watched a movie. Actually, we watched parts of two. We started one downstairs then decided to be responsible and go to bed at a reasonable time. …but then we went upstairs and turned on part of a different movie and watched that…

I’ve been trying something new this week. I have a confession: over the past few months, we sort of got in the habit of not doing our dishes after dinner. We’d put the food away and load the dishwasher, but inevitably we’d be tired or the kids would need us for something and we’d get pulled from the kitchen…. …and then just not go back to do them until the next morning. I never loved it, but sometimes facing the messy kitchen at the end of an already long day was just not something either of us were terribly interested in. We chose to relax instead, and for a while…

I woke up in an empty bed. M had gotten up some time before me, and had quietly gone downstairs. I stretched out luxuriously, and heard the kids doors open one by one. I waited for them to come into my room, but they went straight downstairs instead. Suddenly it was very quiet, and I was very alone. THIS NEVER HAPPENS. It was SO peaceful. I half dozed for a while, then I opened the blinds, got back into bed and read. Meggie is just about to go on holiday in The Thorn Birds, and if you’ve read the book then… YOU KNOW. I eventually went down and found the…