June 7, 2005

I'm feeling more optimistic today in regards to career/professional goals and family matters.

Summer started here right at about the time my lowpoint hit. I think that this definitely had something to do with it. Our weather was lousy and just having all 4 kids running about again made me feel both tied down and useless. Truly, for the most part, I'm just sitting here. Even my 18 month old pretty much just wants to hang out with his siblings. I am really secondary here. At the same time, when anyone gets hurt, needs lunch or just wants to talk to me...I'm here. It seems like a lot to give up though. I know that the kids would have a blast at KidStop or at a sitter's house. I am staying home more for me than for them and I know that. It's just, I didn't imagine that it would mean that I would spend the day surfing online, cleaning the kitchen (and avoiding folding laundry) and generally speaking being quite bored.

On a family level, we made the choice to send our children next year to a new charter school opening up in the area. I liked the idea of 'year round' school because I think that 3.5 months of summer is insane. The all-year programs simply provide breaks at other times during the year. and then a 6-7 week summer break instead of the extended, forget-what-you-learned, long summer breaks.

We just got the schedule though for the next school year and now I find myself reconsidering. The weather here is absolutely ridiculous...(at least to me). Around late August and early September the leaves fall off of the trees..and by Halloween the kids usually have to wear winter coats under their costumes. We often don't have a white christmas, but it stays cold....and January and February are that....booger freezin' cold..where no one (at least in this house) wants to step outside to go sledding etc. Actually, the snow is often to crunchy then for sledding.

We had 2 nice weeks in May (60's-70's) followed by another 2 weeks of rain and cold. This past week has been up and down with rain half of the days/sunny and 80 the other half. Summer is slowly coming and it's great to see the kids outside playing and having fun!

The schedule for this new school for next year is a Sept. 6th start and an end of the school year of July 21 Yes...there are the requisite 3 week breaks inbetween...in November and February [yikes] No THANKS.

Forget the fact that community ed and summer rec programming are in June and July and that the kids would all have to miss out on those, I just don't understand the thinking here. Our kids should miss the best part of the year in order to have time off in November and February??? WTH?

I wrote to the director about this and his response was pretty much "the kids adjust fine to this new schedule...it is how they do it at other year round schools and how we will do it".

So I'm back to feeling stuck. I simply don't want to deprive my children of a summer..Why the heck couldn't they make summer start the first or second week in June and go through the end of July and then start school early in August? It just makes sense.

I can't send my oldest on to middle school next year here with all of the teasing...PLUS I already told the superintendent how disgusted I was with how badly the schools handled this and that we would 'not' be back. I can't afford private schools for 3 children.....so what is left? Homeschooling? Someone just go ahead and shoot me now then, because I honestly don't think 1. that I Could do it and 2. that it would be in ANY of our best interests for me to never have a break from the kids.

More of my negative blogging, I guess. Someone pass the community prozac!