The Flu...

Yesterday I was sick with the flu. It hit like a tornado. Crashed in, hit hard, and wiped me out, all within 24 hours.

Wednesday I had a bit of a sore throat and a runny nose. Nothing drastic. Wednesday evening I went to bed early with chills, layering on the blankets and trying to get warm. Yesterday morning I woke up barely able to get out of bed. My body ached all over. It felt like I'd gotten into the losing end of a fight and had been kicked a thousand times all over.

I called all the parents and told them I was closing for the day. I try not to do this often, as it is such a huge inconvenience for them. But I couldn't help it.

My son gets out of school early on Thursdays, so I asked my carpool buddy if she would do the pickup for me. He got home soon after 1:00 and immediately came up to see how I was doing. He asked me if he could make me some soup, so I said yes. He learned how to open a can of soup and work the microwave after the last time I was sick and he tried very hard to figure out the microwave. After that, he made it a point to know how to use that, and the can opener.

He asked me if I wanted anything on the side. I told him I'd like toast.

He came back in a few minutes later with the bowl of soup. "Wow. I forgot to cook it!" were his first words, so he went back downstairs to nuke it. He came back to say "27 seconds". That's how long he'd cooked it. Oh well, it's the thought that counts. I choked down the lukewarm canned soup happily. What a sweet boy. He came back with the toast. The toaster oven was apparently set on broil, because only the top had been toasted. The underside was still cold! He said the bottom one (heating coil) was broken.

So then he asked if there was anything else he could do. I asked him to start a bath for me, and put in some herbal salts I have for clearing the sinuses. He did that, then disappeared again. When the bath was full, I got in, and he came back with two bowls of fruit salad (his specialty). I asked him if he'd made himself the sandwich he had wanted, and he said no. He said he had been too busy cooking for me! What a guy.

Today I'm much better. Open for business again. And so proud of my sweet boy!

I have a dream...

I am in the process of researching the next part of my master's thesis. This section is about the importance of play as an educational "curriculum" for early childhood education, and why it is important. I'm reading a lot of books. I haven't gotten yet to the point where I can start writing, which is causing a bit of panic (as it's due next Monday), but I am gaining some valuable lessons from the materials I've read so far.

Basically, I am trying to argue that children NEED uninhibited, unstructured play time, with the proper resources to develop their minds and bodies, in lieu of learning the alphabet and their numbers before the age of five. That the seemingly random play of childhood is working to grow the brain, build social skills, provide large and small motor activity to build strong bodies, and establish a means of working through the complexities of life in a non-threatening environment. Granted, play is important after five, but I'm arguing in favor of PLAYschools instead of PREschools.

Interestingly, the more I read, the more convinced I am that urban children, and my own in particular, are not getting what they need from their environment. Everything I have read tells me that my son doesn't have the necessary space, materials, and time to play like he should.

I went to visit a preschool in a nearby town, operated by a nationally renowned advocate of play, and almost wept at the possibilities and opportunities that most of the kids I know are missing out on. I wish I could provide this environment for even the kids in my care, but I am limited by space and carpet. I'm getting there, though. I'm adding things, little by little.

But not on the scale I'd love to see available to kids. Especially kids in these urban/suburban areas that don't get opportunity for uninhibited play. Either because they live on tiny lots, or because their "free" time is filled with structured activities they "need" to do, or because they aren't given the permission to get down and dirty, or any of the many reasons there are for busy parents, these kids are missing out.

I have a dream of offering something like this to kids in my neighborhood. Either on a small scale (a small preschool), or a large scale (full child care center), I want to give these kids an opportunity to play. One day, somehow, I'll make it happen. Hopefully before my son is too old to benefit from it.

Economic Woes...

Now that the news people seem to think the economy is bouncing back and on the upswing, it has finally hit my town.

My husband's company just started with the pay cuts and layoffs that have been in effect elsewhere for some time. Granted, we were lucky they didn't start sooner. They definitely should have, they haven't been doing their best business for a while. Now it's hitting home.

To top that off my business has been receding over the last six months. I had several clients lined up to begin in the summer. This would have completely filled all of my available space. In this economy that was a surprise all in itself.

But for one reason or another, none of these contracts were fulfilled. Unfortunately, this is a cyclical business, and these contracts didn't fall through until after the "cycle" of calls that were coming. That meant that not only did the spots not get filled, but I also lost the opportunity to fill them from any of the other calls I received.

I had to effectively lay off my part time helpers. I didn't have the income to pay their wages. But I still had my full-time assistant. I worried that if I cut her hours that she'd be forced to find another job, and then she wouldn't be available when I need her. I had enough income to support her and me. I cut out every other expense to make this work.

Then I pissed off a client. A full time client, no less. This client had been with me for over a year, and this surprised me. It was over something relatively small, and usually these kinds of personality issues show up early.

Regardless, now I'm really feeling the pinch. I need to cut the hours of my full-timer, which leads to a dilemma of still needing her when I need to pick up after school kids, but not needing her in the morning. Her prospects of finding a morning-only job are limited.

I hear what everyone is saying about the improving economy, but I'm not seeing it. I guess we dodged the bad-economy bullet longer than most and are feeling the effects now.

I had an interesting thought the other day. We've been in this economic slump for basically a decade. We've had small ups and downs, but we really haven't experienced job security or opportunity for a while. I wonder what that means for our future.

Blogging...

I have a list of blogs that I love to read. They are what got me thinking about starting one for myself in the first place. I was constantly feeling the need to RESPOND to what I had read, and though I did leave several comments, I felt like I could use a longer medium to voice my opinions. And boy, do I have lots of opinions!

I have a list of blogs that I've bookmarked that are business related. The things I'm interested in include finances, real estate, entrepreneurs, politics, out-of-the-box pastors, cooking, and freelance writing. That's not too much, is it?

Then I have a list of frugal shopping blogs. These are written by people consumed with saving more than a few dollars on their grocery bill, and/or know how to turn a frugal shopping trip into an even more frugal dinner for four. They keep track of every coupon, match them up with great sale prices at various stores, and tell their readers where to go to find the best deals on specific items. Cool.

And finally, I have my "personal interest" blogs. These are friends who also blog, and a great way to get a peek into their lives, especially those that live far away or I don't see often.

However, I haven't been reading much lately. Well, I haven't been reading the blogs that I bookmark. When I get a few minutes, I try to catch up on one friend at a time. Reading back to where I left off. But that's about it. I haven't read a frugal blog in months, and have let my own coupon shopping fall behind. I haven't read any of that other long list of blogs in much, much longer.

I read one this morning, though. Something about Gen-Y being the new wave of everything. One of the blogs I read is a collection of bloggers, open only to the twenty-somethings who have something to say about their career. It amuses me that at least half of the blogs published at this site include the term "Gen-Y". If they are Gen-Y, what am I? Gen-X? Gen-W? Was there a W? What were the Baby Boomers? Gen-P? And now they have a new term -- Millennials. Maybe they feared running out of alphabet, since they started with X!

Who thinks up these things? And why the overwhelming need to label absolutely everything?

It's especially amusing because I read such a broad spectrum of topics. Labels exist in every one. You should see the religious ones! They have "movements" now which are just as amusing. It takes some serious work to keep up with what each label refers to. Being so long away from THAT culture, I felt completely at a loss when I started reading. Now I just laugh.

Ha! I CAN still write! I just haven't been keeping up with the reason I had to write in the first place. I've had nothing to laugh at since I've been consumed with the Education of Young Children! That's my thesis. Maybe when it's done, I'll let you have a look!

Jamaica

My husband and I got to go on vacation in September. We were away for a week in Jamaica. My sister and mother-in-law took turns with my son, which was an amazing gift, so we could enjoy a much-needed break away from work.

There's no way to adequately describe Jamaica. It is an awkward blend of poverty and wealth. All of the coastline is populated by large resorts, while on the other side of the highway that circles the island are the homes and shacks of the people that live there.

The highway is a new addition. We were there three years ago, and it was under construction. Much of the ride from the airport to the resort where we stayed was dirt road, and I remember everyone driving like maniacs. With the highway complete, it is more heavily patrolled, with established speed limits, so the ride to and from the airport was boring compared to last time!

Both times we have stayed at the Couples Sans Souci resort near Ocho Rios. There is no way to describe the tranquility and ambiance of this place. The ocean is warm and beautiful, and that strange green/blue color that is so foreign to those of us on the west coast. The people of Jamaica are so incredibly friendly and relaxed! Even the employees are not rushed to do their jobs, and work seems to be enjoyable.

I was sitting on the balcony of our room one morning watching the setting up of the lawn area for the gala that was planned that evening. I watched as the workmen brought in the structures that would cover the buffet tables, piece by piece. They'd bring in a pole, and hang out and chat with their friends, then bring in another pole. It literally took them all day to set up the area. They started before 7 am, for the dinner slated to begin at 7 pm. As I was watching, I thought that if their bosses saw them goofing off like that, they would be in so much trouble. But then, minutes after thinking that, there boss joined them on the lawn, chatting and laughing with them just as they had been doing without him!

And then it struck me... These people are not easy-going for the sake of the guests. This is how they are all the time! It is the culture of the country. And then I was envious! I tried to imagine what it would be like to live your life in slow motion, which is what it looked like to someone from California! Every job they did appeared enjoyable to them because they enjoyed themselves while doing it.

I thought about the cook at the beach grill that sang non-stop while preparing the food. Even when his co-worker laughed at him because I was staring so blatantly, he was unconcerned. He smiled at me and kept right on belting out every song on the stereo. It was so refreshing to see!

We chose to return to Sans Souci because of this atmosphere, although I don't think I recognized it the first time. It is so easy to relax in an environment where even the employees are relaxed! The whole purpose of this place is to relax in the sun without a care, and that is evident all day, every day. They have activities that you can sign up for, but there's no hurry, and no pressure.

We ended up spending the whole week at the pool. No activities, no clocks, no schedule. The only thing we needed to worry about was making it to dinner at our reservation time. We sunned, drank, socialized, and ate. That was vacation.

Too bad the effects don't seem to linger long enough!

Long time...

I think it's time to write. I've missed writing. Have you missed me?

I've been thinking about why I haven't been blogging. I've concluded that I'm an addictive personality. I get into something and focus on it with all of my attention for however long it takes for me to feel like I've used it up, gotten as much as I can, learned all there is to learn.

I know I was excited about the blog when I began. I had a lot to say. I felt a release as I let go of the words. It relaxed and excited me at the same time. It relieved my stress.

But as the words dwindled, it felt forced. My writing wasn't as good as it should have been. It felt forced. Then I felt like it was just another something I had to do. So I stopped. Of all the things on my plate, this seemed the easiest to let go.

And then the absence itself was a deterrent. It felt like admitting the lapse to come back again. The longer between posts, the more embarrassing it was to start.

But I've realized that I need this. My stress level is way up and it's affecting my business. This is my outlet for all the things that bug me. I need to write in order not to let it eat me up.

But I don't always have something to say. Sometimes I go weeks without a coherent thought in my head. That's just how it goes. I'll write when I need to, not when I don't.

Thanks for listening.