Something About This Time of Year...

This week has been busy, but great. It was absolutely beautiful in Minnesota.  Last weekend, Charley and I had the chance to get pumpkins at my dad's annual office gathering, and enjoy the weather. I had a Charley-free night last Saturday (thanks, Mom!), so I actually went OUT for a couple of hours. It was amazing. When school started on Monday, I saw the weather as a good omen.The sun was shining almost the entire week, it was warm outside, and leaves were changing colors and falling from the trees. It was almost picture perfect. It was a pretty wonderful week at work, too. I had a couple of meetings, so I had to get to work early several days this week, but my kids were just fantastic. I had an observation yesterday which I always remember being really intimidating, when I was in my first teaching job. But yesterday's observation was so different from that. The principal sat down with the kids, and participated in the activities they were doing. The kids LOVED that, and they really did a good job. Phew. One observation down, just about a million more to go! 

Anyway, it was a great week. It was one of those weeks where everything just felt settled. When I got home from work every night, I felt like I'd gotten everything I wanted to accomplish, completed. As a single mom...well let's just say that doesn't happen very often! But this week I kind of felt like I was able to do everything that needed to get done. It was nice. I think there's something about this time of year that's kind of grounding for me. The last couple of years around this time, I've found myself a little bit more ready to settle down in all areas of my life. Particularly my romantic life...Ha! I really do think it has something to do with the time of year....Maybe there's something in the air. I mean, in the last couple of weeks I've heard from several men I dated...Like two years ago. I mean...It's seriously been a long time. Two of them I only went on a couple of dates with, while one was a man I dated for four months, and it just kind of died off. I wouldn't exactly call them exes because I never went so far as to commit to any of them, and honestly, I was kind of the one who ended things in all three situations. It's been months (close to a year, in one case), since I've heard from these guys, and just like every other time they've reached out to me, I honestly didn't know how to respond. When someone texts me, it's just in my nature to respond. But when the texts come from people I really have no interest in engaging with, I kind of have a hard time. I think the most awkward conversation went like this:

Guy I Dated for Four Months Who I Haven't Heard From in a Year: Hey!

Me: Hi. How are you?

Guy: Good! Just sitting here, thinking about you.

Me: That's nice. (I really didn't know how to respond to that. If I was interested, I might've found it kind of sweet. But I'm not...at all. I kind of think it is the equivalent of someone saying, "I love you," and hearing, "Thank you," in return...But hopefully not that harsh...Ha! )

Guy: I'm getting married! 

Me: That's great! Congratulations!

Guy: Just kidding! I'm not getting married!

Me: I figured. Anyway, I'm glad to know you're doing well. Take care.

Ummmm...awkward! How did I date that guy for 4 months?! Anyway, I think my point with all this is the fact that there is something in the air this time of year. Maybe it's because by this time, work has generally settled into a fairly good routine, and I have a better vision of what I want my students to accomplish...So I am more in a place where I have TIME to start thinking about those things. And  it seems to be the season when people reach out to try to reconnect. Unfortunately, I'm not in the place where I'm really willing to reconnect with people I was never terribly connected with in the first place. A year ago, I might've been more willing to engage. But at this point, I'm not really interested. I guess I'm just so far beyond the point in my life where I will talk to people I'm not terribly interested in, just for the purpose of having male attention. That phase in my life was fleeting, and passed quite quickly (shortly after my divorce), because I legitimately am more into depth and connections than meaningless compliments from people I don't even really like. And let's face it... I'm totally ADHD... If someone doesn't have anything interesting to talk about and keep me on my toes, I lose interest in about 3.2 seconds. Just saying.  I AM ready to put more effort into a relationship with the right person...but I don't really want to date... Can't I just skip that part? Ha! A girl can dream, right?

Clearly, even though I seem to be in a settling mode, I'm not entirely settled yet. But that's okay. I keep telling myself that once I get into a little bit simpler routine where I might actually have some full weekends, and I stop living my life like a complete workaholic, I'll actually be more capable of settling. I really do think that's true. I've got a lot going on, but I am hoping it will all fall into place, so I can give Charley more QUALITY time and an even better quality of life. My goal is to work all of the logistics out before the holidays. It's good to have goals, right? 

With all of that said, it really was a great week. There were some hiccups here and there, but I really can't complain. Fingers crossed for more great weather this weekend! On that note, have a great night!