It was a three day week for students and a four day week for teachers, in preparation for Easter weekend. Three day weeks at school should be easy, but that just never seems to be the case. It was a busy, long, few days. On Thursday, I got a text from one of my girlfriends, who happens to be Charley's best friend's mom, inviting us down for dinner and a trip to the park. Normally I'd be too wiped out to be social after work, but I decided to make the trip down to Minneapolis, and I'm so glad I went! Charley and her friends played for hours, I got a chance to catch up with a friend, and by the time we got home, Charley went straight to bed. It was the perfect, relaxing evening. On Friday, I didn't have to go to work, but Charley's school was open, so I dropped her off for a few hours. That gave me an opportunity to clean the house, and run my errands kid-free! It was amazing. I picked her up from school early, and from there, we headed to another friend's house for an Easter egg hunt. My friend watched the kids for a few minutes, while I hid the plastic eggs outside. When the kids came out to search for the eggs, they were SO excited. They took off running, Easter baskets in-hand. Charley and her friends found the eggs, sorted out their loot (and there was a lot of it!), and played for a bit, while I again, got to catch up with a girlfriend. I definitely did a lot of catching up over the last few days, that's for sure!Yesterday, Charley and I didn't have much planned. We dawdled around in the morning, and finally got moving around ten. We ran to Target, and when we got home, found our neighbors playing outside. They have a two-year-old, and Charley absolutely adored him. We stayed outside for several hours, while the kids played. At some point, one of the neighbors fired up his grill and made hot dogs for the kids, and cracked open a beer. It was honestly the perfect afternoon. The weather was beautiful, and the spontaneous get together with the neighbors reminded me of the neighborhood I grew up in. When we finally went inside, Charley was just about ready for bed. She was asleep by 7, and I took the opportunity to do a little bit of work...
I know I'm a bit of a workaholic, and that's not necessarily by choice. It's more due to necessity. Seeing as I am raising Charley on my own, it's important to me to be able to provide for her the best I can. Which means I have to work. A lot. The job I was completing last night, though, was actually a writing job. Several months ago, I was hired as a contractor to write lessons for community college students. Quite frankly, I'm not sure how I'm qualified for the job, but I had to submit writing samples, so I suppose they were more concerned with my writing style than the fact that I don't have a Master's Degree. Anyway, I basically write about teaching methods for general and special education students. Writing lessons can be a little bit time consuming, but I'm finding that I really enjoy what I'm doing. It's nice to challenge myself to put my strategies and experiences into words, that others might find helpful. It's also a nice change of pace, which allows me to combine my teaching and writing abilities. When I took the job, I was just looking to make a little bit of extra money, but it seems to be a good fit for me.
Speaking of a good fit, I know I mentioned there was some chaos at the gym, just before state meet. Well, I've been working with some really wonderful people, and I'm excited to say I'll be moving with them to a new facility in Forest Lake. No Boundaries Gymnastics Center is setup for a grand opening on April 20th, and I can't wait! The new location is closer to home, and the facility will allow the program to grow the way it should. It's a private facility too, which means I can teach private lessons again... Any of my dancers interested in making the drive from Edina? Ha! With that said, I've been out of the gym for a week and I genuinely miss the gymnasts I work with! It might be difficult for me to be out of the coaching realm for another week, but I'll be busy helping get things together for the new space, so that'll keep me occupied (because obviously I'm not busy enough, right?).
Today, my sister came up to visit Charley and me for Easter. We really didn't do much, other than relax on the couch and hide Easter eggs. Kelsey was kind enough to watch Charley for a few minutes, while I took a nap, though. That was greatly appreciated. Charley played outside while I grilled dinner tonight, and I have a feeling she'll be asleep within the next hour or so. We both need to get a good night's sleep, too, because we're going to Frozen on Ice with Charley's best friend (be prepared for dozens of photos) on Tuesday, and I have a feeling it'll be a long night. With that, I've got to get my kiddo to bed. Happy Easter!
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