Guilt-ridden update.

I don’t know if it’s because I was raised Catholic or because I’m particularly thin-skinned, but I am overwhelmed with guilt when there’s something that I HAVE to do and I put it off for something that I WANT to do. For those of you who don’t know this: I am a high school English teacher. At the end of April, just in time for our two week Spring Break, I brought home what my friend, Kelly would describe as my “guilt bag” – that bag full of papers that you KNOW you’re not going to grade, but you schlep it home and then back to school every day so you can feel the physical bulk of what’s weighing you down mentally.

In my days pre-M, I was the teacher who would turn around graded assignments by the end of the week. I thought giving timely feedback was one of the most important things about my job! I would often stay at school until 5 or 6 grading mounds & mounds of papers so that I wouldn’t have to bring them home with me.

Needless to say, I’ve been feeling a lot of guilt about being behind in my grading. So, how can I justify taking time away from my family…or my grading…to update my blog?

Well, I’m getting caught up with the grading…thanks to CST testing and large blocks of quiet time in my classroom; I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. And since Miss M LOVES sleeping almost as much as she loves eating and playing, I thought I’d take advantage of the early morning hours to let all you blog stalkers (and you subscribers) know how I’m doing with my 101.

Hard to believe we’re in month 5…almost the half way point! Here’s the breakdown. I’m only updating things I’ve done that are new…:

7. Read at least 3 non-fiction pieces: Thank you audible.com for making this one SO much easier for a working mom. Three days a week, I pick M up at her day care which is about 20 minutes away. Thanks to this stretch of time, I have ticked off Amy Chua’s Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Po Bronson & Ashley Merryman’s NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children and I’m in the middle of Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project. I’m also in the middle of Tina Fey’s Bossypants, but Jon and I started that one together on a recent road trip, so we’ll finish that one together. Now, the cynical people out there (oh, you know who you are!) might argue that I’m not technically “reading” them…but I am consuming them! They are making me think and I’m getting a lot out of each one.

13. Visit 4 new places/cities in California. Well, we’re more than half way there! Over Spring break, we visited Newport Beach for a Whale Watching adventure, The Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, and spent a night in Santa Barbara. Only one more to go!

41. Enjoy a day at the spa. Free admission to Glenn Ivy on my birthday?!?! Why, thank you Glenn Ivy…don’t mind if I do. And I did. By myself – it was nice to not have to coordinate other people, I got there when it was convenient for me and I left when I was tired of the spa (as if one could ever really be). It was an amazing day. I napped in the sun. I read. I enjoyed a mimosa…you know, because I’m fancy!

44. Take M to the duck pond in Temecula. Done! Took her in early March. We went to church, then breakfast, then the duck pond. It was a lovely morning. My girl LOVES animals.

59. Whale watch. Over Spring break, we went up to Newport Beach and did a 3 hour tour (a three hour tour….). Unfortunately, we didn’t see any whales. But we did see LOTS of dolphins. And, M got to have her first adventure on a boat!

90.  Take M to Chuck E. Cheese for the first time. In March, M had her 9 month check up. Chuck E. Cheese is the midway point between the doctor’s office and home. So, we stopped and let her ride the 2 rides that are for young kids her age. We were in and out in about 20 minutes because she’s still too little for most of the fun stuff, but she still enjoyed herself.

98. Become an active alumna of Pi Phi. All caught up on past dues. Active membership was reinstated in early April.

While it doesn’t seem like I’ve done much since February, there are a number of items on the list that are “in progress” – and once I’ve caught up on my grading (did I mention school ends in 4 weeks? YIPPEEE!) I’ll be sure to post more regularly!

Well, we’ve got a swim class to get to. Hugs from the ‘burbs.