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Tuesday, September 6, 2011

New Beginnings

Shey started Kindergarten today. I took off work so that I could take her to school. I did the usual mom thing. Took lots of pictures and, to my surprise, cried my EYES out. All the time, I talk about how important it is for me to raise a good kid so that she will be a productive, contributing member of society. More frequently, I count down how much longer she'll be 'on the books' (12 years 10 months & 20 days) so to speak.
Seeing her walk into that school with her head down and tilted to the side, shy and scared reminded me of my baby. Well, my baby's not a baby anymore. She's a big girl. And all this time; I've been rushing her to become a big girl only to realize that not only is it flying by; but that I've been missing it!
I work a lot. My Mom and Step Dad have kept Shey since she was 4 months old. The distance that we live from one another adds 2 or more hours of drive time to my commute everyday. Needless to say, after working 10-12 hours and being away from home upwards of 14, my patience was thin and my energy was gone by the time I got to Shey when the day was over.
With her school being so close to home and home being so close to my territory; I can look forward to being home before 5 on most days. When I picked Shey up today, I was excited to see her and tried to goad her into conversation vs my usual request for 'quiet time' on the drive home from my parents house.
When we got home, we sat and ate together (we usually eat pizza rolls in front of the TV) then we relaxed and talked before she put herself to bed at 5:30.
I had to get her up, otherwise she would have been up in the middle of the night. She bathed, read some books, cleaned her room and played before I put her to bed at 7:45. By 7:50; she was out for the count.
Being able to look forward to having that kind of time to myself, as well as being able to spend quality time with Shey feel as if that's what I've been missing during my working life.
Having a schedule is something I need. I require structure to get things done; deadlines and time frames keep the procrastinator in me on task.
It couldn't have come at a better time. I really am on the brink of some awesome things, and if you ask me; it's about time I've done something about it.