Hiatus

Blogging took a backseat for me during the past two weeks, as I was wheezing and coughing my lungs up. The doc said it was Bronchitis. I am now on my second round of antibiotics, and I am headed to bed with my cough syrup with hydrocodone in it. Last night was the first good night of sleep I have had in over 14 days. Hopefully, the cough syrup will do the trick again tonight.

Perspective

Yesterday, I was informed that, effective immediately, my school system has placed a moratorium on the hiring of substitutes for support staff. This means that if I call in sick, no one will replace me for the day. For a teacher assistant in an ED classroom, this is not only inconvenient, but a recipe for disaster. When one child has a problem, it is "all hands on deck," and it takes the entire team to maintain order for the other children. Now, I know that the team will be okay without me. They will manage just fine. But those poor kids are the ones who suffer.

Then again, maybe our kids don't know what suffering is. As I watch the news coming out of Haiti, I am struck by how the whole world has been turned upside down for the Haitians. Forget substitutes, those children don't even have a school anymore, much less, a home, clothes, food or even clean drinking water. Many will be left orphans, and many have died or will die.

And here I sit, complaining about our schools not taking proper care of our children. A little perspective, please.

Cheating

The middle of the night is the worst time for a dieter. I woke up numerous times during the night because of my asthma. I couldn't lie down so I started thinking about eating. It didn't help that my kind husband had left a bag of plain M&M's and two fortune cookies on my nightstand. Out of sight is not necessarily out of mind, but to have food within arm's reach is just too tempting. I succumbed. I guess I'm weak. I feel only slightly comforted that I did withstand temptation during the daylight hours. Now that I know my weakness, I can deal with it.

Losing weight

I have to do this. There are plenty of good reasons, but the one reason that will motivate me most is that I hate the way my clothes look on me. I don't like the size I have to buy. I don't like for my sleeves to be too tight. I don't like that my tummy hangs over the top of my jeans.

I have the tools. I know what to do. I lack the will power to make it happen. I would rather sit and read a book than do a workout video. I would rather have chocolate than a piece of fruit. I hate vegetables.

So, I have set moderate goals. I refuse to be disheartened when I fail. I will pick myself up the next day and get back to it. And if I want to have a Sonic Blast, I will just have to have salads the rest of the day.

I think my kids are crazy

When my alarm sounded this morning, both of my children came running. "Mommy, it's time to get up so we can work out!" This may be the only thing that will drag my lazy rear out of bed to exercise. Still...are they nuts?!

Brrr...

I have never had school cancelled for a cold day before today. I didn't step foot outside of my house. Temperatures of 10-15 degrees below zero are just too much for me. I'm not looking forward to tomorrow morning, when my son and I have to get into a cold car. I just don't understand why the administration would close the schools today but not tomorrow. I thought that both days were going to be equally bad. Oh well.

Some Things Never Change

I feel my children's anxiety as they await the school closings list. Traditionally, our local school system is among the last ones to close for bad weather. It's as if the administration thinks that if they hold out just a little bit longer, the weather might suddenly change. I think they may be taking Will Rogers' quote too literally.