2004-09-09 - 5:24 p.m.
Life can't be any better right now. I'll probably be saying that after the baby's out, too. But right now, I am just enjoying the hell out of my life.
Hubby called and said we'd go food shopping when he gets home from golfing. Hee, hee! He knows better than to send me alone. I'll buy what I want to buy and eat it all on the way home. Smart man.
I had a troublesome kid in class on Tuesday, first day of school. I had her put into a different class so I don't have to deal with her. I'm pregnant. I'm not dealing with a kid who takes her baggage out on me. Period. I thought my principal would give me a hard time about it, but he didn't. He agreed whole-heartedly. Perhaps it was because I put it in black and white that she was an immediate threat to me and my unborn child. Touche. I have a way with words. If he didn't comply with my request, I was going to get a doctor's note saying this girl was sending my blood pressure through the roof and that it would be advised that she not have contact with me. I win all the way around. It's not that I gave up on her the first day. I knew her from last year. She was hell last year in my afterschool program, until she dropped out of it. She always gave (and continues to give) me a bad attitude, something I won't put up with in the Honors class. Her behavior with me throughout the day has placed her into another room away from her friends and audience. It has sent a clear message to the rest of the kids in that class that I won't tolerate any nonsense, not in the class that's supposed to be head and shoulders above the rest. I'm pleased with how assertive I was in my request. I can truly relax with that class and enjoy having an accelerated group. And they'll be able to enjoy me, too.
All my shit is together at work. My bulletin board is up in the hallway. Open House is scheduled for next Wednesday from 3-4pm. Next week's lesson plans are already done. I've found that I just can't seem to get to work early enough to prepare for my day. Instead of waking up a half-hour earlier, I'm staying ten to fifteen minutes later each day to prepare my room for the next day. Copies get made. The agenda and homework are put on the board. My desk is set up for the next day's attendance procedures, etc. I can stop rushing in the morning and take my time, knowing that my shit is together. I am that good.
So, life is pretty good right now. I'm a little spacey and much more relaxed at work. I like this. The kids are great with me, for the most part. I enjoy seeing them, genuinely. My room is attractive and I am so fucking organized it's sick. I just hope I can keep this up the closer the due date gets. I want to make sure all my ducks are in a row for when I take my maternity leave. If I'm organized from the beginning, it'll be easier on me later and also easier for whoever takes over my class while I'm gone.
It's so far off, but you can never be too prepared. I won't apply for my leave just yet. I'll fill out the necessary paperwork and have the doctor fill it out, too, later on. The office can have it on file, so that when the baby comes, all they have to do is send it to the Board of Ed. I want to work as long as possible. If all the paperwork is done ahead of time, the Board doesn't really need to know until it happens. Lots of people take medical leave and get it approved in a day or two. As long as the paperwork is filled out, all that has to be done is to send it in and the office can do that. I win again! Before I come back to work, I have to go to the Board to be reinstated and that's that. No big deal, after all. I'll come back when I come back. I'm certainly going to try to not think about work while I have a newborn. When the hell would I have the time?
Baby always comes first. Period. (I sound like my sister and my mom. That's not a bad thing, either.)
I tried to take a nap when I got home today, but it didn't happen. I was too happy to fall asleep. I wanted to be awake and so did the baby.
I found out that my girlfriend, Deval, and my friend, Brett, from work want to throw my baby shower. I told them it had to be at my house. I didn't want a hall rented out. I don't want people to spend unnecessary amounts of money when my home is a perfectly good place to have it. Plus, I wouldn't have to move things far. I want a baby shower with male and female guests. I want Hubby there because it's his baby, too. I have a lot of male friends (no surprise there) and several gay friends and I want them all there. It'll be so much fun. I have no idea when this will take place, but Deval and Brett can worry about that. I'll let them know who I want there. I know who I DON'T want there already. Certain people just rub me the wrong way. Who knows? Maybe I can set my brother and my cousin, Kathy, up with some of the guests. That would be nice.
It was a total surprise to me that Deval and Brett would do that for me. I had no idea they loved me so much. They know me very well and they've both been at my house before, so they know how many people my house can hold. I have to let my family know, so nobody feels bad. I think it's delightful that my friends will do this for me and take the burden of planning it off my family and me. We have enough to plan together, like what the hell to do with me when I can't fit behind my steering wheel, or I'm crying my eyes out because I just want the baby to come out already.
Deval is turning forty this year. She's been through some very rough times in the last couple of years. We've been there for each other consistently. She's my pal. We think a lot alike. Brett is my very gay tennis player friend. He's like me, only male. He's got a strong, but playful personality. He comes to me when he needs to vent because he knows I'll listen when he needs an ear. He does the same for me and knows when to tell me I need to chill. We get mad at each other, but we never hold grudges. We know how to disagree. He's my pal, too. He and his partner have been at my house before and they're great people. He and I have done great things together at our school. We're a tag team.
Aside from my family members, these are the two people I talk to the most. We always call each other and we always rejoice in each other's triumphs. We cry together and laugh together and swear like truck drivers when we're alone. I am lucky to have ever met these people. And they are lucky to have met me, too.
It's nice to know you're not alone, sometimes. It's nice to know you're not the only one with bills, with issues, and that you have so much in common. I have found the greatest of friends, not just because they're giving me a baby shower. They knew me long before I ever knew I would have a baby right now. They know my pet peeves, my moods, my joys, my flaws, and they love my dogs.
What more could you want from friends? They gotta love your dogs. That's what counts the most...oh, and they gotta love you for who you are, too.
