Today has been a low mood day which I tried to fight off all day but it just wouldn't go away - impatient, sleepy, irritable, grumpy. So I'm now sitting and unwinding with a glass of red wine.
Winter has hit in full force - blink and you missed fall. Anneka commented at the park the other day, that half the park was fall and half was winter. On and under the big deciduous trees were all the brightly covered leaves and in the open was fresh snow. Quite beautiful.
Yesterday was November 23 and I had my first ski day of the season with Charlotte. We had a great day - lots of conversation, great turns and a little hiking. My body felt good and quite strong even in the heavy snow. However, I think the constant desire to nap today is a result of the physical activity.
Very slowly I've been working on a psychology course (finally I'm half done) which has been quite interesting. I also have built a small tutoring cliental. My students so far are all middle school aged needing help with English/Language Arts - I am remembering how much I enjoy this age group. I've selected novels for all of them to work with and it has been a pleasure reading these stories with them.
I also took on a new pursuit last weekend. I've had a few people mention to me over the years that they thought I would be good as a maternity doctor or midwife. In fact, during my undergrad I made sure I obtained the prerequisites for both and volunteered at a veterinary hospital. My windy career path never turned in that direction and, still, I have other academic and career pursuits in mind. But, with the high proportion of pregnant women and young growing families in this community it occurred to me that serving pregnant women may be a welcome and rewarding service to offer in this community. I jumped into a birth doula course at Douglas College which was a lot more fun and well facilitated than I thought it might be. In retrospect I would certainly have had a doula when I had Anneka. I'm pretty busy but I think I will attend some of the Healthy Pregnancy Outreach meetings and volunteer my services.
I have applied for a M.Ed. program through UBC - Measurement, Evaluation and Research Methodology and am just waiting on my referees to send their paperwork. Yikes! It took me a long time to decide which program to do. This one is what it says - a lot of research methodology, a lot of statistics. As I said, Yikes! So why this one, I ask myself? Well, I could be up to date on all the latest research in any area of education or health I want to - how fun. I could evaluate courses/programs/assessments. I can design and carry out all kinds of research. I could devise ways to evaluate Adult Education programs, early education programs such as Montessori or Waldorf or studies into childbirth. What a way to contribute to areas of interest! This is what I hope, any way. I've applied for the M.Ed. option but am considering doing a thesis to receive an M.A. instead. Fingers crossed I get in!
OK...the kids! Yikes. They can be so sweet, polite, kind and loving and they can both be little hellions!!! Halle can be so destructive. She certainly has caught the "terrible twos" - part of the problem, I think, is she has access to a lot of toys that are not age appropriate. Like the felt pens with which she drew all over the floor; like the beautiful story cards with which she thought it would be fun to practice folding in half. If she gets a felt in her hands she draws on her body, paints likewise. She insists on doing everything herself which often ends up in disaster and if she isn't allowed she arches her back (I have to catch her so she doesn't smash her head on the floor) and shrieks! I honestly don't think Anneka was such a menace. She is full of energy and a lot of fun and also very funny - as Anneka was. Anneka, on the other hand, can just be rather ornery, stubborn and defiant. I tend to be pretty mellow in my reaction to all of this (with the occasional exception and then they just no it's gone to far). I try not to make it about me and try to phrase things like "it's not OK for you to treat people like this. Still they are both mush-buckets and smother me with kisses - Anneka likes to come up with new ways to tell me she loves me such as "I love you more than all the smiles in the world" or "I love you more than all the warm blankets on a winter day"! I think she's quite poetic! We get ridiculously mushy together!
I actually love that my girls have spunk, even though today I would have liked to have....oh never mind!
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