September 07, 2004 - 8:01 p.m.

Laboring to Relax

I spent much of the weekend lounging about and doing very little, as planned. I slept an astonishing amount, which once again proved to me that stress can quickly lead to physical exhaustion as well as the more obvious mental kind. I spent hours on the computer, watching TV, and reading. I also did a little shopping and went to a movie, Vanity Fair, but for the most part, I stuck close to home, which felt good. Still, by the end of the weekend, I was starting to feel a bit lonely, so it was nice to be much more social yesterday.

I had lunch with my friend, Torie, who is soon moving to California for graduate school. She has also spent the past several weeks in Chile, so I was really happy to be able to see her before she moves west. After lunch we went on an impromptu shoe shopping expedition, which proved both fun and fruitful (especially for her). We found the Holy Grail of sale racks at Macy's: every shoe on it was $14.99 plus %10 off! Torie got some really cute sandals, and I got a pair of dressy brown pumps, which are just what I have been looking for for a while now. We were pleased. We went a little crazy, but when you cen get adorable, brand name shoes for less than 15 bucks, how can you blame us?

After that, I headed to another friend's Labor Day gathering, which turned out to be a lot of fun. I spent a fair bit of time conversing with a guy I knew a little in college, back when we lived in the same dorm, but hadn't spoken with since then. I think we were mutually interested in each other's lives since college, and it was fun to renew an old aquaintance.

Next on the agenda was rehearsal for Little Shop where we blocked out the first half of Act I. It's starting to dawn on me how much work we have to do in not very many weeks. Luckily, the talent is there, and I think the cast is willing to work hard, but it isn't going to be a cakewalk. So far, though, I like the production team and the cast, so, unlike Meet Me In St. Louis, the process of putting together this show should be a lot of fun. I also think that this time around, I will be proud to have friends come see the show. Yay!

Today, I woke up in a very bad mood. I was tired, inexplicably anxious, and easily annoyed, so I think I must have had terrible dreams or something. I managed to turn my mood around by sheer force of will as the day wore on. That is one of the things that still amazes me about working with kids. If you let a bad mood get to you, it will almost certainly get worse as the little things kids do continue to annoy you and shorten your temper and patience. On the other hand, it takes just a little effort to get the mood momentum going in the other direction. Once I convince myself to play along with B's silly, imaginative games or respond to the irritating questions of the girls in a humorous or goofy way rather than a snarky one, rather quickly I begin having fun right along with them. Today my efforts led to a very pleasant day with B while the girls enjoyed their first day of school. He and I sang together, played Star Wars together, talked about his own impending return to school, and had loads of silly moments. We also got a lot done: ran various errands, got his hair cut, visited his school during the open house (he showed me some of the Montessori work he does there and we both oohed and ahhed over the class' tiny new turtle), and still had time to do some science experiments. It was a fun day with almost no conflicts. Astonishing, really, considering how often he and I, with our strong wills, clash. It reminded me what a great kid he really is, and how much fun my job can be when I put in that little bit of effort.

B must have been pretty satisfied with our time, too, since once the girls were home from school he played by himself, allowing me to focus my attention on his sisters for a while and find out how the first day of school went. H and M both love school, so they were very excited about getting back. Both seem to like their new teachers and classmates, but were also thrilled to see old friends again. After discussing the day, B joined us again for a rousing tickle fest on the couch, which was a great end to a lovely day.

I really do love these kids. The downside of the internship, if I get it, is going to be leaving them. *sigh*

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