Yesterday marked 2 months that we have lived in our Indiana
home. It was also the first day that I got bored at home. Since we moved from
Virginia in late July things have been rolling with the final month of summer
and exploring the area pools and parks, craigslisting to find some key
furniture for our new space, and then of course the actual move in and
unpacking after we honeymooned on Purdue’s campus for 4 weeks until closing. In
the midst of that our firstborn also started his formal education journey in
kindergarten! (22 more ‘grades’ to go we tell him to match daddy or 18 to mama)
Heath
We had our first parent-teacher conference last night with
Heath’s kindergarten teacher and heard great feedback that he is excelling in
the measured categories of learning and has been great to have as part of the
class. This came as a huge relief because we have been having behavioral
challenges at home with him since the move… really once we said we were moving
back in June. He started regressing with his bathroom usage and has been flat
out ignoring us as we talk or disobeying basic family rules (we don’t jump on
furniture, wash your hands after using the bathroom, etc). A lot of mornings
have been a struggle to get Heath up, dressed, fed and out the door. Once we get
out the door and in the fresh air his attitude is always a positive one, but
man is that first hour of the day a doozie! His teacher said that Heath is such
a happy kid and is always positive, you can tell he is loved at home, and has a
great sense of humor. The few days he has been moved to ‘yellow’ (on the
behavior chart) are because he hasn’t followed the rule of staying silent in
the hallway. She asked if he likes to make sounds a lot at home with his mouth?
Um yes, understatement. He is constantly humming a tune or playing mouth
trumpet or scatting. She said Heath is on the younger end of the class spectrum
having only turned 5 two months before the cutoff, so a lot of his behavior in
class seems very normal to her and part of his age development. (Side note-
totally blessed to have a kindergarten teacher who is raising three boys of her
own) Of course he is smart and doing great in reading comprehension, writing
and math, but I was most pleased to hear that he is respectful to his
classmates and his joy is being noticed!
A week ago it felt like a breaking point in Heath’s behavior
and I reached out to a few of our friends to pray him through Monday morning
and a new week at school and home. We also reached out to friends on Facebook
to help support the 3-5pm witching hour at home post-school by sending some
mail to fill his love bucket. I contacted the Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
at Purdue (an insurance benefit I am a huge advocate of!) to set up a play
therapy meeting for Heath with a counselor later this month. I felt overwhelmed
with the parent role and was staring at Jonathan’s upcoming work travel where
he would be gone 12 of the next 15 days. Of course I felt overwhelming support
from all of you and relief that our tool belt would be expanding on how to help
Heath during this season. What I was not expecting at the conference last night
was his teacher to note that just in the last week there has felt like a
maturity with Heath that he has had better control over his body (song bursts!)
and asked if I had done anything different over the last week in particular.
Praise God!
Reese
Reese has broken two more teeth in this month and has two
bottom ones that are fighting to get through (ugh). Last I wrote she was doing
the newborn waking thing all through the night and we were moving her into the
guest room. She is gladly back in her bed and mostly making it through the
night sleeping with the last couple days of exception due to I think teething
pains. Reese’s vocabulary is really exploding lately and her ability to
communicate with it! She enjoys watching a baby signing video and has started
to do the sign before they show it. Yesterday when we were walking she told me
to ‘stop’ and I didn’t right away until she followed up her stop with a second
STOP and used the sign for it at the same time. She was pretty proud of
herself. She loves to walk Heath to school in the mornings and give him a hug
and a kiss goodbye. On the walk home she plays shy with the crossing guards but
when we get to our neighbor’s porch she yells “MORNING!” or “HI!” as they sit
and drink their coffee. Then she wants to stop at our other neighbor’s yard and
“wing, wing” (swing). So we usually do that for a bit before eventually making
it home. Reese is enjoying playing with some of the other neighborhood kiddos
who are home during the day as the parents arrange for some regular together
time for kid socialization and parent sanity. We visit the library reading time
weekly where she is participating more and more in the songs and movements. We
grocery shop Monday mornings at Aldi where she is becoming known due to their
lack of a radio and Reese providing the music instead. (I’m seeing a theme in
our kids)
Riding the City Bus one afternoon post-school per Heath's request |
Free bus riding fun! |
During our walk to the school conference yesterday J and I got actual alone grown up time- thank you to our neighbors who kept the kids for a bit! He asked me where my thoughts were on exploring work. It is something I thought about a lot yesterday because I was bored for the first time. I have been getting notifications of job postings at Purdue and while some have even matched my skill set and would be a similar or stepping stone on the career path I’ve been taking, I have not felt compelled to apply. Mostly my thoughts on that have centered around our family quality of life right now and when I compare it to what I was balancing when working at VT, I don’t want to go back to that. For 4 years it is what we did and did not feel bad, it just was what it was- we both worked and J studied, we did the full time childcare thing and we felt supported. But it also felt crazy and rushed, especially M-F after work until bedtime. Life now does not feel even a drop of that. I told J I like this version of myself better. I am beginning to see where I have open time and capacity now that we are in a rhythm, and I definitely would love to make money again, but I’m not willing to sacrifice the quality of life our family has now. So I’m keeping an eye out for what something part time could be, but also realize that impacts Reese and needing to pay out for childcare, which may not be fiscally logical, but we shall see. I’m also embracing where God has me right now in this season and trying to not rush into something just to feel the old normal of working.
Siblings hanging out at a camp while dad worked |
Awesome update! Continuing to pray for the adjustment. You didn't mention if you have found a church community yet? I know that has been a big part of helping you get connected where you have lived previously, and could help fill a bit of boredom with ways to exercise your gifts.
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