Too much time on my hands

I was reading a post from one of my favorite bloggers the other day who currently home schools her son. She was commenting on the fact that she rarely has any time for herself, and while she knows she is doing the right thing for her son at this point, she is still craving some alone time. This got me thinking about my situation, where I literally feel like I have too much time on my hands. Sam is gone for nearly 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. I'm very grateful that I don't have to sit by the phone dreading its ring for that 8 hours. This leaves my mind a blank slate. Anyone who knows me is aware of my many hobbies, and yes, I love to work on those, but something is definitely missing. For 11 years I had a cushy job where I came and went as I pleased, had an opportunity to get out of the house and mingle with adults (I use the term somewhat loosely here), and use my talents (if not my brain) to perform an in-demand service. Since the demise of that business in 2006, I've worked part time at the local library. While this has its good points (again, pretty much coming and going as I please, I'm actually using my brain, I have regular communication with my community, etc), there are plenty of negatives that I just can't get past, which is why I made the move to cut my hours back in June. I did this partly because I had a percieved opportunity to work at doing genealogy which so far hasn't panned out the way I had hoped it would. (actually the truth is probably more like I envisioned it to be way more than it ever was going to be in the first place!) Truthfully it was a good move to cut my library exposure down to one night a week, now my attitude about going there is much better, and I don't dread it like I used to. Still, the negatives remain there. So, I've been looking for another job in earnest since late summer. I scan Craig's list everyday looking for unique opportunities that won't bore me or insult my intelligence. (I'm getting pretty good at weeding out scam ads!) So far I'm coming up empty. As usual whenever I do any kind of research into anything, I feel like there must be some magical source that I'm not privy to that would have all the answers I am seeking. Where are all the classifieds for the cool jobs? I mean the ones where I get to go to some library or archives, get a research assignment, work on it on-site for awhile, then bring it home to work on it some more. Where are the opportunities that would allow me to hang out in a research room and help people navigate the stacks of books, the boxes of microfilm, or the tangly world wide web? Well, this week I decided what I was craving was a volunteer position, so I'm taking steps to make it happen. While ideally I'd like to get paid for such a thing as described above, maybe the first step is to get a foot in the door.

A day in the life......

Ok- so the "once a week" writing thing hasn't worked out as I had planned, but I hope to be better about it in the future. I thought it might be fun to write an entry about what our typical days are like here at the Dougherty house, from the point of view of what goes on in Sam's life, of course.

We usually get up around 6AM- Sam is buried under blankets and stuffed animals and usually wakes up talking a blue streak (which we are trying to tone down a little bit these days). We all hang out down in the living room, drinking our juice and coffee, watching the news and weather, and reading the paper (when it shows up early). I prepare Sam's breakfast (these days a corn muffin, yogurt and applesauce) and then his lunch. Sam eats breakfast while watching "Max & Ruby" on TV, and usually while drawing or writing one of his numerous books. Sam washes up, brushes his teeth and gets dressed after this, then he goes downstairs to pack his backpack. He usually has a few minutes of free time before the bus comes. Jack the bus driver and Pam the bus aide pick Sam up about 7:25 for the 45 minute ride to Rotterdam. The school day starts off with breakfast, then the class meets for some circle time. This year they've been doing "centers", a different activity with each of the aides (Jim, Sandy and Stacy), the social worker (Angie) and their substitute teacher (Mrs. Conlon). Sam has been bringing home reading comprehension exercises that he does in school- read a story, then answer questions about it, and draw pictures relating to it. He has math tests in school, and usually brings home math homework each night. He enjoys gym the best of all the specials, although he often talks about the songs they sing in music. They have free time at the end of the school day that they have "earned" through good behavior. He usually arrives home around 3:15PM. The bus rides so far this year have been uneventful, and he's handling the distance and time on the bus well. Usually when he gets home from school, he wants a snack of some type, and he goes on the computer for a timed 15 minutes, or continues writing his book started in the morning, or watches a taped TV show from earlier in the day. Sometimes we'll drive to visit friends somewhere or walk to the library, or ride bikes. He usually does his homework right before dinner- it generally takes him about 5 minutes! He sometimes helps with preparing dinner or setting the table. Dinner is around 5PM. I'm happy to say his food preferences have matured somewhat. While he still mostly eats a seperate meal from what we eat, he now eats most kinds of fruit and a few vegetables. We are stressing the point that "big 8 years olds eat the same thing that their parents eat at dinner!", since he's been on a kick lately telling us the kinds of things 8 year olds do, in anticipation of his 8th birthday in March. After dinner he has 15 more minutes of computer time, then we often play a game or go for a walk. Bedtime is usually around 7:30, sometimes later. Lately he's enjoying having me read to him from "The A to Z Mysteries"- chapter books about 3 friends who solve mysteries that crop up in their small town. He almost always goes right to sleep, listening to NPR and thumbing through books.