I’m starting a new job next week. Adult Services Librarian at the Howe Library. I had a little tour last week and they introduced me to someone who does the shelving and other people who do the ordering and processing. Someone else does the checkout. By the end of the tour I found myself asking “What exactly will I be doing?” They were surprised to hear that I did all of that and more, and that was only one third of my job at school! Apparently I will be in charge of collection development and programming, along with several other librarians in my department. It will either be a calm, peaceful job or totally boring. We’ll see.
However, this week all of my colleagues in education are starting back at school and I am feeling a tiny bit of survivors guilt. As many of you know. for the past bunch of years this has been a very stressful week for me as I prepared to return to school. The school library role these days is almost three full-time jobs: librarian, teacher, and technical support. In-service week always found me trying to get the library ready, the computers ready, all the various tech related accounts ready, lesson plans done, bulletin board up, and all the school-wide commitments as well.
This year, this week I’ve been updating district websites (another thing I always do this week), doing house chores, and relaxing a bit too. It is such an amazingly different feeling than previous years. This new job might be amazing or a snooze-fest, but right now I am entirely happy with my decision and at peace this week.
River and I took a drive out to NY last week to visit my family and tour RIT. He’s pretty interested in their tech and ASL programs. We stayed with Rosy for a few days, visited RIT, spent an afternoon with Julie and her kids (some of my favorite people!), and went to the county fair. A wide range of experiences in one short visit! LOL.
RIT had a pretty impressive sales pitch!
I think we visited on the most perfect day of the year.
I talked the kids into a quick photo before they both left. It wasn’t hard to convince them. They are so good to me. 💗
It reminded me of a photo from a long time ago.
I paid a little more for the second one, but I love them both so much. The kids and the photos! Thirteen-ish years later and they still love each other. I’m a lucky momma and enterally grateful for them both. I hope they continue to love and support each other forever. 💕
It’s pretty quiet in my house tonight with both Lex and Eve out in the great big world.
Lex started his adventure at Worcester Polytechnic Institute this morning. We drove down with two mostly full cars and helped him move in to his first ever dorm room. College is weird these days and kids (at least at WPI) have to find their own roommates ahead of time. The college gives lots of supports and ways to find roommates. The process reminded me of online dating, but it worked and Lex “met” a pretty cool person online and they decided to be roommates. Today we met him and his family when we moved Lex in to his new dorm.
Logan and Lex
Lex signed up for the Pep/Marching Band and therefore moved in a week early for band camp. His roomie is also in the band. Lex had an “audition” this afternoon to figure out where he’ll be in the drum line. I’m not 100% sure what that means, but it’s a thing and he did it. He said he did it well too, so that’s good.
Alan, R, and I drove to WPI with Lex, got him all moved in, then drove home. I might have cried a little bit.
💗
I love us.
No “goon squad” but we got the job done. IYKYK
Lex’s new home for the next 10 months.
The view from his window.
I’m super proud of him. We had a great conversation last night about feelings. He said he was having some, but wasn’t sure what they were. I listed a few, such as eager, anxious, excited, nervous, ready, and he said “Yes, all of them.” I think he was mostly ready. He has been been planning for this and did all the things and was really feeling ready for the next step. Last night when I was putting away the extra pizza/z.sticks, we were talking about what he would have for dinner tonight and I wanted to send him the leftovers. He said the band plan was spaghetti for dinner and he asked if I thought it would be possible to get some without sauce and meatballs. I said yes, probably. He said he wanted to have spaghetti for dinner with the rest of the band kids. IYKYK, that’s a big deal for Lex! (I just texted him to ask how dinner went. I’ll keep ya posted! :) )
Anywoo, in summary, Lex is awesome, I am proud, and I am happy, and I’m sad, and I’m so super proud of him. I can’t wait to go to a WPI game and see him in the marching band!! 🥁🎵💗
Eve began her amazing Swedish Rotary Exchange Student adventure yesterday. Today was her first day in Sweden.
Alan and I drove her to the airport for a 5:15pm departure. As a minor we had the option to pay an extra $150 for the “unaccompanied minor” program that includes many supports, including parents being allowed through security. We opted not to pay for that program, but the airline and airport on the phone a few weeks ago said frequently parents can go through security anyway with a minor, but it’s up to the discretion of the airport check-in agent. How’s that for stressful?! Her ticket was booked through KLM, but the first leg of the trip was run by Delta, so we weren’t sure where to check in. We started at the KLM desk who told us that parents could not go through at all (I almost cried!), but then noticed it was a Delta flight and sent us to their counter. The line at Delta was much longer, but we persevered and made our way to the counter. The woman there was more accomodating of my parental request. She asked which of us would be going to the gate and I was like “uh, both of us, please.” She turned to the agent next to her and asked if that was ok and he was like “sure, whatever.” I thanked them both profusely!
We made it through security with minimal trouble. They pulled Eve’s suitcase aside to check it because she had a weird high-tech looking reusable straw (thanks Joyce!) and a bag of metal stick pins (for Rotary). They TSA guy was confused by both, but figured it out and let her through. Thankfully!!
We got to the gate about 10 minutes before the started boarding. Perfect amount of time for a few pictures and an bathroom break. :) Then we said our goodbyes and she got on the plane. There were definitely tears on my end and probably on her’s as well.
The plane then sat at the gate for like 45 minutes before it finally pulled away. I don’t know what was going on all that time, but Alan and I sat at the window and made up stories to make ourselves laugh. There was another group that missed their multiple “final boarding” calls and only showed up after the gate was closed. The guy kept knocking on the door to the plane ramp, as though someone was standing on the other side, ready to open the door for him. It didn’t happen, but they made a scene so we figured that was probably the hold up. They didn’t get on the plane (I don’t think they ever reopen the door once it’s closed!) and finally it taxied to the runway and took to the air.
By this point Alan and I were very hungry and facing Boston traffic, so we decided to get dinner at the airport. :) Not the most thrity decision, but definitely made for a better ride home. Alan also need to get something from IKEA, so we swung by there first before heading north again.
I watched Eve’s flight on FlightAware, as though the love and support she was getting from me, Alan, and all the family was keeping that plane in the air!
She landed in Amsterdam around 12:30pm and I got a flood of texts that she had written during the flight! I’m glad I got them once her plan was safely on the ground.
She found her way to the next gate and had just a short wait before they boarded and departed. The second flight was just 1hr 20m. She was in the air. Later I saw a notification that the plane had landed so I started getting ready for bed. Then, much to my surprise and her frustration, I realized the plan had returned to Amsterdam! They found something wrong (she doesn’t know what) halfway through the flight and decided to turn around. The plan was in the air for 42 minutes before landing again in the same place. She was very frustrated and not feeling well at all.
Apparently they put everyone on a bus and “drove around for a long time,” stopping randomly and opening the door, then closing it and continuing to drive. She has no idea what was going on and said no one was making any announcements, in English or Dutch. The KLM app and the FlightAware website both said the flight had landed in Amsterdam and all is well. The flight app her host family was looking at said the flight had landed successfully in Sweden! Technology was no help and she was very frustrated and feeling bad.
Eventually they put her back on an plane and at 4am my time she took off again for Göteborg/Gothenburg. I set an alarm for one hour and took a power nap! LOL. At 5:30ish she texted again, on the ground in Sweden. She had some trouble figuring out which carrousel her luggage would be on, but eventually figured it out. At 6am my time I got a text from her host family that they had connected, so I sent hearts and zzzs to everyone and feel asleep!! (or at least tried to, the cat and dog made it difficult.)
She’s texted me a little a few times today. She’s feeling a little sad, a little lonely, and a lot nauseous, which I’m sure is stress related. She’ll be ok, I know. I am keeping the texting to a minimum at the beginning, to allow her time to make connections with her support people there.
She’ll be spending a few days with her Rotary Youth Coordinator while her host family gets their daughter off to Chile, then she has a week at a Rotary Orientation camp, then she’ll settle in with her host family and start school. Her host parents got her a new SIM card for her phone, and have taken care of getting tickets to a show for her and their teenage kids, and getting her a train pass to the orientation camp.
I’m sure many more Sweden stories will come, but I’m going to end this post with a HUGE shout out to my parents who went through this process in 1994 when I went to Sweden, without the ability to text with me or monitor my flights online. I don’t know how you did it, but I love you and so appreciate that you did! <3
I went to a wedding last weekend. I think it’s the first wedding I’ve attended since Mark’s wedding in 2007. (a quick blog search shows that Alan and I actually went to a co-workers wedding in 2009 as well, where we look like babies!)
Anyway, the music teacher at DBS got married last weekend. She is an awesome lady and we have become good friends over the years. She invited a few people from the district to attend her wedding in the beautiful White Mountains of New Hampshire. Despite the super rainy season we’ve had, her wedding day was clear and sunny and perfect!
I was going to stay over night at the fancy hotel, but when I found out it was a two-night minimum and would cost nearly a thousand dollars, I took up a friends offer to carpool instead! I’m glad I did. We had a nice drive up and back and it was nice to show up with a friend.
It was beautiful and black-tie formal and a lovely evening. It was also, I realized, the first time I have attended a fancy event as a single person. It was fine, but weird. She put all of us district people at the same table, which was a table of nine, with everyone else being married. It was weird not having a partner to turn t, or dance with, or hold out an arm when I was walking heels. Again, all fine, but different. Fortunately I had a few good friends there (all co-workers I’ll no longer be working with 😞) and we all had a lovely evening.
A beautiful day in a beautiful location
No good pictures of me.
A very fancy 4-course meal, following a lovely outdoor cocktail hour.
Evie got her license today!! She rocked her driving test and returned victorious! By the time her license actually comes in the mail she will be in Sweden, and she can’t drive there anyway (Rotary rules), but all that aside — she passed the test and is now legal to drive on her own!
She even got a good license photo!
Then she lorded her success over these two who are both old and have had their permits longer. :)
