Neverland

I just finished day three of running the preschool program that I've spent the last year building, and it's going way better than I would have anticipated. I was expecting screaming, crying chaos for the first month (at least), but have been pleasantly surprised to just get a few tears in the morning. I am lucky to be teaching some very well-behaved three-year-olds who have settled in very nicely. The children are, of course, learning to navigate the new structures in their lives, participate in clean-up, and figure out the words to the songs that we sing. And, much like my students, I am also learning to navigate my new schedule, as I arrive a half hour earlier every morning and build an ENORMOUS amount of self-imposed structure into my workday, which leaves me with very little downtime during the day. All of this is both good and bad. It's GOOD, because I definitely thrive on structure, and my days seem to absolutely FLY by when I'm busy every minute. However, it's BAD, because I have not yet figured out how to balance the rest of my life around these busy days. I haven't been to the gym all week, and all I want to do when I get home is dive face first into a vat of green curry, pop in a DVD, and try not to drool as I drift happily into a catatonic state. I HAVE started my belly dance classes again, which makes me BEYOND happy, and I've been taking Thai classes. And yes, I'm working hard, I'm excited about the work that I'm doing, and I know that this preschool program is going to be quite wonderful. But I'm also realizing that we are now ankle-deep in Autumn, and I need to maximize the time that I have left here.

The thing is, when I come back to the US (where I hope and pray and prostrate myself to the Powers That Be that Sarah Palin will NOOOOOOOOOOOOT be getting her grubby little redneck paws on ANYTHING......sorry, just a completely gratuitous political aside, since I KEEP HAVING NIGHTMARES ABOUT HER!!!!), it will be time to be a grown-up. Which, of course, is very exciting. It will be time to get married and have babies and figure out my future career objectives. I guess right now really feels like I live in Never Neverland, and I am a curvier version of Peter Pan. And, well, I don't really mind that right now.

So I will try to force myself from my cozy bed and spend my weekends immersed in wonderful cultural experiences as opposed to, um, just visiting the gym and getting massages before feeling like I need to come home and "rest" after my "strenuous day." My sister is coming for a visit in October, and I have a week off at the end of October, which I will most likely spend in Vietnam. I'm excited for all of it, but MAN......I can't wait to pass out tonight :)