My boring life

Well, I'm bored half to death. My foot isn't really any better and the thought of 4 more weeks off work is pretty much killing me. I am, however, in a much better mental state since talking to one of my friends from another zoo who missed a YEAR of work following a freak accident that nearly left her blind. She was in town last week and we met Thursday night for dinner and a nice long vent session. I think I needed to hear myself express all of my ridiculous concerns out loud to realize how silly I was being. She made me realize that as much as this injury sucks, it is giving me the gift of time. Time to de-stress and decompress and really think about what I need to change and how I can be a better and happier person at work. Time to calmly and logically deal with Logan's reading issues and time to take him to ear doctor appointments. Time off with my son during his surgery and recovery. Time off with my family over Christmas break.

My only problem is that I really work better under pressure. The fewer time constraints I have, the less I accomplish. That was probably the thing I disliked the most about not working outside of home. I am still totally dependant on crutches, so I can't be on my "good foot" (formerly my bad foot) for long periods. Also, my shoulders ache from the crutches. I need to accomplish SOMETHING at home during my time off!

The kids got their mid-term grades. Kaylin kept up her As. Logan brought up his Cs in Reading and Language Arts to Bs! His nightly reading practice is paying off! I've really noticed how much his spelling has improved as he becomes a better reader. That's what I assumed would happen last year, but I guess his reading never improved enough. I've said it before, but I think he really just needed to be told there was a problem and that knowledge gave him the kick he needed to improve on his own. He needed to understand the school work was actually important. He didn't care before. He cares now.

We got 4 or 5 inches of snow Friday night and the kids have been thrilled. They played outside until 9pm Friday and were up early Saturday and back outside. PawPaw picked them up at noon and took them sledding. This morning they were out in the freezing cold playing some more. Then the neighbor kids joined them and now all 5 kids have been inside for the past two hours. Gene told them they needed to get out of the living room and be quiet for the Bears game that started at noon, but the girls are by the window playing DS and the boys have a hockey rink set up in the middle of the floor, with flying sticks and yelling and balls everywhere. Littlest Boy is standing directly behind a goal and I'm waiting for him to get smacked in the face with a stick. I guess that's a positive aspect of being in the cast and on crutches- Gene can get his bloody little body bundled into snow pants and boots and carry him bawling home to mama. Great, all three boys have now started playing tackle hockey, wrestling on the ground. At least sticks aren't involved.

I guess I'll pay bills and balance my checkbook. Maybe I'll take a photo and have Christmas cards made or maybe I'll skip it this year. Dunno.