Sabbatication: Back to School

It's been two weeks since Katie started school, and nearly three weeks since we arrived in Tucson. The time has flown by!

It was so hard dropping her off for her first day of school. Hard on all of us. Brian and I were nervous throughout the day, hoping it was going well, hoping she wasn't sitting by herself, hoping she'd have the courage to talk to someone! Isn't that every parent's fear when their child is in a new situation?? And, I know it was Katie's fear too.

That first day ended well. I knew all was good when Brian & I picked her up with a smile on her face. Whew~!! She made two or three friends that first day, and continues to lunch and chat with these girls. They've even exchanged phone numbers and have called each other regarding assignments. What a relief.

She's settling into school, learning to understand the Turkish accents of her teachers. She seems to like (most of) her teachers and SSA-DM is a comfortable place for her. That's well worth the 20-25 minute drive to the school!! The homework load has been light so far, which has surprised us. The school has a reputation for a heavy load, so I think they're all in a honeymoon period right now.

As Katie went back to school, so did Brian...sort of. He goes in to the UA each day, working with Jeanne Pemberton, who was one of his undergraduate professors. He does some research and some writing, and then comes home. This semester there's no teaching, student advising, faculty meetings, or even work to bring home! YEA!!! It's nice having him with the family every night and weekend.

While the two of them are at school, I'm supposed to be studying. I brought photography and Photoshop tutorial books along with the goal of improvement in both areas. So far I've dabbled a bit, but haven't really done as much as I should!!

I'm also *studying* for an elementary education basic skills test. Yes, I took one of these things 20 years ago. Yes, I had licenses in several states. And while I was a stay-at-home mom they all expired. Oh, well! Because it was all so long ago, I need to take a test again (and pass it by next summer) to just keep the subbing license. To get my regular teaching license up to date, I have to pass that same test and take a few classes in anything related to education. Still not sure if I want to do that. I seriously like subbing...especially as a mom! (*Studying* is hardly the word for it...mostly I'm going through the prep book, making sure I remember what I'm supposed to remember.)

So, what have I actually been doing during the day, rather than studying?

-Driving around, taking detours when I want to re-visit old memories.
-Lunching with friends.
-Facebooking a bit too much.
-Taking Tahoe to the dog park.
-Shopping.
-Photographing all my memories, as I come across them. Sadly I usually only have my phone camera with me!
-Driving Katie to and fro school (this takes up 2 hours of my day!!).
-Reading.
-Going to the library.
-Cooking & tidying up. (Can't really call it cleaning, as we don't have much stuff here!!)

I'm looking forward to cooler weather (below 100 would be great!) so I can be outdoors for longer periods of time!