Back To Work

I began my new job last Tuesday. I got everything ready Monday night so all I had to do was get up Tuesday morning, get ready, eat breakfast and go. We had about an inch of snow fall Monday night/early Tuesday morning so the kids were on a two hour delay which was really helpful as I only had to worry about getting myself out of the house at 7:30 am. At the height of rush hour and on a major highway, my morning commutes were not bad at all last week and I am hoping for the same this week. Since I only work until 12:30 pm, the drive home is speedy.

My job is very busy and I don't think I will have much downtime, which is a good thing. There are twelve of us (all women) on the School Board's staff and they seemed to be very nice and helpful. However, as Caitlynne pointed out, everyone was probably on their very best behavior for the new person and "cracks" will soon appear. I was completely overwhelmed learning about all of my responsibilities and I felt like my head was spinning each afternoon when I left the office. There is so much for me to learn and do but I feel like there is nothing that I can't handle. I just need to get used to the requirements and when & how to do what. At the end of the day, everything I do is done in order to make sure the School Board is in compliance with Virginia State (but we are really a Commonwealth!) code and laws - so, sort of a lot of responsibility! 

Other than all of the rules, regulations, processes and codes that I learned last week as related to my job, I also made the extremely important discovery that the world does not stop turning if I leave the house with dirty dishes in the sink. Or beds unmade. Or carpets not vacuumed. Since I can probably count on two hands the times that I have left the house with any of these items outstanding, this discovery was a huge deal. 

I also found some of this last week...

My running was almost non-existent the week before last. I ran once before the big snow (which The Washington Post named "Snowchi" - very cute!) and then again three days after the big snow. Although the roads were still covered that day, I went out very early and was able to run 5 miles around (and around and around) our neighborhood. Those neighborhood runs are the most boring. After that, because of the snow and other weather issues as well as time constraints, I was only able to get out for a couple of shorter runs around our neighborhood. There was still significant snow cover on the ground and the sidewalks and paths outside of our neighborhood were completely covered and impassable. In addition, although the roads were clear and dry, the snowbanks encroached on them quite a bit so, in some areas, the roads were quite narrow and unsafe to run on in the dark. We had somewhat of a warming trend last week and, finally, on Friday (one week after Snowchi), I was able to run on the paths and sidewalks outside of our neighborhood. I ran 27 miles last week (compared to 10 miles the week before) so you can tell how desperate I was to get back running and make up for all of those lost miles. It looks like we are having another blast of cold mid-week and then it should warm up again. Hopefully for good. 

Sonder is doing much better. He still tremors very slightly but I think the tremors are definitely decreasing day by day. Most of his quirky personality traits have returned and that, to us, is a true indication of how much better he is feeling. He has two more weeks left on the medication so there is time for continued recovery. 

Have a great Monday!