Right where I'm supposed to be

On Saturday I wrote about how I love my life and it's true, I do.  However, lest you think it's all butterflies and roses, I thought I should mention that, well, it's not.

A lot of my life is spent in the mundane.  I change diapers and clothes and wash them, along with all the other laundry.  I go to the grocery store, cook and clean.  I am in the house apartment for most of the day because a certain someone needs his morning and afternoon nap and, since it's just me and the munchkin, a lot of days are spent in pjs and workout clothes (and no, that doesn't mean I'm getting in great workouts during the naps). The majority of my days are not glamorous.  Actually, in all honesty, I wouldn't know glamorous if it hit me in the face.  

Today, I missed teaching.  Like, really missed it.  I missed getting up, getting dressed and heading off to a (semi) professional environment.  I missed walking around my classroom facilitating learning.  I missed asking kids questions to get them thinking about things differently, and helping light bulbs go off in their heads.  I missed collaborating with my coworkers to plan fantastic lessons - the kinds of lessons that my students would talk about, even after they left my class.  Believe it or not, I even missed faculty meetings - interacting with other teachers, sitting and taking notes and eating chocolate.  

In addition to missing teaching, I also started to fantasize about being a career business person (for both the excitement of the job, and the financial security that would come with it).  I  dreamed of being this business lady - you know, the kind that wears the super put together, business suits with splashes of color (and doesn't get spit/drooled/peed on), heels and jewelry (as in that stuff your kid pulls at all the time) and heads to an office (think the skyscrapers that adorn Uptown Charlotte).  I'd stop at a quaint coffee shop for a beverage and pastry before rushing to get to a meeting on time.  Then on my lunch break (I've never had one of those before!) I'd go with a friend to a fancy clothing store and get a cute dress for a work function that was coming up, and then get to go from a sandwich place around the corner.  It'd be grand.

Eventually, I snapped out of it and came back to reality.  Even for all the glamour, financial security and prestige, I wouldn't trade places with "that girl" who has that career business life.  I wouldn't even go back in the classroom.  My life might be full of mundane, and many might call it simple, but it's good.  I know that I'm where I'm supposed to be - in my home, taking care of my family.

Today I didn't do anything fancy. I went to the grocery store today and made my husband's dinner tonight.  There is apple crisp baking the oven.  My apartment is not a wreck and I spent all day with my son.  It might not have included a business suit, heels, jewelry, or clothes shopping, but it's been a good day and I am thankful, even for time to do the mundane.