Short on Time

I’m not really sure why I thought I’d have any time at all to relax this summer and attempt to make a dent in the booklist I put together for summer reading. T’s last day of teaching was June 22nd, and having two parents home should make life easier, right? In theory, I suppose.

The thing is, T (who is our major bread winner since I took a leave of absence in 2008 and then resigned just this past winter) doesn’t get paid through the summer months. We go ten weeks every summer (well, every summer since 2008) without any steady income. When we had two incomes, it was no big deal. We’d put more than enough money aside and coast comfortably through the summer months without a care in the world. But a family of 4 living on a public school teacher’s salary is hard enough, and there’s rarely anything left over to be put away once our mortgage and bills are taken care of. Still, we’re pretty frugal and always manage to make it through.

But a big part of our summer survival is my tutoring side gig. During the school year, I only tutor about 5 hours a week. But in the summer I have to take on as many requests as I get, because it’s crucial to our survival. Fortunately (and unfortunately), I’ve had more than enough requests for tutoring sessions this summer. It’s great to not have to worry about income, but I’m nonstop busy all day long. And when I’m not tutoring, I’m planning lessons. Every kid’s lesson is individually tailored to his/her needs, so it takes a fair amount of planning- including time logged in at the Staples copy center and time spent reading my student’s summer reading books- to make it all go smoothly.

And, of course, I’ve not given up much of my mommy role. I’m too invested, and don’t want my kids to miss out on playdates or storytimes if I can help it. Plus I’m still making it to the gym 3-5 times per week, which means, at the end of the day, there really hasn’t been much time to relax even if I’d wanted to.

Still, I’m enjoying the summer, now having gotten used to the craziness of it, and Tiny and Buba are really enjoying the extra time with their daddy. T and I have our anniversary coming up next month, and family coming to town in July and August. There will be fun at the fair, picnics in the park, and time at the pool in the not too distant future. So I’ll definitely schedule in some down time… for September.

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Update on Tiny: Thanks for all the well wishes. We went to see the pediatrician on Tuesday, and he said her cut was healing just fine. We have to change her band aid 2-3 times per day, which she is not fond of, and the hardest part is trying to keep it clean while still allowing her to have some outdoor fun. Hopefully by early next week, it will have scabbed and we can remove the band aids from the equation. She’ll definitely have a scar, but it should fade over time.