Monday was a complete blur of catching up with work and figuring out what I was behind on. At school, we have the staff appreciation lunch (I’m organizing) and the spring fundraiser (I’m handling the raffles) coming up next week, so I had some work to do on those so I wouldn’t start to panic. Aliya had a make-up game Monday night but it was cold and rainy and everyone was worn out so Ben took her and the rest of us stayed home and recovered from a day of not being on vacation.
Tuesday I spent the day in my office and then went to the town hall for my first official town meeting. I generally like to be prepared, and I felt very unprepared for town meeting. The meeting for new members with the moderator was during vacation, so I didn’t get the primer on the rules and I hadn’t had time to read the giant envelope of paper that arrived while we were gone. I was definitely out of my element, but the guy who was a driving force behind recruiting new members matched us up with mentors so I was in good hands. My mentor was Bernice, who not only told us what was going on throughout the night, but also picked up the handouts for us and brought cookies. I sat with 2 people from my precinct and our school, and it was nice to get to know them better.
The process was really interesting, but it took quite a while to get through each article with all of the discussion from committees and town meeting members. I think we only got through 4 articles Tuesday night and we have 36 articles on the warrant, so it’s going to take a while. I’m definitely learning who the characters in town are. The meeting started at 7:30 (I had to meet with my mentor at 7) and ended just after 10.
Wednesday we had tickets to the Big Apple Circus, which I had ordered before I became a town meeting member. I LOVE this circus, and I have gone at least a dozen times. I used to find other peoples’ kids to take with me when I was single. A few weeks ago I realized that our tickets were for vacation week, because we weren’t originally planning to go away. I went to the circus’ website and filled out the generic contact form asking if there was any way to switch the tickets to a different night. A woman contacted me by email and switched our tickets to the night of our choice and gave us the same second row seats at the same half-price discount. I was BEYOND impressed. There’s still time to get your tickets!
We went to the Kinsale for dinner before the show, conveniently located across the street. That was the scene of Norah’s defecation video last year. The circus was great as always…amazing performers, beautiful costumes, live music, a small venue, and non-profit. My favorite act was the animal act – 12 miniature horses, 3 goats, a bunch of dogs, and a full-sized horse. The kids loved this clown guy who talked in a crazy voice. Norah watched him for a few minutes and then asked, “Is he talking Spanish?!” It was a late night and I missed all of town meeting (I had hoped to go late), but it was a lot of fun except for the bickering. On the way from my office in Needham to downtown Boston (20 minutes), Aliya pulled Adlani’s hair, Adlani bit Aliya, and Aliya smacked Norah, so at one point they were all wailing. Ben and I discussed how we could have spent the same amount of money on a fancy dinner, a movie, and a sitter. Tempting.
Thursday was Adlani’s parent-teacher conference. The good news is that he’s doing much better in almost every subject. The bad news is he hates reading and he’s having a terrible time with it. We’re having a meeting next week to start the process of having him evaluated to see how we can best help him. He’s a whiz in math, and does well in science and social studies, but reading and writing are just not easy for him.
Thursday night I went back to town meeting. I think they had made it through another 4 articles while I was at the circus. We voted on another 4 or 5 and then adjourned until Wednesday. I’m so excited that I’ll be able to go to Zumba, since the 3 weeknights that I can go are the same weeknights that I have town meeting.
I started out this morning with a dentist appointment for all 3 kids to have sealants applied to their teeth. I could hear Adlani and Norah screaming all the way from the waiting room. Apparently it doesn’t taste good, but hopefully it will keep the cavities at bay. The dentist had a roomful of dental students so I’m sure he was thrilled with the screaming.
Tonight Aliya had soccer practice and then Ben got the brilliant idea of going to the mall to shop for mothers’ day. I wanted to find a present for my mom, so I agreed. Shopping with the three cabelleros is not easy, and not particularly enjoyable. Ben kept them out in the mall so I could look at some clothes, and then we went to my favorite jewelry store. They didn’t break anything or pocket anything (as far as I know), so the shopping was a success. We had dinner at California Pizza Kitchen, and everyone is finally zonked out.
We have 2 soccer games tomorrow, and on Sunday Aliya and I are going to see Grease with some friends. I’ve got some prep-work to do for the fundraiser, and I would really like to do a new board for the teachers’ wish lists at preschool. I’m really looking forward to summer weekends at camp, where we have forced relaxation accompanied by plenty of eating and drinking. About 8 more weeks!