more creeping normalcy

(maya's photo of trees at potrero rec center)

i was at my kids' school this morning. we seem to spend quite a few weekend hours up there. it is a beautiful spot, and walking distance away. the school is perched on top of a hill with views all the way across the bay on one side, and across the city to twin peaks on the other. some days we go up there to water trees, or weed the garden. there are monthly work days where parents clean, scrape, paint, and build shelves. this morning a bunch of dads were working on a project with ladders and tools and extension cords and a few of us moms were up there to talk to the principal. the moms were there to brainstorm with the principal about the best way to find and hire a new kindergarten teacher because it is VERY hard to find teachers for the mandarin program. miles and the other kids rode bikes around the playground and hit balls against the wall in the fresh november air.

after the meeting i went to office depot. i am being moved from the school site and program i have loved and helped develop for five years. i am being moved due to the bottom line. the district needs the same number of speech and language pathologists to serve an increasing number of kids for the same amount of money. i just threw down quite a bit of cash at amazon for materials for my new site. at office depot i paid for color copies of all the picture communication boards and visual supports i have made for my classes over the years. i have to leave the materials i have made behind and my last day is tuesday. i am going to have to buy a laminator for my house as i don't feel comfortable going to a new site and asking them for funds for copying and laminating when i will be serving walk-in preschool kids from the community who don't even attend the school. basically i am being placed at a site and asked to provide therapy and materials for students with a budget of $0 to do so.

so, this is the new deal for me. less money to work with more students. kids at a school which is increasingly dependent on parent resources and support. everything is trickling down and interrelated in my little microcosm. i am identifying more and more with the talk about aftershocks and the 99%.

i really do believe there is enough to go around, and i have no problem having a little less money and spending time and cash nurturing my kids' school and my students. it just won't work unless we can all do the same, though.

cuddled in the bed in the dark with my two kids. we are watching movies with the excuse that one of them is sick. it's quite nice. i love these little people and will do everything i can for them.