A Day in the Life Of .... (Part One)
Monday, September 8, 2008. Second week of school year.
I am one of those geeks who loved the beginning of the school year -- all those new books and fresh clean notebooks and stationary supplies. All the excitement and status of moving up a grade. All those neat new things to learn.
So, as we start the second week of the school year I thought I'd document at least a day in the life of me. So here it is:
6:30 am
Wake up, let Maggie (dog) out, feed Maggie, wake-up Emma, take a shower, get dressed, make lunch for Emma and for me, make sure Emma is ready and has her school stuff ready, get my work stuff ready.
7:40 am
Walk up the street to wait for the school bus with the other Milton Road Moms. I enjoy this chatty time where we catch each other up on what's been going on and what's new in town/street, parenting stories, tips and techniques, and sometimes even national/world events (but not often). I also enjoy chatting with the kids -- particularly the little brothers and sisters who are waiting for older siblings to get on the bus. My favorites are: Patrick, Elizabeth and Owen. Sometimes this is the most social part of my day!
7:50 am
Bus #2 arrives and loads up with Milton Road kids for trip to Primrose Hill Elementary School (K-3). When everyone is around we have: William (gr.1), Sophia (gr.1), Kayla (gr.2), Olivia (gr.2), Emma (gr.3), Tommy (gr.3), Ben (gr.2). Wave to kids as bus leaves and have final chat time with other Moms as we head back home. I was taking the bus to work on this day so I continued across the main road to wait for the RIPTA (public bus) to Providence which stops across from the end of our road. There is a large church there (St. Luke's) so I can wait back from the road at the edge of their parking lot which makes it a nicer place to wait than right on the road. I read my book and drink coffee from a travel mug while I wait.
8:06 am
Bus arrives. It always arrives at 8:06 because this is the second stop on the line. This particular route only runs at several times in the morning commute period and then again in the afternoon, every hour. I spend the ride again reading my book. Right now I am reading Crashing Through by Robert Kurson. It's our September book club book and is a non-fictional account of Michael May who regained his sight after being blind most of his life -- though I haven't gotten that far yet. It's really quite interesting because it raises lots and lots of questions about the difference between our sighted view of the world and the way blind people perceive the world. I was particularly struck by the idea of what it would be like for all of us to know and judge each other by criteria other than what we look like -- I think what we look like -- no matter how hard we try otherwise -- is a HUGE factor in our response to and assesment of other people.
8:35 am
Arrive at work and change my frame of mind from the big thoughts raised in Crashing Through to the smaller more mundane world of managing information and library resources for a mid-sized law firm. I was working through my "to do" and "follow-up on" lists and piles on my desk, including the ones I have been avoiding.
12:30 pm
Take a break and go for a 10 minutes walk along South Main and Water streets. It's a gorgeous New England Summer day, not too hot, not humid, breezy, sunny. I do some window shopping and then walk back along the river and stop to read one of the historic information signs posted along the riverwalk park. Again, I am a geek and I really like to discover local history facts. I found out that the brass plaques along the walk mark the original shipping wharves and are the exact width of the wharf itself. I don't really get a lunch hour or half hour since I am squishing 6 hours of work into the school day, but I do try to take a 15 minute break -- I should go for a walk more often as it was refreshing. Here's a photo of the exact view I had while walking along the river.
12:45 pm
Back to work and eat my sandwich at my desk while reading library related and other blogs. Then do some research for my boss on foreclosure rates in New England. We do a lot of foreclosure and bankruptcy work.
2:20 pm
Leave to catch the 2:25pm bus home. Bus only goes once an hour and I have to get home for Emma. I like to take the bus because as I said earlier I can read and relax not pay attention to the morning traffic. I also can save the $12/day it costs to park downtown (that's the cheapest rate I have found). This is the first day I have taken the bus this school year because my bus gets me home by 3:00pm and Emma's bus arrives at 2:55pm. This was a good day to test this since Jim was working from home and could meet Emma at her bus. We are thinking about letting her walk home and let herself in for the 5 minutes until I arrive. In reality it usually takes us 5 minutes to walk down the street to our house after her bus arrives since we are catching up with each other and talking to the other Mom's and kids. So, as I got off the bus I saw Jim and Emma walking up our front steps. That gives me an idea of how much time she would be alone. Also, there are at least 3 other Mom's at home at that time of day with their kids on our street who she could go to as a resource.
3:00 pm
At home getting ready to drive Emma to a dermatologist appointment in Providence. She needed to get ready for her soccer practice which we would go to immediately after her appointment, and I changed my clothes into something I wanted to watch soccer practice in.
3:15 pm
Leave for Doctor appointment
I am one of those geeks who loved the beginning of the school year -- all those new books and fresh clean notebooks and stationary supplies. All the excitement and status of moving up a grade. All those neat new things to learn.
So, as we start the second week of the school year I thought I'd document at least a day in the life of me. So here it is:
6:30 am
Wake up, let Maggie (dog) out, feed Maggie, wake-up Emma, take a shower, get dressed, make lunch for Emma and for me, make sure Emma is ready and has her school stuff ready, get my work stuff ready.
7:40 am
Walk up the street to wait for the school bus with the other Milton Road Moms. I enjoy this chatty time where we catch each other up on what's been going on and what's new in town/street, parenting stories, tips and techniques, and sometimes even national/world events (but not often). I also enjoy chatting with the kids -- particularly the little brothers and sisters who are waiting for older siblings to get on the bus. My favorites are: Patrick, Elizabeth and Owen. Sometimes this is the most social part of my day!
7:50 am
Bus #2 arrives and loads up with Milton Road kids for trip to Primrose Hill Elementary School (K-3). When everyone is around we have: William (gr.1), Sophia (gr.1), Kayla (gr.2), Olivia (gr.2), Emma (gr.3), Tommy (gr.3), Ben (gr.2). Wave to kids as bus leaves and have final chat time with other Moms as we head back home. I was taking the bus to work on this day so I continued across the main road to wait for the RIPTA (public bus) to Providence which stops across from the end of our road. There is a large church there (St. Luke's) so I can wait back from the road at the edge of their parking lot which makes it a nicer place to wait than right on the road. I read my book and drink coffee from a travel mug while I wait.
8:06 am
Bus arrives. It always arrives at 8:06 because this is the second stop on the line. This particular route only runs at several times in the morning commute period and then again in the afternoon, every hour. I spend the ride again reading my book. Right now I am reading Crashing Through by Robert Kurson. It's our September book club book and is a non-fictional account of Michael May who regained his sight after being blind most of his life -- though I haven't gotten that far yet. It's really quite interesting because it raises lots and lots of questions about the difference between our sighted view of the world and the way blind people perceive the world. I was particularly struck by the idea of what it would be like for all of us to know and judge each other by criteria other than what we look like -- I think what we look like -- no matter how hard we try otherwise -- is a HUGE factor in our response to and assesment of other people.
8:35 am
Arrive at work and change my frame of mind from the big thoughts raised in Crashing Through to the smaller more mundane world of managing information and library resources for a mid-sized law firm. I was working through my "to do" and "follow-up on" lists and piles on my desk, including the ones I have been avoiding.
12:30 pm
Take a break and go for a 10 minutes walk along South Main and Water streets. It's a gorgeous New England Summer day, not too hot, not humid, breezy, sunny. I do some window shopping and then walk back along the river and stop to read one of the historic information signs posted along the riverwalk park. Again, I am a geek and I really like to discover local history facts. I found out that the brass plaques along the walk mark the original shipping wharves and are the exact width of the wharf itself. I don't really get a lunch hour or half hour since I am squishing 6 hours of work into the school day, but I do try to take a 15 minute break -- I should go for a walk more often as it was refreshing. Here's a photo of the exact view I had while walking along the river.
12:45 pm
Back to work and eat my sandwich at my desk while reading library related and other blogs. Then do some research for my boss on foreclosure rates in New England. We do a lot of foreclosure and bankruptcy work.
2:20 pm
Leave to catch the 2:25pm bus home. Bus only goes once an hour and I have to get home for Emma. I like to take the bus because as I said earlier I can read and relax not pay attention to the morning traffic. I also can save the $12/day it costs to park downtown (that's the cheapest rate I have found). This is the first day I have taken the bus this school year because my bus gets me home by 3:00pm and Emma's bus arrives at 2:55pm. This was a good day to test this since Jim was working from home and could meet Emma at her bus. We are thinking about letting her walk home and let herself in for the 5 minutes until I arrive. In reality it usually takes us 5 minutes to walk down the street to our house after her bus arrives since we are catching up with each other and talking to the other Mom's and kids. So, as I got off the bus I saw Jim and Emma walking up our front steps. That gives me an idea of how much time she would be alone. Also, there are at least 3 other Mom's at home at that time of day with their kids on our street who she could go to as a resource.
3:00 pm
At home getting ready to drive Emma to a dermatologist appointment in Providence. She needed to get ready for her soccer practice which we would go to immediately after her appointment, and I changed my clothes into something I wanted to watch soccer practice in.
3:15 pm
Leave for Doctor appointment
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