Sharing my favourite reads from the week just in time for the weekend.
Happy Friday friends! I’m not quite sure how, but we made it through another hectic week around here! Fall is always a busy time of year, but this year has been especially crazy for us – in addition to Carson starting school full time, and all of the Fall + Winter activities starting up once again, I’ve also been teaching full time these last couple of weeks. Those of you that are lucky enough to know a teacher outside of the classroom, will know what an incredible amount of work and responsibility teaching is not just in the classroom, but behind the scenes as well.
A little backstory: I’ve spent the last five years working as a substitute teacher and I absolutely LOVE it! First of all, I work in the same school that Carson attends, just around the corner from our house and I love that I get to bump into him in the hallways throughout the day. I also really love that I spend all of my work days in the same school, which allows me to build relationships with the kiddos and the staff that work with them – this is really huge for me because it feeds my need to know that I’m still making an impact, even if I’m not running a classroom of my own. I have to say though, my very favourite part about subbing is the work-life balance it allows. Without the responsibility of my own classroom, my evenings and weekends are still my own. I can dip my toes into teaching, stay current within my profession, but still have lots of time left to devote to my family, my home and my blog. Each of these things brings me joy in a different way and I feel so lucky to get to fit them all into my life.
As a substitute teacher I get to set my own schedule, having complete control in how many days I’d like to work each week. A typical week for me might be 2-3 days of teaching, leaving me with a couple of days to balance the rest of my responsibilities as a Mom, wife and blogger. But sometimes I’m needed a bit more than that. Teachers may need to take a longer leave of absence, for weeks or even months. Everybody’s first priority is to those kiddos and the education they receive and I feel honoured to be able to step in to ensure that they don’t miss a beat while their teacher is away. I absolutely love getting the chance to walk in to the same classroom of students every day and plan my own lessons – I miss that a lot sometimes. But, working full time (and then some) when your life hasn’t really been set up for it is hard. It’s certainly been a sudden and difficult transition for me these last few weeks as I try to juggle all of the teaching responsibilities I’ve taken on with all the other tasks I’d already committed myself to before I knew I’d be working full time.
It’s been a lot of late nights. A lot of help and understanding from friends + family. A few chores around the house have been stretched a little further. And the blog, well I suppose my posts may be a little fewer and further between for the time being. After all, I can’t do it all and I don’t intend to make myself miserable trying.
And so, in the interest of letting myself enjoy this opportunity to jump back into the classroom for a little while, I’m choosing to let the rest go just a bit.
Instead of wishing for perfection, I’m choosing to find more joy in simplicity this season.
Which you may have noticed in my Fall home tour and Fall bedroom.
Things may be a little busier for the next little while, but I plan to enjoy every minute of it (well, most of it anyway)!
And now, while the house is still quiet and with my coffee in hand, here’s what I’ll be catching up with…
WEEKEND READING
On making considered purchases.
Speaking of considered purchases … how many toys do kids really need?
A must read if you find yourself designing a kitchen.
This beautiful Fall table stopped me in my tracks!
5 things to consider in conflict resolution.
LOVE this thoughtful gift giving idea!
Some brilliant ideas to help guide your renovations to increase the value of your home.
Wishing you a lovely day my friends!
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