Two hats

When Noah and then Aaron passed away, I knew I had to go back to work which was scary since I hadn't worked for so long, but the hardest thing was that I could no longer just go and watch the boys take part in things at school.   Because I stayed home for fourteen years after Jalen was born, I was very blessed to be able to attend things at school whenever I wanted to.  I could go along to school assemblies, watch the boys in their athletics carnival or swimming carnival, or could watch them run in their cross country.    I always thought about how hard it must be for other parents who worked, and couldn't come to school whenever they wanted to.

I knew I was lucky to be able to be a stay at home Mum, but I now think that I took those days for granted a lot.  I also think about all those hours I wasted at home!   The six hours that the boys were at school seeemd to fly by each day, but now I get things done in an hour, that used to

 take me six! 

I would love to have those days back, but I also know how lucky I am to be teaching where Harri and Kobe go to school.   Living close to school and having my boys close to me during the day, has been such a blessing, over the past year.  It's nice to be able to walk to school together (the basketball craze has hit both of them now!).
Even though I work at the same school, we actually don't see each other that much during the day, which is also a good thing, because I like to have my teacher hat on, rather than my Mum hat on if I can.  That can be hard when I walk past Kobe's class, because half the class say 'Mrs King, you're Kobe's Mum!' which always makes me laugh.   My students that I teach EAL to (English as an Addditional language) know that Harri and Kobe are my boys, and they often talk to me about them and say 'your Harri' or 'your Kobe', when they're telling me something about them. 

I have actually found that since started teaching at the boy's school, I talk to their teachers less about how they're going, and also spend less time in their classrooms.  Before I would make the effort to go in a few times a week, to talk to their teachers, and to see what they've been up to.  Now the boys often ask me if I can come in to see some work that they've done, and I have to remind myself that it's okay to ask their teachers how they're going.

Kobe wanted to show me a self portrait that he did last week, and I laughed when I saw the Hawthorn top, as I guessed that was his picture straight away.  I love the one big eye :)

I'm lucky that if I have non contact time, I can still see the boys participate in different things at school.  Last week I had non contact time and decided not to go to assembly as I knew that the boy's classes weren't sharing anything, and I had things to do.  Unfortunately it turned out to be the one day that both of them got a certificate from their teacher!   They were so excited to tell me about it after school. 

I'm also lucky to work some half days, as it means I can attend things at school in the afternoon, just as a Mum.  It is very hard to just wear my Mum hat when I can see my EAL students need some extra support, so sometimes I just put both hats on.  Last week Harri ran in his cross country and he was so excited to come third.  

I feel very blessed right now to be able to work where my boys go to school, and that can change at anytime (because I'm a temporary teacher who can only take on a fixed term contract, until I become a permanent replacement teacher) so right now I'm trying not to take it for granted.  I'm lucky that the boys don't mind having their daggy old Mum at school.  It can be hard to keep the teacher hat on the whole day, because it's lovely when we do see each other and they want to come and say hello, and even give me a hug and kiss before they run off with their friends. 

p.s: if you love children's picture books, please check out this blog for a great auction/raffle.  You could win one of two pieces of original art work by the author/illustrator Peter Horacek and help by raising money for a great cause at the same time.   Money raised goes to the Foundation for Prada-Willi research.