Tuesday, January 20, 2009

It's All Coming Back, All Coming Back To Me Now..

I feel surprisingly calm tonight. What could have been a very chaotic and stressful day was pretty smooth and uneventful. And I'm so thankful for that.

Today was my first day back to work in 16 months. I had forgotten the thing I dislike the most about working isn't work itself, it's getting up early every morning and attempting to get out of the house on time. The latter part of that equation is, of course, complicated by trying to get Caleb up and ready and out of the house with me.

Caleb went to bed an hour early last night, but that didn't stop him from giving me the "What the heck are we doing up so early?" glare when I got him up at 6:20 this morning. After I got him dressed and ready, I put on Bear in the Big Blue House on TV so I could get my last minute preparations together. Thing were going well, I was on time. And then I went to put on Caleb's coat and discovered that he had engaged in a total bowel blowout that went straight through his diaper and messed up not just his shirt, but also his jeans. Typical of a first morning, right?

Well, luckily that was the biggest hiccup of the day (if you don't count the fact that I sat on the teller line for at least an hour with an open zipper. But hey, at least the customers couldn't see that!) We managed to get out on time, but not before I snapped a few pictures of my big boy on his first day of "school."



His drop off went well. He got there just in time for breakfast, I handed over his supplies and changes of clothes to the care taker, gave him a kiss and a hug, and went on my way. And I felt fine. Of course there was a twinge of sadness because I've spent the last 15 months with Caleb almost every hour of the day, and I knew I would miss him. But I didn't have the emotional meltdown I anticipated. There were a few slower times at work that I could really feel the pull of missing my baby boy, but I still managed to hold it together. (If you know how easy it is to topple my tower, emotionally speaking, you'll be impressed!)
Work itself was great! Totally like getting back on a bike. In the words of Celine Dion, "It was so long ago, but it's all coming back to me now!" I forgot a few things, but a lot of it was pretty natural. It was a steady enough day without being really busy, which was perfect for my first day back. Just enough work to give me a taste of things I had forgotten, but not so much that I got overwhelmed. And my drawer balanced! (At one point, there was real concern that it wouldn't, and I kept saying, "I won't be that teller! I won't be the teller who doesn't balance on her first day!" Luckily, we found the error, and I wasn't that teller. Stupid rolled quarters!)
Tommy picked up Caleb and we had dinner together at the bowling alley on base while we watch our new President get sworn in. I love big historic moments like inaugurations. (Incidentally, I keep accidentally calling it his "coronation," a true sign I'm living in England!) Tommy said the care giver told him Caleb had a few crying bouts throughout the day, but was generally easily distracted by a toy or activity. I'm sure it'll take some adjustment for him, but I know he'll be fine in the end.
Class was great! The teacher is genuinely funny and disarming. I really enjoyed it. There's a lot of classmates I know from previous classes, which is always fun. I'm looking forward to the rest of the week. We talked about some interesting aspects of genetics and personality and coping mechanisms tonight that really got my mind working. I'd love to blog about it, but this was supposed to be a MINI-update. Ha. Right. I'm so bad at small blogs.
Anyway, I just feel so peaceful and calm right now. I'm excited about the opportunities I've taken and am looking forward to see where they take me in the next weeks and months.

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