How it's going. Kumbaya

A week ago, Friday, was my last day working as an aide at Sam's school. I had a big send-off.

Then, I was back on Monday working as a substitute. I spent the day with a fifth grade class while their teacher had jury duty. They asked me to come back on Tuesday but I had already committed to work at another nearby elementary school.

There, I worked with a fifth grade class for most of the morning, covered a fourth grade class for an hour and spent the afternoon in kindergarten.

Wednesday, I was a parent in the morning, driving Sam and two of his classmates to see a play at the Marin Center, Cuentos del Arbol." (Tree Tales.) (For some reason, they don't use buses for field trips at this school.) That afternoon, they asked me to stay and cover for a teacher who had a meeting.

They asked me to work another time last week too but Thursday and Friday, I was already scheduled to sub at the nearby middle school. I was working mostly with eighth graders.

I thoroughly enjoyed the change of pace. They were a blast, respectful, responsive and kind.

So far, so good. Thanks for encouraging me in this next phase of my career. I enjoy having complete control of my schedule as well as the novelty and challenge associated with walking into a different situation every day. Being off when Sam is off is huge too.

Ideally, this summer, I'd like to restart work towards a master’s degree in school social work or mental health counseling. The education system has a large number of kids who need someone looking out for them. That, and the big breaks make working as a school social worker sound very appealing but I'm not sure I will really get to concentrate on the issues I am most interested in countering.

Recently, I contacted the Marin Abused Women's Services about volunteering in their call center. Their mission of, "Creating Safety and Justice for Women and Children" is what I am most interested in doing. Of course, I want safety and justice for all. But their website says that "95% of domestic violence cases are attributable to men."

They developed the nation's first "batterer re-education program." That program's tag line reads, "Men helping men create peace."

I had a boss once who told me it wasn't about everyone sitting around in a circle singing "Kumbaya."

I really wish it could be. One step at a time, huh?

In the meantime, peace, happiness and love to you and yours.

photo credit