Science Fair

The last few weeks have sped past in a blur, mainly because I've been working incredibly hard on the Science Fair. This is our in-house "first round" of the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists. Every single break has been taken up with kids asking questions. Most free lessons have been spent trying to sort out the admin. Most afternoons have been spent marking. Thus, all my normal school work has been shifted to the evenings, with the result that during this patch, I have had several (far too many, actually) nights where I've hit the sack after midnight.

My hubbie has been amazing at dealing with the kids - he's basically been a single parent for the 2 weeks! How I'd cope without him, I have no idea. Actually, no, I do: I wouldn't. He is a precious jewel of a man and I am incredibly blessed to be married to him. There aren't many men who would put up with wives who are teachers, but he has to be the best amongst that select group.

I have really missed my kids too, and they have missed me. Nellie frequently asks me now whether I'm going back to school in the evening and over the weekend. It's an incredibly sad indictment on my life - one I am determined to put right now. And this weekend, I've certainly gone a long way to fixing things.

We took the dogs for a LOOOOOOONG walk - long overdue - along the Cable Car road. It would have been a perfect morning, except that Baggins decided to jump over a wall - and down a cliff of about 4m. He seemed okay (just a bit bruised) until this afternoon... but now he's not looking so good. We're going to take him to the vet tomorrow. I'm just hoping and praying there's nothing serious wrong with him.

Today we went on an outing with Nellie's nursery, which was lots of fun. It was good to spend time with Nellie, jumping in the waves, watching the fish (see her blog), and digging in the sand. I've missed time to just play with her.

Hopefully things will calm down a bit now, but with one member of my department off sick, it won't be as calm as I'd hoped. Still, it could be worse...

What I've really learnt through this process is to take things one day at a time. I've been amazed at my own serenity throughout - apart from one day when everything seemed to be coming apart at the seams. It seems that God is at work in me, and that I'm getting more experienced at dealing with stress in a positive way.

Saying that, the other thing I've really missed is going to church and cell group. This week I'm going to a woman's event on Tues (at church), so won't be at cell, but from next weekend things should be back to normal there too. I can't wait!

While I think Science Fair is essential for the kids, and a really valuable exercise, it does take its toll on me and on my family. I hope the price is worth it in the long run!