Ten Things Tuesday

The whole "Ten Things Tuesday" has always intimidated me, but this week, I am sure I have at LEAST 10 Things on my ToDo List...

1. Send our eldest daughter off to kindergarten. She'll be almost 6 years old, but with two other dear friends who also have September birthdays in her class, I think she'll do fine. There were two people I admire greatly who assuaged my fears about her being one of the oldest kids in her class. First, the Director of her preschool (one of our favorite people) said, "The extra year [at preschool] is a gift." The second person is our pediatrician, who said he'd rather see a child who is older than the rest of her class than a child who is the youngest. But it's still a big deal, at least to me (she seems to be handling it all pretty well).

2. Make an appointment with the head of the local university's Public History Department. I am trying to figure out how I can get my Master's Degree with someone else footing the bill. I also want to teach, so I think I can figure out a way to do my degree in History with a focus in Public History and Education. I'd also like to figure out a way to fit in my experience as an audiovisual researcher. So far, my plan involves studying the way that media can be used to open up history to students. Please keep in mind that this is a large public university, which is working against the "design your own degree" idea, but I have a great relationship with the Director of the Public History Program there, so it might just work.

3. Fill out the application to volunteer at a local literacy project. They are looking for tutors to work one-on-one with adults studying to pass their high school equivalency tests. I have spoken with the volunteer coordinator (who is also a spinner, by the way), and it seems like a great way for me to get some actual "education" time under my belt, while giving back to the community in a way I haven't been able to do for a long time.

4. Balance my checkbook and pay bills. I HATE doing this. Maybe I wouldn't mind it so much if we were millionaires, but we're not and I do. But that's no excuse -- I need to crack down on myself and stop putting it off (I did it a couple of weeks ago, but I like to do it weekly, so I can really keep on top of things).

5. Finish prepping the porch for painting. I have two of the posts almost stripped as far as I need. The other two won't receive as much detail work (perhaps on the next go around). The ceiling needs to be sanded. The floor needs to be sanded (though most of the paint has worn off already, so this should go pretty quickly). I must finish this all before the weekend of the 8th/9th, when my mom is coming out to help paint it.

6. Paperwork. Deal with it. Elminate as much of it as humanly possible, and organize the rest into an efficient and organized system.

7. Organize my craft area. I have a corner of our bedroom that is currently being overrun by scrapbooking supplies, yarn and fleece. It all needs to be brought back under control.

8. Tree diagnosis and removal. I need to have someone come out and look at the 75-foot tall tree in our backyard and give us an analysis of its relative health and condition, tell us if it should come down for the good of the neighborhood (our closest neighbor's house is about 15 feet from our house), and estimate the cost. I also need to figure out how we are going to get rid of the brush pile from the branches we took off the fallen limb. We have friends who are interested in a good portion of the wood, and we have a sawyer coming to look at the main limb that fell. Perhaps we'll get some board feet out of it. I have reached out to everyone I know (and barely know) for leads on who to call, and hopefully I will get some callbacks this week.

9. Okay, I am surprised that it is getting more difficult to come up with things. Wait, here's one. Box up some of the millions of quart-sized Mason jars and post and ad for them on Freecycle.

10. Catch up on the approximately 40 emails I owe to people (if you are one of those people to whom I owe an email, as you can see, I haven't forgotten).

Phew! That was harder than I thought. Actually, it was theraputic for me. I hate feeling overwhelmed. This is a truly crazy week with everyone starting school. I can handle transitioning myself, but when the transitions of 3 other people are affected by what I am doing this week, I start to feel myself vibrate within my skin. It's not a panic attack, just the warning signs, I think. A great signal to tell me it's time to get organized, take some time for myself (or at least plan for it) and press on with grace and humor.

Grace and humor....that might take me a few tips to Staples for theraputic office supply shopping.