Doin' the happy dance

Today I got the BEST phone call regarding all of this legal crap, and now I'm doing a happy dance in my living room. It's so nice to hear those magic words "you're absolutely in the right"... even though I knew, it's always great to hear it from someone who will be instrumental in making the official ruling. Now I've got my finger on the switch, and it feels great to have the control for a change! More later! And YES, those pictures of the kids, coming soon!

Bygones

The last 3 weeks have been extraordinarily trying. I've tried to keep my chin up, and stay positive - but I have to tell you, I haven't slept well at all. And, as a result, this week it has all caught up to me, and I ended up getting quite ill. I know it will take me weeks to get over this one - the stress has just been so completely overwhelming, and I haven't been eating right or working out. So I'm just totally worn down.

Things finally came to a head today. I'm done, finished, kaput. Moving onward. Not looking back.

I have many regrets in the way it ended, but few in terms of my efforts and what I'll be coming away with. It was a position I loved and worked extremely hard at. The learning curve was high, and sometimes I had to be a person that I didn't particularly like towards the students. In the end, though, I'm proud of all I accomplished, and the volume of emails that I am STILL receiving from students makes me all warm and fuzzy! Even students who fought tooth and nail with me - and even wrote negative things about me on feedback forms - have contacted me to thank me for "believing" in them, and for the "tough love". I've even been invited to several weddings!

I will miss the students more than anything.

It's also difficult to walk away when the fruits of my labor, so-to-speak, are about to come forth. The long-awaited accreditation visit. The thing that kept me awake so many nights. I slept with that darn "guide to accreditation" under my pillow for months! And alas, I will not be part of the final effort. Oh well. I wish them all the best, and in a few weeks time, I'll be crossing my fingers that it all works out the way they are hoping.

For those who have NO idea what I'm talking about - feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I can't - rather, won't - go into detail on here, out of respect for (some of) my former colleagues, the students, and also in light of the fact that the situation has now moved beyond the realm of the hypothetical and into the reality of legalities and claims etc etc. Since it is apparent that even my personal email is not safe from snoops, suffice to say that this very public forum is less so.

Ah, but closure is near. I'm looking forward to new challenges and I have faith that whatever road lies ahead will be just as exciting and rewarding as the one I leave behind.

Now, I should get to bed and attempt to heal a little - emotionally and physically!

I PROMISE pictures of the kids this week - especially little miss Luci, who is so beautiful she takes my breath away. Almost 11 months old... impossible!

Who knew?

I just realized that Lili is going to be 5 in a few short weeks. How can that be? I suppose I should be planning a party! We've decided to hold her birthday party in May, since there are just too many birthdays in April. So, we're going to do a joint party for Lili and Luci. I did ask Lili first - and she seems VERY excited about sharing her party. That probably won't be the case next year, so I'm going to make the most of it now!

In other news... Luci is crawling, albeit only when she's visiting someone with carpet. VERY rarely she'll crawl across the hardwood here... but mostly she scoots around on her bum. And - she STILL has no teeth. Almost 11 months old! Craziness! I LOVE her toothless grin, so I'm not complaining... but it sure does limit the food choices.

Cohen is doing well in school, busy with homework and playdates. Hockey is over for the season, and I have mixed feelings about that. On one hand - it's nice not to have to worry about 2 ice times each weekend... on the other hand, I've never seen him happier than when he's on the ice! I considered spring hockey, but considering everything else that is going on, I'm relieved I decided against it.

Lili is also doing well. Skating is done for fall/winter, but she starts spring skating in a few weeks. She participated in her second competition this year, and won a silver medal! Amazing girl. She is a constant source of amazement for me - I am so very, very lucky to have these 3 amazing children. Not to mention one amazing husband! No matter what else happens in our lives, we are together, and happy.

Ian is enjoying his parental leave so far. He's re-arranged the bathroom cabinets, and so far I've enjoyed coming home to a hot meal. There have been some learning experiences for him in terms of being prepared for things (aka forgetting hockey gear twice in one weekend, and sending the kids to a sleepover without a change of clothing!), but he's learning.

And me? Well, despite the stress of my current situation, I am finding out how incredibly blessed I am. SO many people have come forward to support me. Even some people I would never have imagined doing so for me, and people who are putting their own positions at risk by doing so. I'm so grateful to you all. I did receive notice that things have progressed past the first screening stage, so that's good news for me. At the end of the day, I'm more sad than anything though. It's just so completely unnecessary. But that's not my burden to carry, I suppose.

Monday

What a FUN week. Really. I've learned more about Human Rights than I ever thought possible. I've met many, many interesting people, and I'm grateful for each of them. I'm grateful that they were all willing to listen to my story, and even more grateful that they all agreed with my perspective. You know how sometimes, when you're personally involved, you wonder if you're losing perspective? Yeah... well, I'm not. In fact, I've learned so much in this last week (ok, who are we kidding, I've been looking into it and doing my research for months, I just hoped that all of that research was for nothing...alas, not so), that I'm thinking about going public with all that I've learned. Seriously, I have to wonder how many other women have been put in this position and have neither the will, the knowledge, the know-how or the resources to do something about it.

Anyways. Things are far from settled, but they will be soon enough. I would LOVE to post specifics, but it's come to my attention that we have a little birdie spying on us here. I know, I know. Sucks. That's ok, though, because one of these days, you might tune into your local news station and see the whole story unravel in front of you. Stay tuned...

In the meantime, I'm reporting to work on Monday. Yup! And you know, I'm looking forward to it.

So much more research to be done!

Oops

Today, Ian and I were arguing while in the van with all 3 kids. It was a mild argument - to be honest, I have no idea what it was about - but we were raising our voices for sure. There was definitely our usual joking-tone to it: when Ian and I fight, we tend to lean on humour to soften the blow. I also like to wave my hands and yell "aaaaaargggghhhh!!!!!!" but that's beside the point.

Well, we'd reached the point in our argument where we are at the pinnacle of logic and respect:

"SCREW YOU!" I yelled, laughing.
"SCREW YOU!!" he yelled back, laughing.

Suddenly, from the very back seat of the van, a very sick, tired and exasperated voice chimed in:

"SCREW YOU BOTH!"

That would be Lili. I honestly thought that all the kids were asleep!

Ian and I laughed so hard that I almost had to pull over for fear of killing us all.