The Middle of the Night

I love being up in the middle of the night. The house is very quiet and I can write or ponder the events of the day. I peek in to check on the children every once in a while and watch their angelic faces in repose. It is the best time of the day for me.

Of course, staying up until the wee hours does have its drawbacks. I am sometimes very tired the next day, and a little irritable until I've had my morning coffe. The benefits make it worthwhile, though. This is my own, personal "me" time.

Since I've had children, I don't get away from the house much, not by myself anyway. I don't have girls' night out or go on dates with my husband very often. I don't have hobbies that I do alone (other than going to the gym). I'm not a big shopper. I do enjoy having quiet time alone, though, and this is how I get it.

Having time alone allows me to center myself. It lets me unwind and put everything into perspective. When I was younger I would go to the beach and sit on the cliffs overlooking the ocean or go hiking by myself. These things are now family activities, which is fine, but I feel distressed somehow if I don't get a little bit of time to myself each week.

Being a mom is all about compromise. It's about giving of ourselves and being available for our children. But we need to remember ourselves too. We need to remind ourselves that to be the best moms we can be, we have to find that little bit of "me" time.

Selective Senses

Isn't it funny that we can hear a newborn's whimper from 20 yards, but can completely block out the fracas caused by three or four 5-year-olds running through the house?

My eldest daughter's friend's mother brought my daughter home from a play date today. As we sat chatting for a minute on the sofa, our daughters and three preschoolers commenced running up and down the hallway, shouting enthusiastically. "I don't know how you do it," she said. "This would drive me completely crazy."

It does drive me a little crazy sometimes, but more often than not, I find myself just tuning it out. It's fairly easy to distinguish between a cry of pain or hurt feelings and a shout of joy and my ears are sometimes as deaf to the whoops as they are alert for the dismay.

This same sensory selectiveness occurs with vision and smells. A new mother can smell a dirty diaper across a crowded room, but might completely ignore the smell of wet dog after a summer rain. Blood is always an attention getter, but we might not even notice the disarray in the playroom. Well, maybe we notice it.

Perhaps our selective senses help to preserve us as we make our way through the terrible 2's, which I personally think should be called the terrible 3-5's. Are your senses selective? Do you find yourself just tuning out the ordinary chaos and focusing your radar on the unusual?

New Preschool

I have been teaching for most of my adult life and have finally found a way to incorporate my language skills, teaching experience and interests into a very worthwhile endeavor. In September, my new bi-lingual preschool will be opening. With Japanese classes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and English classes on Tuesday and Thursday, the children who attend will be taught a well-rounded, fun curriculum by native teachers.

I am a little late getting the word out, as I had to wait for approval on our location, but have high hopes for good initial enrollment numbers. Also, since I have been so busy planning this program, I haven't had much time to keep my blog updated. I will try not to be away so long in the future.

If you would like to see more information about the new preschool, located in Portland, Oregon, be sure to check out the website at http://www.nikonikojuku.com/