ALL BOXED IN!

So it's been a very busy 1st week back for this teacher-mother-wife-student-dance director...wow! I had a couple of blog topics but decided to write on one that has gotten a couple of laughs from my friends. Ummm...I haven't decided if they are laughing at me or with me, but I'm hoping it's the latter...HA!
I kept contemplating how in the world I was going to achieve my many goals. If ever there was a time in my life when I have felt like my plate was full, it is NOW!  I jumped into panic mode for a second, and then came up with a simple solution to try to manage it all.

A DREADED SCHEDULE!

It's not so much that a schedule is a negative thing. After all, my students and I follow one everyday like clockwork.  It's just that the schedule has made it to my personal life.  As a creative person, I have always resisted the "S" word for fear that I would feel "boxed in"...just like the little boxes I created with my handy dandy Word Document.  However, I decided to see the positive in this and kicked my schedule into action on Monday,

FYI: I tried to post my schedule but the table is all over the page and looks crazy...sorry!
 
(Note: This schedule will probably be revised several times before I find that just right formula.  Also, my summer classes that begin in May are 4 days a week instead of two....yeah...another revision.) 

Ummm...it's pretty detailed and has some areas of wiggle room, but not much.  Honestly, my 1st week was rough. We had car trouble and that threw a monkey wrench of sorts through the beginning of the week.  I then made my lovely friend, Nikki, promise to take me along with her when she went to the nail salon for pedicure night on Thursday. ( I'll blog about that later.)

Lesson plans were completed today instead of Wednesday so I'll be rushing into the building on Monday morning to make my copies.  I'm really trying to break this habit, because it is really cramping my style.
I'm learning about myself as I try to play "superwoman" from now until June. I'm trying not to be too hard on myself when something isn't completed. First off, schedules are there as a template.  It is great if you can do it all, but there is always another path to accomplishing a task.  Though, I don't want to always choose the frantic rushing path, I do want to be conscious that some things won't get done in the little box of times that I have allotted for myself.

The major issue is that I have a very beautiful almost 15 month old who does not understand schedule in the terms that I have set for myself.  Yes, she has become accustomed to some routines, but teething, breastfeeding, and illness can definitely lead to Umi stepping out of the box for a minute.

As with all things, I find the beauty and humor in my little boxes.  They look so perfect and neat with everything in place and nothing out of line.  So, I've decided to use my pretty little boxes as a guide, because life is definitely not a straight path.  There are winding roads and rough terrains that this Umi wants to explore and ultimately conquer. I'm taking my little boxes on a tour of duty for 6 months to achieve a goal. But honey,  I can't wait to release my pretty little squares when the days grow long and hot and squares can no longer compete with the roundness of my sun (light)!

This is Zuri's Umi...follow my chronicles!