The General Update

Another day, another cold. Actually, it's more of an alternation (is that a correct form?) between a good week and a sick week. Frustrating. That's what I get for working with little kids. If I were to be entirely pessimistic about my job I would summarize my days like this:
Changing diapers
Potty training
Tantrums
Mediating toy conflicts
Wiping runny noses
Incessant noise and movement
Putting on and taking off shoes, socks, coats, and dress up clothes
Knee high sinks and tables, tiny chairs, and lots of bending over
Semi-constant smell of poop (and I thought I had left that behind with my China plumbing...)

So surprisingly, besides the sick factor, there are a lot of days when I like my job. The kids are cute. There are several kids who just go around smiling almost all the time. Others run up and grab your legs. I like rubbing their backs to calm them down at nap time (anything to make them fall asleep!). Sometimes they wake up all sleepy or a little bit sad and need somebody to hold them. Sometimes they need you to run around and bang drums with them. And they are funny. There is one kid who tries to throw tantrums and he's just really bad at it. He goes off into this fake crying thing and then pauses to see who's watching or gets distracted by a toy before he remembers he was supposed to be upset. We have to laugh at him sometimes. They ride around on their tricycles with perfect displays of road rage. When one person gets hurt, everybody wants an ice pack. They expect you to be super excited when they use the potty, and you are (excited that you didn't have to change wet clothes). They wave at airplanes, lovingly harass insects, and fall down for the fun of it. They listen to story after story. They are all crazy about trains, princess dresses, and crackers.
At the end of the day, no one dies and everyone goes home to their parents. There's something satisfying in that.

Besides my job, the rest of life, besides the sick factor, is going well. We got to go back to Georgia to be with my family for Christmas. From there, we drove up to Kentucky for my friend Mallary's wedding. I had a fun time seeing a lot of college friends. We also got to spend New Years Eve with my family, after our original flight back was canceled. Now we are back, as you might have heard, it has been raining in California. We didn't get too much of the flooding and bad storms in our area, but it was still quite an event. Our Christmas tree, which survived our week-long abandonment, is quietly morphing into a January tree. January is kind of a blah month. I think more people should keep a tree around for company. Kevin and I have been married for three months and we still like each other a lot. I am best friends with my crockpot. I have a year's supply of Airborne. And there are just a few more weeks of football left.
So, yep, besides the sick factor, things are pretty good.