TGIF

Thank God it's Friday! This week was nice, but it always feels even nicer to come to a weekend. Even if I'm working :)

Jane previously asked how I wound up in my job. I suppose I should tell you about my job first... I am at a Catholic church, as a "director of religious education" officially.... unofficially, that means I do a whole lot of stuff for kids /families from birth to grade 5. Even more unofficially, we're required to be team players and help out on all sorts of random things, like fundraisers or thank you dinners or Very Important Masses. And most of the staff likes to collaborate and support each other, so we also find ourselves at things like Senior Luncheons, or helping folks with their computer (?), or organizing a parish wide picnic.

Kade becomes part of the Church family.

Oh, officially I'm also in charge of preparing folks for the Sacraments of Initiation- Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist (Communion). Reconciliation falls in there too, and so anyone of any age who wants those sacraments comes through "my" ministries. Technically, there's 6 programs I manage. We have over 50 wonderful volunteers who really make those ministries happen- my job is more of setting things up to make sure they can do it, both logistics and formation wise. Our parish has about 12oo-1500 families, and "my" ministries serve about 120-150 a year. We're considered small for our area.

Deacon talks about Mass with little kids & their parentals.

But how did I wind up here? Short answer- God. Medium answer- a friend (also a member at the church) told me about the position, and I applied, and ta-da. Longer answer- Way back in the day, when I was trying to decide what to major in, I talked to a bunch of people and realized the actual degree was probably more important than the major (especially because I had ruled out specific areas like biology!). Deciding to focus on what I'd enjoy learning about, that narrowed it down to theology, english or theater (I know, right?). Theology seemed, please forgive me, the easiest option. Less reading and writing (not exactly) and less competition (mostly true).

Youth acting/praying the Stations of the Cross.

From there, I've done about 4 "professional" jobs. They've been either educational or religion-related, though this is the first time I've worked directly for the Church (it's never been a career goal). I've also done 2 years of service (which led to one of the jobs) and I've turned down maybe 3 or 4 jobs. In every single case of a job offer, it's people who already know me. Anyway, to wrap up this long answer, my choice of college led to my choice of the major, which led to me meeting certain groups of people (orders of priests), which led to... this place! Ta-da :)

The Second Day at Work means...

Conference time! Tuesday, Jim and I were required to attend a daylong conference on "Stewardship" with the rest of the staff. We brought Kaden along. He's quite the social butterfly... stared at anyone who looked at him, and was smiling at a few of our coworkers (who he's seen a few times already!). We timed it out, so that as the keynote started, he'd have his 2nd breakfast and then nap. Eating- not a problem. Sleeping? With all these new people around to smile at him? Not so much! He was, thankfully, really quiet... it seemed like he was just taking it all in. Jim was able to get him to sleep during the break (!), so we slipped him into the MobyWrap and off I went to the first workshop.

The babe, God bless him, slept through the entire workshop AND the first part of Mass. I was fairly worried when he woke up during the homily, as he's used to being changed and fed right after his morning nap. But he rolled with the punches, looking around and then hanging with a coworker for a while. Other than the occassional "aah!" he again was quiet!

Lunch comes, and he's grinning and laughing and having a good ole' time with everyone. He continues this *through* the second keynote, so we took an outside stroll (thank God this particular parish has beautiful grounds, including flowers, palm trees and a fountain!). When it's time for the second and last workshop of the day, Jim is trying to get Kaden down for his afternoon nap... only now the boy won't have any part of it! We consider ditching this last part and heading home early, then decide that Jim will do the strolling/get him to sleep while I attend one and fill him in later.

You know what's coming, right? Because most of you already HAVE kids and have been through this 'plan-a-day-with-an-infant' thing. Not so much us, the new parents, who tend to take our good luck and push it past the breaking point EVERY time. Short story: I went to the workshop, Jim got Kade to sleep but he woke up waaay too earlier, and was cranky and crying for the rest of the day!

So the third day of work? We called off. Just kidding! We actually had planned to take today off, as our crazy hours add up on the other days this week. But we do have a conference we need to attend on Saturday, so we're thinking we'll ditch the 'first-football-game' experience for Kaden at my alma mater on Friday and lay low for a few days. And actually leave early if he's fussy next time!

Three Months Means... back to work

Yup. Today was it. First day back in the office. I'm not sure what I expected, and the day was... fine. I managed to answer most emails, delegate a few tasks, return a few calls, catch up with half my coworkers and eat brownie cake. It all felt comfortable... and at the same time, very unfamiliar. I couldn't remember which keys went to which door, or where I kept certain files, or why I had made certain decisions about the programs' calendars. And the whole time I had a distinct feeling that I was supposed to be somewhere else. Of course, everyone who saw me wanted to know where was the baby and how was he doing: so mostly I talked about him all day long anyway!

If I'm back at work, it means three months has passed, and ---- wait! Where's the 3 months picture, you ask? Funny you should mention it...

First, I should tell you that photos are getting slightly harder. While he can't crawl away yet, he still seems pretty active:

Then, you should know that he LOVES sitting upright, and will often strain and grunt his way into a semi-up sitting position. So when he's propped up, he likes to check out what's happening.

What he was staring at so intently?

The TV.

I'd be more upset about it, but it was college football... so I figure it must be genetic.

Finally, know that Kaden IS happier (and chattier) with each passing day. Not that you can tell, because the smile disappears whenever the camera comes out. Should make for interesting holiday photos, eh?

Happy THREE months, baby boy! Here's to a zillion more!