Where does the time go...

It seems like I just posted but it's been days and days. This post will probably be less about Ava and more about me, since nothing is really new in Ava land. Right now I am sick and I HATE being sick! Last Monday I started doing after school care for the YMCA, and I had a feeling I would probably catch something from the kids. Kids are always sick, which is a big reason why I don't want Ava in daycare yet. I know that it is inevitable that she will get sick someday; I also know that by catching a cold it will boost her immune system; however, her getting sick for the first time is my biggest fear. She still seems too little and fragile to get sick. Plus I dread using the "nose-hose." I have been doing everything I can to minimize the risk of catching something, but it seems like I always catch whatever is out there. Brent has been sick a total of 2 times in the five years we've been together. I have been sick more times than I can count. I don't know why that is, considering he doesn't do anything particularly healthy. Perhaps this is evidence for the breast feeding vs. bottle feeding debate - Brent was breast fed, I was not.

Anyway, my point is that I am sick, and it sucks, and I don't want my little bear to catch it, so I am refraining from kissing her squishy puffy cheeks. That sucks too, since they are irresistible. I bought some Airborne and drank that nasty stuff. Let's hope it works.

About my job at the Y - there really are no words to describe it, except maybe sheer chaos. The ratio is about 110 kids to 6 counselors; we are outnumbered. Plus, the kids know that we can't really do anything to them (it is against DCFS rules to even make them write sentences) so they basically ignore us for the most part. I spend my 4 hours there yelling my head off and making sure the kids don't hurt themselves or someone else. Let me just say that when I was in elementary school I NEVER acted the way some of these kids do. I don't know of many kids in my school that did. One of my co-workers said that it is a combination of the school and the parents, but these kids are terrible! Total lack of respect for authority and inability to follow directions or rules. So frustrating. I watch the parents come and pick the kids up at 5 or 6pm, and they look worn out from working all day, and I truly think that the parents are just too worn out to deal with the kids. This just further fuels my belief that one parent should spend less time at work in order to be with the kids. Raising kids is a job in itself; I think if you are trying to do both, work all the time and raise kids, one of those things is going to suffer. Unfortunately, I think for many of these kids, it's the parenting that suffers.

Ah well, I am done with my ranting for the day. Time to guzzle down some more Airborne and go to bed. I hope that when I wake up I will magically feel better. Good night.