Typing-Thinking

BEWARE: This will read a lot like DEAR DIARY
(as if the rest of my entries haven't...)

It's been a draining couple of weeks here as we've wrestled with issues of housing, education, employment, and finances. The biggest concerns on the table had to do with whether the kids should be in "school" right now, whether our family should move to a *better* school district for Dane's entrance into Kindergarten next year, and whether we'd have a better quality of life in a small house (where no neighbors live below skipping, hopping, energetic kids) with a fenced backyard (for $500 more a month and bigger loans).

Amidst this are Mick's concerns regarding dental school, particularly his performance (second and third quarters are particularly demanding, stressful), and his lack of a consistent study group (a consequence of not living in downtown San Fran with the majority of the students).

Perhaps needless to say, the stuff to do with family and kids and moving can be an even crazier stressor to add to the mix for a dental student, and it soon became evident to me that I was sweating the small stuff. When it came down to it, I began to recognize that there were some shortcomings and shortsightednesses in my thinking; perhaps more accurately, I was being impatient.

That's not to say that the issues on my mind weren't significant or were easily remedied; it is to say, though, that I was jumping the gun. If we do move to Mill Valley (which is the neigboring town with superior school system and friendly community) we have until late next summer to do so in order to get Dane in school there. Secondly, we're actually doing quite fine here with the big community back yard (even if the need to keep floor noise down in our individual unit is a bit of a pain). And, lastly, we don't need to spend $800/month on 6 hours/week for pre-school, especially when the Mill Valley Community Center has ample programs and social opportunities for the kids for a fraction of the price (including our $400 scholarship there!). (Yes, that was $800 a month for two kids at six hours a week; this is common in Marin, but I blush to say "What was I thinking???")

I'm sure I'm missing some of the major factors and details in here, but when I slap these printed up blogs together in a notebook and reflect on them in fifteen years, maybe all the details won't matter. Maybe what will matter is that I'll recall the uncertainty around such times and the willingness one has to have to work through these things patiently and thoroughly.

-Anjie