Friday, August 31, 2007

Kissing August Goodbye....


August begins the year in this household. Our school year still runs mid-August to late May, although many school districts across the country now follow a variety of schedules. Honestly, I have no idea how people function without summer, and I have no intention of finding out. Year-round school would be the catalyst into home schooling for me, most likely. I'm not too big on change.

That change issue is most certainly why I dislike August more than any other month. We've just settled into a summer schedule that gets shot to hades. We get to deal with a new batch of teachers, even though I know most of them. I get to wonder if my schedule will change yet again at work. I am a speech-language pathologist in the public schools, and have between six and eight buildings on my caseload, so I'm constantly in motion. It is a plus, in my opinion, but still, I'm constantly tweaking a schedule that in no universe will make every teacher or administrator happy.

Tomorrow is September first. Not any noticeable change in weather, yet I love the sound of the word, because after September comes October. I adore October, and I know I'm not alone. The weather is a delight. My birthday is in October, as is my anniversary. It's a very, very good month.

August was a month of changes in my family as well. Hubby is back at home after a three months of business travels. We bought a new puppy, something any sane family chooses to do two weeks before school starts, and decided to keep three of the five kittens we bottle fed this summer. No one else would tolerate the little monsters, anyway; they jump through the air and latch onto your back, pants leg, or sleeves if you ignore them.

The worst of my "back to school and work" mania is over for now. Children are settled in, study schedules are lined out, football games are in full swing, and the puppy knows three whines lands him in bed with my husband (the big softie). I have made a little time for writing, family and work have consumed the rest, and now I'm ready to catch up on everyone else's blogs and news.

Autumn, here we come.

7 comments:

Renee said...

Hey Gillian,

We have a new puppy too! Yours is adorable. I look forward to school starting back up, it means my kids belong to me and not the neighborhood. It means that I no longer have to play second mom to all the kids that somehow find their way to my house.

Glad everything is getting back to normal for you and that you are getting some writing done.

by the way I stopped by an author's site and their you were. How nice to put a face to a KS neighbor.

Hope you enjoy September.

Anonymous said...

Awwww, they're so cute!!!

Good to see you again, Gillian. I hope to see you around more now that life is settling down.


Alice

Gillian Layne said...

Hi Renee and Alice! Thanks for stopping by.... :)

Ericka Scott said...

I, too, adore autumn!

Lenora Bell said...

That pic of the puppy and kitten was too, too cute!! You kept three of the five kittens? That's very sweet. Does that make you a crazy cat lady? No, because you're married. I think they have to be spinsters.

What a wonderful profession. You are helping so many people. I admire your job immensely. Have you ever thought about writing a romance centered around the origins of speech pathology?

Happy autumn to you.

Tessa Dare said...

Ooh, I second everyone's adoring comments re: the pets, and I also second Lenore's suggestion about the speech-therapy romance. Hey, you could have had Jervaulx talking halfway through Flowers From the Storm!

Gillian Layne said...

It's funny; I write because it's about as opposite of the "day job" as I can get, but the thought of using that knowledge in a book has crossed my mind as well....

Anyway, a huge shout-out to Lisa Kleypas for nailing the dysfluency in her "Winter" story. She was spot-on, and I was very impressed. However, it is Kleypas, and I imagine I would be impressed with anything she wrote, up to and including her grocery list. :)