Where Did September Go?

The fall has brought more than the changing leaves and cooler weather to our household. Fall has brought a major change to my schedule, one that still has me reeling and my head spinning as I am trying to gain some control over it all.

In July I started working at Wesley Spectrum Services as a Behavior Support Specialist and Mobile Therapist in the Family and Child Development Center. What does that mean? I am a behavior therapist in the wraparound program, over seeing and contributing to therapeutic interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders. When I accepted this position I knew it would be part time, to earn some more money and to stay current in my field (and release some of the stress of having a masters degree in social work and not using it). I thought I would have one or two cases, work a few hours a week and learn a lot.

I also started a tutoring business last year, Reach and Succeed Tutoring, providing services for students in a variety of subjects. All tutoring takes place in my home so that Cooper can be here while I work. I had high hopes for the tutoring, and things went well in my first year. But over the summer I only had one student and wondered every day whether the tutoring was ever going to go anywhere.

Well, here comes September and all of a sudden I find myself with 13 hours worth of cases at Wesley (which means roughly 15 hours of work) and 7 tutoring students for 8 hours per week (one student comes two hours per week) plus prep time. So, I have gone from working a few hours a week to suddenly working between 20 and 25 hours per week.

My how my days have changed!! Thankfully, Cooper goes to the babysitter on Thursday and Friday. Un-thankfully, I now have no days without work, and that includes weekends.

So today I say good-bye to September and the shock to my system it has brought me. I hope that October brings me some calm in this madness and a way to balance my new, much more hectic, schedule.