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One of the great side effects of blogging is hearing from
readers. Now like Yelp, I usually hear from readers who LOVE the blog and then
from people who like to criticize. It's either 5 stars or 1 star comments, so to speak. My inner critic always gets a little twinge
when I get negative feedback. It's probably because sometimes, there is a kernel of truth in the
criticism.
Recently, a reader asked if my blog was going to be fun
again. What? I’m not fun anymore?
Part of me must admit, I have far less blog content not
being in the schools every day. Now that it’s summer, the material is
definitely scarce. And true, stories about Baby B’s development aren’t going to
cut it for weekly posts either (dang it, she’s my favorite topic). As a result,
I have MAJOR writer’s block. Even Amazon Kindle sent me an email threatening to
cut me off if I didn’t post something. The pressure! So, I think of a post and
then freak out that 4000 people will read it and think, “Meh. She used
to be fun.” I asked people on my Facebook page for the blog to give advice, and
people said to just write something. So here you go—a mediocre post.
While I suffer through my writers block, another part of me
wants to whine, “Heyyyyy, you don’t think I’m still fun since I took time off
to be with my baby?” I have to admit, while some readers may not think I’m fun
anymore, this has been the best year of my life to date. Being a mom as my job is
awesome.
I mean, I get to go to baby sign language class and learn
how to sign all the animals, just in case there is an escaped lion at the zoo
and Baby B sees it first and she can alert me when even though she is pre-verbal.
I get to take baby Spanish class and sing about mariposas
while dancing around with scarves as my wings as Baby B squeals in delight.*
I
get to take naps with an adorable tiny person on my chest.
I get to see
cognitive development happen before my eyes in subtle and remarkable ways. When
you know the social skills behind Peek-a-Boo, it makes it more than a silly
baby game--it's significant learning! Being a mama really is the best vacation I’ve ever had from the chaos and
madness of being a school psychologist in a large urban school district. This
break just might be the best burnout prevention intervention ever. And while my
posts may not be fun right now, I know that Baby B thinks I’m fun. Because this
is my life lately (excuse the commercial in the clip):
Yep, I have my Masters in Got Your Nose and my Ph.D. in
Peek-a-Boo. And I can assure you all, my Peek-a-Boos are not aggressive and do
not have too much masculine energy!
So be patient, friends, I will be back in full swing with
fun posts about dysfunction junction in the schools (and advice for surviving it all) in the fall. In the
meantime, [shameless plug alert] you can read my
new book, which is full of fun stories and information about
surviving the crazy life of a school psychologist! Hey, you can’t blame me for
the shameless plug, all these baby classes aren’t free. ;)
*My bestie makes fun
of me and all my baby classes. She left a voicemail the other day saying,
“You’re probably at baby French cooking class, so call me when you get back.”
Humph! Shows what she knows, I was at Kindermusic, singing under a parachute.