On my parenting report card I would fail at sharing

Image: Stuart Miles/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Remember your elementary school report card that had that section called citizenship to grade your social skills? If you got a check mark in "plays well with others" it was a safe bet that you'd gotten into a few classroom or playground beefs.

If there were a parenting report card with a similar citizenship section, I'm more than sure I'd fail at "likes to share with children."  It seems that as a parent, I've become somewhat more territorial about my personal belongings.  This is especially the case when I have a favorite food item.

See the problem is I already know how things will end.  I know my kids.  My daughter will quietly sneak up and tap me on the shoulder just as I prepare to bite into a cupcake.  It will be a day she has felt she doesn't need a nap, and will have stayed awake in bed throughout "nap time."  She will be acting slightly shy of a lunatic, because she's tired.  Yet, a half hour before bed she'll think it's a great idea for Mom to share her cupcake.

At least she would happily eat it.  My son, on the other hand, will instinctively reach his chubby fingers in the direction of my snack or meal.  If my reflexes are faster and I move the object of his desire, crying or tantrum will ensue.  If I cave in, and decide to offer him whatever I'm eating, he will most often take it. 

However, a few seconds later his mouth will hang open as if his jaw was hinged, and the food immediately falls to the floor, as if he has a trap door under his tongue.  Then I'm left looking at a partially-mangled piece of food--a morsel I would have surely savored--but that has now been lost forever at the whim of a persnickety toddler.

So I've begun to find ways to avoid sharing.  Like hiding goodies until nap time rolls around, or sneaking into my closet and eating a candy bar that was hidden in a secret compartment of my purse.  I know.  I have already gotten a check mark in the column "likes to share with children."  I promise to work on it.  Someday.

Oh so good: Posole Rojo

While pregnant with my daughter I happened to try a soup at a Mexican restaurant called posole (pozole).  I was immediately hooked on the rich taste.  Poor hubs was on a first name basis with the staff there by the time I had my baby--I had to have that soup!

I was really intimidated with the idea of trying to make this soup at home.  When I scoured the internet for recipes, most involved a multi-step process to get a batch of ancho or red chilies to flavor the soup.  It looked pretty involved.  I had to look up what exactly hominy was.  Turns out it just corn kernels that are soaked in an alkali solution to remove the husk and seed germ, and cause the kernel to puff up.

So I experimented and came up with a recipe that may not be quite authentic, but is lick-the-bowl delicious!  Here's how you make this deliciousness:

An unsettled life

Image: Nicolas Raymond/Stockvault

I'm realizing more each day that my days are no longer as predictable as I'd enjoyed previously.  You know the familiarity and sense of comfort that comes from having a general routine?  Well that's gone away now for me, at least for a little while. 

It's funny, though, how you start to get that sense of something being "meant to be."  For the past nearly 6 months or so I had been growing increasingly dissatisfied with my job.  Although I didn't work more than four shifts a month I'd started feeling a sense of dread when it came time to do so.  Then more recently I started to get headaches--pounding, throbbing ones--whenever I knew that I was on schedule to work.

My husband, great guy that he is, gave me the option of leaving my job and staying home with the kids for a while.  Although I was ecstatic about the possibility, I've almost always worked from the time I was 14, and despite how I felt about my job I was terrified at the thought of leaving.  I prayed and prayed some more over this, and we decided that I would leave my job either January or February 2013, and I could then decide, after some time off, what exactly I wanted to do.

The momentum definitely shifted after I finally got the long awaited invitation to start the advanced placement RN program I've waited so long to start.  I would definitely be leaving my job now so as to focus fully on my education.  With a sense of relief I typed my resignation letter this week.  I decided to speak with my supervisor directly, just out of respect for the nearly 7 years that I've worked for the company, to let her know that I would only be there for two weeks more.

The conversation was so anti-climactic.  I'd never been a bad employee, heck I'm on their website in a video for nurse recruitment!  There were no thank-yous offered for years of service or commitment.  Only a quick "Good luck and keep us posted on your progress." With that it was over.  

And that's when that feeling of my new path being meant to be swept over me.  The choice had been made for me, and I completely understand that it's time now for me to go in the direction of my dreams.