Wednesday, January 18, 2012

One Hour One Day Work Week Wednesdays



Currently all 4 kids are occupied- Jimmy is napping in the living room, Sawyer is watching Caillou next to him, Josie is already starting the teenage angst period and blasting iCarly music in her room.  And of course Baby Bart is here hanging out on the boppy on my lap.  Trying to type away while I keep my elbow raised so as not to bump his little nose. 
So you are probably sitting thinking to yourself “man, I would kill for such a leisurely work schedule!”  It would allow for so much free time to shop, lounge about, hit the spa….Ah, my friends, sorry to disappoint.  There is no such thing as a one hour job!  But to fully understand my life and my current “job”, you need to know the evolution of Cami’s career.  So here goes(close friends and relatives, sorry to bore you, but you can all use refreshers as to just how many jobs I have held- I like to call it Creative ADD).  Graduated from School of Visual Arts in 1999 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Certificate in Art Therapy(sort of like a minor in).  Then in chronological order I went on to hold each of these jobs, some simultaneously with others:
-taught preschool-aged children with Autism using Applied Behavior Analysis
-worked first as a Program Assistant then as a Program Coordinator in an Adolescent Partial Hospitalization Program(sort of like a day treatment program for teens with psych and substance abuse issues, etc.) at a behavioral health center, also helped run Pet Therapy groups and art groups with kids/teens both in the school there and the residential treatment center
-taught art at a Catholic school to grades k through 8
-worked as an Art Counselor at an organization that provides resources/support to patients & families affected by cancer, mainly with their children’s groups and their pediatric patients
-worked as a Child Life Specialist in a large hospital system(first full time, then 3 days a week after Josie was born, then PRN which means fill in, and now am temporarily retired to be home with my kiddos)
**more on what a Child Life Specialist is another day, but for those who are curious, please check out this website: www.childlife.org
-taught children’s art classes at a very cool art space
-painted designs on tin lunch boxes for a friend’s sister’s bow business(didn’t last long, but was grateful for the opportunity)
-started to illustrate a children’s book that a friend has written(don’t give up on me, Liz!  I am ready to finish it!!) This was put on hold once Sawyer surprised us with his debut.
-taught afterschool art classes at my old elementary school
-taught art classes at a large homeschool group in Fairfax
Which brings me to my current one hour job- teaching art to a group of girls who are homeschooled and meet once a week to take my classes and socialize.  Every week, we rotate to a different girl’s house and her mom is the “host” that week.  Usually this is not a problem as there is some sort of pattern we follow.  Though I did show up at the wrong house once last year and all the girls and their moms were at another house ten minutes away…So my Wednesday mornings usually go something like this: spend the morning doing my usual routine of making sure the middle two don’t kill each other or the dog all the while running back and forth to our storage room in the basement gathering my supplies for the day’s project which I load into various bags or my art cart which has made my life much easier.  If I have been really prepared that Wednesday, I will have my lesson plan completely finished and sample done for the girls to look at as well as art books of famous artists’ work to use to incorporate some art history into the lesson.  But anyone who knows me well, knows I thrive on procrastination- and like to work under pressure.  So this is what really happens.  I think up a lesson plan while trying to chug down some coffee, keep brainstorming as I am showering.  Showering which is one of the least relaxing things I can do when I am home with the boys and A.J. is at work and Josie is at school.  Load up the baby in the bouncy seat, bring him in the bathroom with me praying he will sleep the whole 5 minutes I shower.  More prayers as I step in the shower  that Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum will not injure, impale, electrocute, mangle, or in any way, shape or form, harm themselves.  Rush to get dressed and ready so I have enough time to breastfeed the baby before we go.  Praying again that my mother-in-law will be on time to watch Jimmy and Sawyer.  Frantically wipe down the bathroom and vacuum the main level of the house and take out the trash before my mother-in-law arrives.  Bleach is that woman’s best friend and my house is quite possibly the devil to her.  But she is a wonderful grandmother and I am grateful to anyone who willingly watches my boys and does not run screaming.  I throw together today’s outfits for the boys as they jump up and down on the couch in front of our very large windows , Jimmy in nothing but Phineas and Ferb briefs and Sawyer in a very wet diaper.  Mother-in-law arrives and I load up the art supplies, grab Bart and head off.  Usually arrive at that week’s host house either right on time or a few minutes late.  But thankfully I have found that homeschooling moms are some of the most understanding employers ever since they know where I am coming from.  While I do not have the patience for it with my own kids, I admire them for what they are giving their children.  I slow down usually after the first 10 minutes of settling in and starting the class, enjoy some art time with the girls before clean up and rushing to get home to breast feed the baby.  Pull up to the house, walk in and there they are bouncing like maniacs on the couch again lobbing pillows at me and Bart.  Mother-in-law says they were “complete angels” for her.  Well apparently the halos turn to horns the minute the Gray Goose and mom pull in the driveway.
*****A huge thank you to my “Hunky” A.J., my mom, my mother-in-law, my sisters, sister-in-law who all pitch in when necessary so I can keep my toes wet in the fields I love so much! And many thanks to all of you who helped to influence my crazy career path and who have helped me acquire many of these jobs through word of mouth. 

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