Reflection & Rejuvenation: March

Remember last month when many of you were really worried about me, my relationship, and my life in general? Well, things got a lot better fast. Don’t get me wrong; things haven’t been all peaches and cream (is that an expression?), but I almost immediately stopped feeling trapped. The three babysitters I was able to reach out to at the end of January helped me get out of the house and into the community, so I could start working on Magnolia Montessori For All. They seriously saved me from a complete meltdown. In retrospect, I feel bad being so dramatic. Honestly, I could have waited another month before getting started on my big dreams, but at the time, I really did feel like I was getting to the very limits of my capacity to stay home full-time.

The part of my life that hasn’t been all rosy has to do with feeling fearful and anxious as I undertake my big, scary, audacious goals. Part of me thinks, “Why pursue something that makes you feel that way? Why not do something more relaxing and easy?” Reading my friend’s blog about her own quest to face down her fears has been really inspiring.

It’s also hard to be in a new city (I swear Austin’s traffic is way more frustrating than Houston’s–how is that possible?). I’ve been really pushing myself to meet new friends (hi, Monja and Tod d!) to rebuild the connections I left behind in Houston.

The pocket neighborhood idea is progressing, but the real estate piece has been tricky and slow.

All in all, things are definitely on the up and up. I found an acceptable daycare for Henry, which means our lives are about to significantly shift. Matt will take Henry every morning, which means I will have a huge chunk of uninterrupted time to schedule meetings and work. In April, I will start my part-time job as the Director of Operations and Compliance for a new charter school in East Austin. I’ve been working in that capacity since the fall, but I’ll start getting paid in April and consistently dedicating 20 hours a week. I’ll also be part of a regular professional community again, which is hugely exciting to me!

Let’s check in and see how I did on my monthly intentions:

Create a project plan for the year for Montessori For All: Yes! And we had our first board meeting!
Host Henry’s first birthday party: Yes!
Get an Austin library card: Nope. Need to change all of our address stuff first.
Change everything to our new address: No. This kind of logistical stuff has completely fallen by the wayside this month. [insert self-forgiveness]
Do one sun salutation before bed every night: No. I’m not sure why not. It’s only one!
Practice my mantra “let it go:” Some but not enough.
Update our scrapbook: I can’t find our scrapbook at the moment…
Seek out joy in my new city: Hmm…I wouldn’t say “joy,” per se. We did go to a coffee shop concert and to a farm for dinner. Henry and I have had play dates with new friends, we’ve tried new restaurants, and I’ve had nights out by myself. I guess it’s a little joy, but not a ton.

So, March, you are upon us already. Hello! And welcome! I need to go back to my yearly goals in order to establish my monthly goals:

Complete the Vision and Business Plan for Magnolia Montessori For All
Pull together a Montessori design team to help revise the charter application
Present at a Texas Montessori conference
Get business cards designed and printed
Finish our taxes
Change our address for everything (including license)
Completely finish unpacking the house
Run at least four times a week

Although I’m going to take serious strides forward with Montessori For All, the rest of my time is going to be about equilibrium. We need to get the center in order.

——————
Today on 2000 Dollar Wedding: Read the book update!

7 Comments

Anonymous

February 29, 2012 at 4:44 pm Reply

Austin has some of the most frustrating highways I've ever seen and they're always under construction. It's also tough coming from Houston where you have 10 highways to get to one place, but Austin just has I-35 going through it (not I-10 and I-45 and all those loops). Why are there overpasses instead of U-turns under the highway!? (The D-student road planners had to get jobs somewhere :P)

You'll find more things and places to make you happy in Austin. It's so much more outdoorsy and so much less pollution. You'll have to take Henry to see the bats fly our from Congress bridge and Zilker Park is supposed to be nice. There are a few places my parents took my nieces that they all seemed to like.

Carrie

February 29, 2012 at 5:20 pm Reply

Sara, glance through this blog to see what this woman did with her kids in Austin. They lived there for years, and are currently moving to Ft. Worth. They are outdoorsy folks, and I recall several posts with some hikes and whatnot.

http://lagliv.blogspot.com/

Sarah

February 29, 2012 at 5:37 pm Reply

Having moved to Austin from Connecticut a little over a year ago, I can totally relate to the traffic frustration – and how hard it is to meet people in a new city. I continue to experience both of these feelings!

I'll echo the recommendation for Zilker Park – great for human kiddos and canine kiddos alike. 🙂 This Sunday is the kite festival at Zilker – great excuse to pack a picnic and head to the park. It's a ton of fun (crowded, but fun!) and I bet your little guy would love all the amazing kites you'll see there. Last year, I felt like it was the perfect welcome to Spring!

Rosie

February 29, 2012 at 11:31 pm Reply

I definitely don't even consider taking I-35 between 4pm to 7:30pm… if I'm leaving work later than that, then I'll check google maps on my phone to see how the traffic looks.

Monja

March 1, 2012 at 4:28 pm Reply

It was great to meet you and Matt, Sara! Transitions are hard, especially when you leave behind a home and community that you love. I'm hopeful that you can build a similarly supportive community here. From what I know about you, you can do it – you've only been here a few weeks and you're already starting!

If there's one thing I can say for Austinites, it's that they like to have a good time. Just give it time, the joy is coming!

And, yes, avoid I-35 at all costs!!

saracotner

March 1, 2012 at 4:40 pm Reply

Monja, your thank-you card was awesome! Hilarious and well-designed. Thank you! I hope we can get together again soon..

Natalie

March 2, 2012 at 2:52 am Reply

Sara, the Austin library thing can be done before you change your addresses! As long as you have one piece of mail that you can bring in at your new address with your name on it, you can get a card. I also think a librarian once told me that you could live anywhere in the state of Texas and check out a book…though I'm not 100% on that one.