August has flown by SO fast, and the older I get, the faster time seems to go. Work was pretty slow during the first part of the month, so I was working on the projects that I had been avoiding all year – not so fun. Things have been picking up though, and I put on an event this last week, which is my favorite part of my job.
It was probably a good thing that work was slow, because the whole first part of the month I was completely preoccupied with figuring out what masters degree I want to get. I seemed to have a different plan for my life every day! I love international relations, but I feel like it would kind of limit me, because most of the jobs available in the field are here in DC. I love it out here and wouldn’t mind living out here permanently, but since I don’t know what the future holds and have a few other things I would like to happen in my life besides just getting an M.A. and having a career, I want to look for something more flexible. Right now we have a masters in International Relations, German Teaching, or Communications on the table. I could also pair the latter two with the certificate in International Studies I have been working on or the Communications master with an MBA. Whew! I’m tired just thinking about it!! If any of you have a strong preference here, let me know! :)
Uncle Phil was in DC this last week, so we got together for dinner and were able to catch up. It was great to hear from him about how you all are doing! Thanks again, Phil!
Finally, I found out this weekend that my babysitting job is coming to an end. For those of you who don’t know, for the past year I have been babysitting two kids, Sterling (girl, 8) and Jace (boy, 6). Their dad passed away about 4 or 5 years ago and their mom works night shifts every other weekend since she is a nurse and has to keep her hours up. So every other weekend I go to their house after work on Friday and stay with them until Sunday morning, when I drop them off at their grandparents’ house. This has been such a fulfilling part of my life since I pretty much NEVER see kids otherwise. There are so many singles and MWOKs (married couples without kids :) ) here in DC, that you hardly ever see children. (more about this on my public blog) Babysitting them helps me to stay grounded and remember that real life is about families and sacrifice – single life is nice, but it is pretty much always about me, me, me.
At any rate, their mom has found a great guy with four kids of his own and they are getting married on September 19th. Their mom said she would definitely be calling me to babysit all the kids when they needed someone, but it won’t be the same – I can’t fit all of them in my car like I can with just the two, so no more trips to DC, no weekend adventures. I can’t really complain though, I can already see how good it is for them to have a father figure and more siblings, and they all really love each other, so I couldn’t ask for more.
On the bright side we had a great weekend and I have one more weekend with just the two kids, so we are trying to make the most of it! Here are some pictures of them playing at a fountain at one of the outdoor malls:
