Rain

We had the first bit of winter rain today. Love how fresh the air smells. We had an 'excuse' to stay out in the rain for a bit since the house is being painted on Tuesday and tomorrow, the painting company will powerwash the outside. So everything near the house had to be moved 5 ft. away. I enjoyed the sprinkles - not enough to get soaked but a little wet. The dogs got excited because I was excited - then came outside and quickly ran back in...over and over like 'why is she so excited? It's just wet'. They don't like the rain much but I LOVE IT. (I will need to read this post sometime this winter when I'm sick, sick, SICK of the rain, which invariably happens). B. was excited because rain here usually means snow up north and he is looking forward to snowboarding - counting the predicted rain storms and planning to hit the slopes as soon as possible. Missing last season because of his knee was really hard and he's really looking forward to this season.

B. has also decided to drop the jazz class at the college on Mondays. It's just not working. He's up most nights until midnight doing homework. On Mondays, we don't get home until close to 11 which means his 2-3 hours of homework is done until the early morning hours of Tuesday. It isn't worth having the class be an extra 'stressor'. It is supposed to be a 'treat' and fun. But it's not going to work. If we didn't have the 30+ minute commute to and from, it might be more do-able - but I pick him up after jazz band at school and we have an hour or so at home before we have to head back over the Altamont to the college. No time for him to make much headway on the homework. It's too bad because he was enjoying it. But he's been asked to play for the Main Street Music jazz band which practices on Saturday mornings and plays various gigs in Tracy. He's enjoying that.

I am going to apply for a job in Business Services at the school district the kids attend in Tracy. It pains me to think of leaving the college - specifically, the people at the college. But applying doesn't mean I'll be leaving - so it can't hurt to apply. I would take the job in a heartbeat if it were offered - a 10 minute commute vs. an hour. I would be close to home, close to the kids and working for a growing school district. So it's worth considering. I will get my letters of reference in order tomorrow and get the application process going. We'll see. I'm not good at 'change'. But jobs in Business in a school district don't open up very often so I can't miss out on applying. This job may not open again for years. So I'll go for it. I've looked at other opportunities and typically, the benefits don't compare - making any savings in gas and any increase in salary a 'wash' or even have me bringing home less. The benefits at the college are INCREDIBLE and having them is something that is hard to walk away from. So we'll see.