This weekend will be a lot of fun, and we don't have any huge plans. It's just going to be a normal weekend around the Family Wilds household. I was out of town for half the week conducting a workshop in Knoxville about working with students with disabilites for a really awesome group of educational assistants (I was hoping to sneak off in the evenings for some hikes I found through our friends at Appalachia and Beyond, but I tweaked my knee last weekend in a soccer game, so only rest for me - which meant a short walk to the downtown brewery).
The rest of my week before and after the workshop was spent in front of a computer screen in a windowless office developing new workshops for other school personnel. Don't get me wrong; I love it. Developing workshops is a lot of fun and conducting them is even more fun. Special education teachers and their in-school supports (assistants, therapists, administrators, etc.) have a really difficult jobs. They work with a diverse group of students with an endless range of learning influences, diagnostic symptoms and challenges. I admire them all and being able to do what I do is a real honor.
Having said that, it is mentally fatiguing at times, especially at the beginning of the school year. That's my story. What about Nea's? Well, she says the same about her position. She works with a broad range of service providers and caregivers for individuals with disabilities. She loves it and luckily she doesn't need to travel, but it is still equally draining in that really satisfying kind of way. That's why the weekends are so precious to us. We usually come home Friday evenings, play outside, eat dinner together - Nea, the little one and me - get the little one a bath, read some books, get her to bed, and then we sit back take a deep breath and relax. Friday's are amazing.
Then we fill our weekends with fun randomness. Tomorrow morning will be a daddy/daughter hike on a yet to be determined trail or two. Nea has to pull extra duty at home while I am out of town for workshops, so baby hiker and I try to give her a little space and quiet time when we can. Besides that, there really isn't anything better than alone time with my baby on beautiful and challenging trails. We have a party to go to after the little one's afternoon nap, followed by more daddy/daughter one-on-one time, as Nea and a close friend go out for the night. Sunday will bring another hike...maybe the Nashville Zoo...and a soccer game for me. Oh, and guess what came in the mail today! A few weeks ago we won a Deuter Speed Lite 30 Backpack
from the Deuter facebook page, and it was sitting on our doorstep begging to be taken out of the box and onto a trail. We're going to oblige ASAP. By the way, "like" Deuter on facebook, they frequently give away packs.
We know that Monday will bring more frantic work with looming deadlines, but it will also bring the promise of another Friday. Circumstance get tough, work gets exhausting, choices get hard, babies get summer colds, any number of things can and do go wrong. We're fortunate to be able to say that we are a happy family with everyhting we need to stay a happy family. Trust us, we do not take that for granted.
What are your plans for the weekend? Please remember to visit us and click the like button on our facebook page if you haven't yet. There is a great community of outdoors bloggers there that we'd love to introduce you to.
-Pablo
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