I decided to start my midlife crisis early this year. I was let go from my OT job at the retirement community. It would appear that our new administration and myself came to irreconcilable differences. Which is fine with me since they were pushing me to go to a 5 day+ work week, stopped paying me for holidays, overtime and took away the monthly volunteer paid time off(without really telling anyone). I usually found out afterwards on my time card. So it actually seems to have been a good thing.

I had the chance to look into other job openings and found a new position with a health care contract company in a nearby nursing home, working the hours I want with a raise and paid everything(holidays, overtime). And I only have to work 32 hours to be considered a full time employee with full time benefits(not available at my last job). So I start orientation in May and we move into the nursing home facility on June 1st.  I am looking forward to a lot less stress and the excitement of starting with a new company that actually seems to care about their staff.

So I had an interview last Friday and was hired the following Saturday. To celebrate with my extra time off, I decided to make an appointment with an endodontist. I had been waiting to see someone about my previous root canal that was still bothering me. After 3.5 hours in the dentist chair, the endodontist decided she was not quite sure what was up, but noticed that my roots pretty much run up into my skull! So she is trying to treat my tooth with some type of medication/steroid for the roots that were missed, and I go back in a month. It actually already feels better. It was my poor jaw that suffered the most after being pried open for over 3 hours!And the best thing is, she did not crack my crown.(yet).

So much fun! But life goes on. Tom was out of town the first week, so I was busy running around with the kids(boy scouts mostly). I had to help Tom and Scott pack up for their Bike/Hike weekend. And Scott decided to cook for his Cooking merit badge, so we needed to make up a menu and buy supplies. We also had to pick up all the scout gear(tents/tables and cooking supplies). I actually missed my girl scout leader meeting so I could attend Scott's boy scout meeting and pick up camping gear. Tom returned home from LA on Thursday night, so he had plenty of time to shop for supplies and  pack the van before heading off to Western Maryland on Friday afternoon. I also had to pick out a bike for Scott since he outgrew his last bike. He ended up riding my bike! Tom opted for the hike. They strolled/rode up and down the C and O canal with Scott's group biking 20 miles and they had a very nice weekend. (Scott's butt is still sore from his ride though).

As soon as they returned home on Sunday, they were both busy assembling SCott's Science Fair project. Tom was organizing the Science Fair at Scott's school again(one more year to go). This year they added an engineering challenge including building a light weight bridge that was strong enough to withstand added weight. Scott's foam design took 1st place in his grade level and 1st place overall in the science fair(out of 30 projects submitted). He got a nice trophy, certificate and $50 gift card(thanks to Tom). Which he quickly spent on a new video game.

The science fair was on a Weds night(boy scout night), so I had to stand in for both Scott and Tom at Boy Scouts since the troop was participating in a food drive and Scott is the Patrol Leader and Tom was the Patrol Adviser. On Weds night I took out 5 boys and we passed out bags to the nearby neighborhood. On Saturday morning, Tom and Scott picked up the bags full of food. Right before I ran SCott up to his golf lesson. He wants to pick up some type of sport(swimming is a huge commitment) and he really enjoys golf. But he hasn't had lessons since 2nd grade, so we decided to have him brush up on his skills. He had a great time and is looking forward to his upcoming lessons and actually getting out on the course. But he will probably continue with his swimming lessons at the Y as well since he really enjoys that too!

While Tom and Scott were off camping, Allison and I were busy picking up her Prom accessories. Her big day is next weekend. She needed some jewelry, shoes and undergarments so we hit the mall. Right after working on her Girl Scout project at the nature center. We walked the trail and marked her bird locations. Now she just needs the staff approval before mounting the bird models(probably with Tom's help if he can stay home long enough!).  We also had our own Girl SCout activities that weekend. Allison worked a Girl Scout Up All Night event at the roller blade rink, getting off work around 2am. The next day we were off singing with the choir at our local GS camp for a yearly Outdoor Earth Day event. And Allison has started her orientation for GS summer camp. She is volunteering again this year on the archery range.

Tom is off to San Francisco this week. Before he left though we celebrated his 50th birthday with neighbors on Saturday. I had set up a Food Tour in Baltimore as one of his Birthday gifts. I wanted a special birthday party without having to do all the work. Our group met in Little Italy in downtown Baltimore. Our hostess gave us some insight into the history of the area and we were off to several restaurants to sample their specialties. We actually started out at a jewish deli opened in 1915 on the edge of Little Italy(and the corned beef was lean!). Next to a very italian restaurant owned by Anthony Gambino for meatballs and wine. Afterwards to a wine bar for wine tasting and antipasto. But the last stop was the best as it included a large plate of Borghanese pasta, an enormous cappuccino and our favorite, Tiramisu for dessert. (Supposedly the birthplace of Tiramisu). And as if we did not have enough to eat and drink, everyone came over to our house for drinks, snacks and a few more desserts(which was eaten mostly by the kids). Tom even took home a few gifts including a very large RAvens beer tankard, a restaurant gift card and his own whiskey making kit(complete with barrels!). A nice way to end our weekend together.

On Sunday morning I whisked Allison off for her Senior portraits. They turned out great! Afterwards we ran home to pick up a few girl scouts to attend a high school musical starring one of my girl scouts. She was the lead in Legally Blonde at her catholic all girls high school. We enjoyed the show, even though it was about 3 hours long! Guess we got our money's worth. And now Allison can say she attended a high school musical(even though it wasn't her high school!).

And then there was the whole Boston bombing last week. It was eerie waking up to hear all the craziness on the news that went on at MIT and Cambridge, Harvard and Watertown. That was our backyard for several years when we lived in Belmont, MA while Tom was going to school. And to even have had the experience to enjoy the Boston Marathon first hand when Tom's brother Mark ran in it on Patriots Day. We were just grateful that all our friends up there are doing OK.
 
So I am sure I will be busy doing Spring Cleaning with my spare time until I am back to work(which I already started by cleaning out the clothes that the kids have outgrown and taking them over to the resale shop).

So wish me luck on my life do over! Kathleen

Here are my girl scouts at the play.   Our Saturday night dinner tour stopping by the Flag House in Baltimore. Mary Pickett actually sewed the huge flag in this house and in the street(it was too big for the house)that flew over Ft McHenry in Baltimore. You can see (or have seen) that flag in the Smithsonian which inspired our nation's Star Spangled Banner National Anthem. And snuggling up to the bar at Ciao Bella's restaurant owned by the Gambino family.