This has been a very busy real estate day in the middle of a very busy real estate week in the month of April, which has turned out to be a tremendously busy real estate month.  I find myself planning showings and various other appointments around my upcoming weekend and I am starting to regret that I will be out of town.  There is so much I could be doing if I didn’t have to drive to Kingston. Then I stop and realize the reason I am going to Kingston.  Our daughter is writing her final exam of her first year at Queen’s on Saturday and then she’s coming home.  Well, that’s a pretty good reason to take a break from an increasingly hectic profession!

I then remember that it has gotten harder and harder to keep up with my weekly university-related blogs and have decided it was time to write my final one.  On the one hand, it has been wonderful to watch Katie experience life away from her family in a new city.  On the other hand, it has been, on occasion, a stressful and worrisome time watching her find her own way.  I am sitting here remembering the day when Eric and I drove her to Kingston last September, and what he said to me on our way home.  He said, ‘you realize that she may never LIVE with us again.’  Gulp.  Every big step our kids take is another step away from us.  Every parent knows that but it’s tough when your first born starts to do it.

So what’s next?  Katie was hired by the Simcoe District School Board to tutor elementary students in the schools for a number of weeks, and then she’ll do her teacher’s work placement at another local school.  At the same time she will start a new part time job at a local business and earn as much money as she can to help pay for her next year at school.  I know she’s looking forward to coming home and giving her mind a break.  I can’t believe how much work is crammed into eight months at school, and I’m thrilled that Katie has found success.

So, I will have a little break this weekend.  I’ll drive to Kingston, have dinner with an old friend, help Katie pack up her belongings and bring her home.  I know her brother and sister can’t wait to have her home again!