So I’m back, now that things are squared away.

Beyond all the other reasons that I’m very grateful for having my job – for the good insurance it gives me, for the flexibility I have about dealing with things for the Monster, and for the fact that I genuinely like my job – there’s this once-every-five-years perk of having a sabbatical.  I’m officially – as of tonight at midnight – on a paid vacation from work for four weeks.

This means a lot of things.  It means my having more time to be with my kids and to help out with both the Monster and R.  It means giving my wife some leeway to get a break herself (and that doesn’t include the fact that she and I are going on vacation in a few weeks).  Of course, some of this already started with the summer break – I’ve been taking Monster to his therapy sessions on Sunday mornings, so I’m touching base with his OT and SLP.

I have an interview later this week to potentially join the Parent Community Advisory Board here in Baltimore, due to my involvement with the schools as the parent of a child with Autism.  We’ll see how that one goes – my wife and I have already discussed the time commitment required, and have agreed that we can figure out how to make that work if I get the appointment.  It’s not going to take the place of my job, but rather let me use my major talent as a warrior dad and try to make things better for all children with developmental disabilities here in our school district.

Plus, my sabbatical also means we can try to squeeze in more fun without worrying about whether it’s going to negatively impact my work.  We managed to sneak off to Sesame Place again yesterday, and we’re talking about how we might do it again mid-week or something with R… we’ll see.  (That might just have to wait for the end of the summer so both kids can go, and I’ll take a day off from work, but again we’ll see.)

At least it should mean I’ll post more regularly for a bit.. 😉