Author: Robin Chartier

Blind as a bat

That’s a bit of hyperbole, but my old lady eyes are really getting the best of me. I don’t like having to work to read so I wear reading glasses, which in turn, makes it impossible to read without them. I notice it especially at work where I’m on the computer or having to read the numbers off of a barcode or missing the sharpness on a student’s school photo when I’m looking someone up to identify them. 

I’ve realized if the body composition fairy came to visit and gave me one wish, I wouldn’t choose to erase the wrinkles on my face or smooth out the lumps on my torso and legs. Declining hearing has it’s inconveniences, but that’s something I’d be happy to live with if it meant that I could get new eyeballs (Yes, I know that it’s actually a lens problem, not an eyeball thing). There is nothing like the magic of being able to see clearly all the time. Too bad I took it for granted for 39 years . . . 
Anyway, this reading glasses thing has gotten old because I read all the time. Even if I’m not reading books, I’m reading the computer screen, my phone messages, the ingredients list on a food item, the dosage on the children’s Motrin bottle (impossible — even with my +1 reading glasses I still have to have one of the kids read the tiny print for me.) 
I have reading glasses stashed all over the house, but invariably I can’t find a pair. I might end up with 3 at work and none at home or none in my purse when I get to work — don’t laugh, but that day I actually had to take pictures of things with my phone and zoom in to get by.
It has been bothering me so much that I have been telling Josh that I want him to take me to the eye doctor so I could get a contact for reading and then use my other eye for normal vision. Yes, I suppose I could have taken myself to an eye place, but since he has 1/2 a lifetime of glasses/contacts/eye exam experience and I haven’t, I thought I should go in with my local expert. Plus, he’s way better at interpreting accented English. I think he finally took me seriously when I couldn’t find my nightstand glasses and had to have him read a text for me off my super big screened phone. The next day we were in the mall for something else and he marched me straight into the first optical shop that we saw. 
The doctor/optician talked me into getting bifocal contacts because she didn’t like the one eye thing. Something about too much pressure on one eye and no pressure on the other?  . . . whatever. Just let me see again. I did the nifty computerized eye exam and second guessed my way through all the “which one is clearer?” questions. So stressful — I’m not sure which one is clearer or not. Maybe . . . number 1? 
A week later my order came in and then I was magically able to see! Um, no. I’ve spent a week fooling around with these suckers, and while I know I’m headed in the right direction, there have been a few bumps in the road. 
First of all, I went home and prepared to put in my first eyeball. I fished around in the saline pocket . . . nothing. What, did I get an empty one? I held the container up to the light . . . I can’t see anything in there. Of course I also can’t really see anything up close anyway, thus the need for contacts in the first place. 

Oh, there’s this paper-thin dragonfly wing stuck to the tip of my finger — wait, that’s my contact?! So I guess it was in there, but so thin I couldn’t feel it, and so blind that I couldn’t see it. Good thing I didn’t lose it in the process of trying to find it. With the lens perched on the tip of my finger, I proceed to mash it into my eyeball unsuccessfully for the next 20 minutes. 
I finally got them both in, but still couldn’t see any better than before. The doctor told me that they would have the reading portion at the bottom of the lens and that they were weighted so they would rotate into position on their own. I rolled my eyes up and down, back and forth, but couldn’t find any spot on the lens that would give me extra power for reading. Grrrr. 
An aside: After 3 days Josh figured out (thanks Google) that my brand of lenses aren’t the kind that the doc described. Instead, they have rings of magnification that your brain learns to use as needed. That would have been nice to know before I about set myself crosseyed and poked myself in the eye a hundred times trying to figure out where my reading spot was. 
And my right eye hasn’t been all that happy with its new “best friend.” It has been red and scratchy no matter how many times or different ways I try to put the contact in. I was so happy when I finally made a breakthrough: 

Yes, it fell out of my eye somehow and fat chance of ever finding it again. Good thing I have a whole pack of lenses, but at this rate my 6 month supply is going to last 2 weeks. 
After a week of experimenting I can say that they do help me read better, but I need them to be a bit stronger. Printed text is still a bit fuzzy and reading numbers ends up being an educated guess (which is an improvement over a wild guess, but still). So back to the eye doctor this week. Hopefully I can explain what kind of improvement I need and have them work. And have my eyes be happy at being blanketed all day. Even with gummy feeling eyes and endless eyedrops and partially blurry vision, it’s still WAY BETTER than keeping track of glasses. 
Next I will need science to invent an easy lens (or eyeball) replacement process and then have surgery to fix it for good, but at least I have the option for contacts until they invent my robotic eye. 

A sense of worth

I wrote this a month ago, but have been too busy to edit and post it until now. Life is good, just different. 

I’ve been working for 4 weeks now and it has been life changing. No more lazy afternoons knitting or trolling the internet for entertainment news. No more Botched marathons while I write and edit and rewrite. No more accidental naps from crawling under my down comforter to escape the chill of the air conditioning. No more food in the house because I never have time to go to the grocery store beyond a quick run in/run out on my way home from the gym or from work. Yep, it’s a new era. 
I’ve decided my job makes the days fly by, but I’m not any more fulfilled. I thought that’s what was supposed to happen when I went back to work. Isn’t that part of the push that gets women back into the workforce as soon as their youngest child is in school? Isn’t there supposed to be some sort of payoff to being a “working woman?” (said totally tongue in cheek.) 

I’m saying that as someone who likes and enjoys her job. It’s totally fun. I get to see my kids, chat with other kids and staff members, and make new friendships and connections. But I don’t feel any more value as a human or as a productive member of society. In fact, I’m fighting against feeling less important than when I was unemployed. 

It might sound strange, but as long as I was voluntarily a “just a mom,” no one could judge me (accurately). For all they knew, I could be a rocket scientist or a doctor, or hiding any number of important sounding, education heavy degrees underneath my SuperMom cape. The unknown potential was there, but I was choosing to take care of my kids instead. 
And as a bonus, in the Mom world having 4 kids meant that I was at the top of the hierarchy when it came to status and appreciation. I got all sorts of credit for:
-having 3 boys
-having multiple kids close in age
-having a husband who deployed (earning me SoloMom bonus points and MilitaryAppreciation points!)
-having another baby after a big gap (you started all over again?! God bless you!)
-homeschooling (back when we did that)
-moving internationally with kids
-moving often with kids
I had collected as many Level 4Kid points as I could get without adding some foster/adoptive or special needs kids to the mix (those mamas earn millions of well deserved bonus points). 
As “just a mom,” I was swimming in credibility for doing nothing more than existing in my normal life. No need to feel insecure or inferior because I knew I was doing a difficult, exclusive job and doing it well. But now that I have a “real” job? I’m not all that important at all. Around me people are teaching higher level English and Language classes, brokering technology deals, going to conferences and working on the cutting edge of their field while here I am wrapping up cables, talking to kids, and sorting books. 

As I’m coiling headphone cords and charging computers the whisper in my head is, “anyone could do this job” and they could. There’s nothing special about what I do. Do you know the alphabet? Then you can find and shelve books. Can you type names into a computer and use a handheld scanner? Then you could do what I do all afternoon long. I have to fight against the temptation to measure my value based on the difficulty of the task. 

The way I am fighting back is to think about my job as something I enjoy doing that I’m lucky enough to get paid for. I remind myself that I wasn’t looking for a job or looking for status. And as I serve these kids all afternoon, it’s also a ministry. 

Ironically, I get to “be a mom” to all the kids who come by my desk — your computer is running out of battery? “Here’s a charger for you.” You can’t figure out how to connect to the printer? “Just send it to my email address and I’ll print it for you. Do you want it in black and white or color?” You can’t find a book? Let me help you locate it, reserve it for you, or find a different book that you’ll like.

I get to tell students how much I love seeing them play soccer or congratulations on winning a medal in wrestling, how confident they looked on camera doing the interview for the weekly video announcement, or even encourage them when a particular test or assignment is coming up. This part of my job has gotten easier and better with time as I’m learning who the students are and what is unique about them. One kid always comes in around the same time every day. He has an older computer and it doesn’t have enough juice to get through the day. I get to send him off with a smile and encouragement that the school day is almost over. I know another kid always wants a charger with an extension cord because he doesn’t sit near an outlet in his classroom and needs the cord to stretch across the room. I’m learning which Khalids are with an ‘i’ and which Khaleds are with an ‘e’ and I’m learning my Yousefs and Yousufs. When I realized I could take my SuperMom status and apply it to my job it all started to click. Sure, I could think of my my day as one menial task after another, but when you’re a mom, you do those things out of love. (Is anything more menial than wiping noses and behinds?) As I get to know and love these kids, it’s just like being a mom to many. 

I know that my worth is not determined by my job. And thank God it’s not! Because if I was looking for validation in my job title (Executive Assistant) or my paycheck (small), then I could be pretty depressed. But even if the pay is small, the rewards are great. The best part of my job is getting to Mom my own kids. They stop by my desk often because I keep candy in my drawer which I dole out ever time they come to say, “Hi.” I’m training them with positive reinforcement the same way the Sea World trainers teach dolphins. It’s been very effective. I brought Calvin a coffee the other day when he was feeling down and another day he stopped by at the beginning of his lunch break to see if I wanted anything from the Kiosk (sandwich line). Aw, good times. I will miss that next year after he graduates. Time to start training his younger brothers to step in to that role. 

It’s 11:30 so I’m off to work. SuperMom to the rescue. Solving all literary and technical problems with a smile. I miss writing, but this is where I’m meant to be for a while.   

Snowboarding, Abu Dhabi style

The boys have caught the snowboarding bug. Since we’ve come home from Germany they’ve been watching YouTube reviews of snowboards and related gear, watching extreme snowboarding videos, begging to try the indoor slope at Ski Dubai, and counting down the days until the winter X-games begins (today). 
Last weekend we were in Dubai for a soccer tournament so of course we had to stop by Mall of the Emirates to see how much it costs for a visit (or an extended membership) to Ski Dubai. Not that we have much free time to drive up to Dubai on a regular basis, but the boys can dream . . . 
We didn’t have time to hit the slopes, but they found a store in the mall that had snowboards and boots on clearance. Deep discounts. $300 boots were selling for only $80 and snowboard/binding combos for under $200. They snapped them up and have been itching to use them. I had the bright idea that we use what’s available so we headed out to some nearby dunes to try sand boarding. 
Waiting for the camel herd to clear the road. Aw, the babies. 

Gearing up. 

We picked up a cheap skim board and some sandboard wax to see if we could make our own sandboard for less than $250. (The cost of the experiment? $30) We need to add some handles and some grip tape to the top so we don’t slide off, but other than that, it works perfectly. 

Josh and Camille of Arabia, hiking the untouched mountain of sand

Josh flew down the hill on the waxed board. The hard part was holding on to the edges and not sliding off the sides. It needs to be rewaxed every few runs, but it only takes a several seconds to swipe it on. 
 
Testing the snowboard. It grips a bit more than on snow and the boys had to lean back to keep the nose out of the sand, but they said the ride was fun. 

It took a few times to get the hang of it, but they all were skimming down the sand by the end of the afternoon. 

And the falls don’t hurt . . . 

It would be nice to have a chairlift or a tow rope instead of hiking back up the hill, but it makes for a great workout. 

When it wasn’t their turn on the board, it was just as fun to climb up and roll down the hill. No equipment needed. 

After today I think they are going to want an actual sandboard. Something to give them more speed and maneuverability. A bit more money, but cheaper than paying for hours at Ski Dubai. 

I was happy reclining in the warm sand and soaking in the sun — peace and quiet on a warm beach without the ocean. 
We’ll be finding the powdery fine sand in everything for the next few weeks. Worth it. 

Let it snow!!

The weather outside isn’t frightful, it’s wonderful. We’ve been eyeballing the weather reports for weeks, crossing our fingers and praying, and the snow has finally arrived!

It started right after sunset. The kids ran around catching it in their mouths for a few minutes before we headed to dinner. 

A German drink that is a mix of beer and coke. He liked it . . .

she didn’t. Trying to wipe the taste off of her tongue. (Personally, I’d rather have a plain Coke too.) 

By the time we finished dinner, plenty of snow had accumulated on the ground.

Snowman time! 

Our plan to stay a few extra days past New Year’s worked. We didn’t miss the snow this year. Next year we’ll have to time the good snow with our ski/snowboard lessons . . . 

ski school

I have survived. Last year I was nervous about starting ski school (with the gondola and the chairlift and all the unknowns), but it was a good time and I learned a lot. Kind of like kindergarten. This year all the kindergarten fun was left behind and I had to learn to carve, turn, and ski faster. Still fun, but stressful, exhausting fun.

I was debating going with the advanced beginner group (since I don’t like to push myself), but Josh said that I would be bored and should go with the intermediates since my current skills matched up with that class description. It worked out fine, and I had a great instructor and classmates, but it really stretched me more than I would have chosen. From what I could gather, most of the adults in my group had skied extensively in the past (lessons, college ski club, colorado living), and were in the class to get a refresher course, whereas little old me has had a total of 8 days on skis in my entire life and am learning all of these skills for the first time. But I fit in fine and though I skied a little slower than everyone else, I also fell less! Credit goes to working out (almost) every day — I may not have been as technically proficient, but I never had any doubts about being able to keep up physically.

Our ski week started out a bit rough. The snow conditions were terrible and holiday crowds on the slopes felt like driving the 405 on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I wasn’t sure I was going to survive 5 days of dodging ice patches and people. The weather was warm and the snow was icy since a freak rainstorm had washed out all the decent snow the day before we arrived. The first 2 days it was too warm to make more snow (the temperature has to fall below freezing to turn on the snow cannons), so we were all slipping and sliding around. The snowboarders got the worst of it as they couldn’t catch an edge on the slick slopes and were falling down hard.

Thankfully a cold front moved in on the second afternoon so the snow machines could start blowing 24 hours a day which quickly improved things. By the end of the week I enjoying it much more, though by then, my body was so tired from 5 straight days of work that I felt like my skiing was getting worse instead of better. The kids all say that ski/snowboard school was the highlight of their vacation. And yes, they are already asking to come again next year. We’ve taken a few days off to rest our bodies and with serious snow in the forecast, we’ve promised them another 2 days on the slopes. Camille will go back to Ski Kids school, since they have instructors that will help her and teach her all day, but the 5 of us will try and tackle some mountains together. I think we’re all approximately at the same level of difficulty so it will be fun to go ride some chair lifts together and see how everyone has improved over the past week. Last year because we were all beginners we passed each other on the same hills every day, but this year our groups were spread out all over the mountain.

Camille with her class and her amazing instructors. They had her riding the adult chairlift and skiing down the big slopes by the end of the week!
The hotel had their photographer out on the mountain one of the mornings and he caught great photos of everyone in action.

Josh

Calvin

Carter

Caleb — of course he’d be dabbing!

And Meels! On the big hill.
I didn’t buy my photo because I didn’t care about having it, but here’s a peek for curiosity’s sake. I think the snowboarding photos look amazing. The skiing shots look a bit boring in comparison. 
The snow (real snow!) is on the way!