Back-to-School?

Audrey is cutting teeth, which means she is a little on edge, which means I'm a little on edge.  This weekend, we are having a cookout for a few of my Bible study girls and I have been attempting to clean my house.  When I say clean, I mean CLEAN, like dusting baseboards and wiping walls.  Yeah, can't even remember the last time I did that.  Obviously, I am having to do all of this while Audrey naps because my little angel is in her "I-need-Mom-ALL-the-time" phase.  It is energy draining and by the end of the day you can't even tell that I spent all of my "spare" time cleaning.  I think, what is the point??  What am I accomplishing?  What is my purpose?  It makes me miss the 8:00-4:00 schedule of working, a lot.  When I could leave work and think, man, I accomplished so much today!  I miss it even more this time of year, when the aisles fill up with back to school teacher stuff, like stickers and bulletin board boarders.  I miss the preparation of my classroom, and getting everything "just right" before meeting all of my new students.  I miss the lesson plans (not the paper work) that I created and the students response to it all.  I miss being part of the ah-ha moments, when a child who has been struggling finally understands and the look of satisfaction in their eyes.  I miss the discussions about book characters beyond, "Moo, Baa, La La La."  But then, I think of the alternative.  How could I leave my rambunctious little girl in the hands of someone else?  Would I be okay with that?  No, not at all.  While I may not be helping 20 students understand the concept of fractions, I am teaching MY child that," pigs say oink all day and night", and that is by far more rewarding......