This is it. I report back to school later this week, and then the kids come in on Aug. 31st. It gets harder and harder for me to go back. Don't get me wrong, I love teaching. I just hate the way it saps my energy and eats up all my free time. Every year I try to come up with ways to carve out more of a personal life, and by the end of the first 3 weeks, all my resolutions are out the window. I especially hate the way I leave the house by 6:30 am and rarely get back til 6:30 pm. It's nonstop all day, and then I come home to fix dinner, do a few chores, deal with the mail and phone messages, and then get ready for the next day of teaching. By the time I have a chance to sit down it's 9 pm and I'm too pooped to do much more than turn on the TV and maybe, knit a few rows for a half hour or so. And then it starts all over. Saturday comes, and all the chores that didn't get done during the week have to get accomplished, I have the business bookkeeping to do, and errands. Sunday is usually church, sometimes til noon, and then an afternoon of grading papers, and getting ready for the week ahead. I feel like I step on one of those treadmills that keep going faster and faster, and you can't step off til June!
So, what is in the cards for this last weekend of freedom??? I made a trip to Staples this morning to pick up office supplies for the business, a few things for my classroom, and my free "teacher appreciation" goody bag. Staples always gives out a bag of items that most teachers find useful -- pencils, highlighters, tape, paper clips, etc. This year's goodies came in a grocery bag size reusable totebag. I went to a couple of stores button-shopping. Do you know that Walmart doesn't carry buttons anymore!! Neither did Target or my local Michael's. I finally found some buttons for the Twilight sweater, at Joanne's, and I made a stop at the bank to get some cash! My wallet has been empty of everything but pennies for the past week. While I can use my debit card for most of my purchases, I wanted cash for my hair cut, and for a few small purchases. I don't like using the debit card for something that costs $1.00!! I even treated myself to an iced coffee at Dunkin Donuts --with an added shot of expresso!! It's really sultry -- Hurricane Bill's effects are felt even 90 miles inland, and the humidity is making everything sticky. Thunderstorms are threatening. I hope to finish Diane Mott Davidson's Fatally Flaky today, and then work on my Vintage Vest. Tomorrow is church, and I hope that my husband is ready to get the billing done. I don't want to deal with that NEXT weekend!
So, to paraphrase a friend, I'm looking at summer vacation in the rear view mirror. I'm really sorry to be leaving it behind.
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2 comments:
Trust me, I share your pain! My day is not quite so long as yours because my commute is very short, but I also have a family business to do bookkeeping for on the side.
My two bright spots are that my class sizes are absolutely wonderful, and that because I teach 3 subjects that are rather demanding, I can stagger the workload for myself. An advantage of having much older students is that you have more continuity and fewer of the little one-day assignments. That helps.
I love the less hectic rhythm of summer, too.
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