Failing

 Yesterday was spent in meetings and trainings and I came home exhausted. I'm looking forward to my students returning on Thursday, when I can spend my time walking and exploring. I hate sitting in meetings all day! I came home tired and, apparently, grumpy. 

I'm frustrated with back-to-school issues and I'm trying to keep the anxiety out of my home life. I really want to be able to create a stronger disconnect between my work and home life. I care so much about my students that it is difficult for me to not worry and think about them after hours, but I need to forge a stronger balance for my own career longevity. 

Any suggestions or tips for how that goal may be achieved?  Because thus far, I'm failing miserably. 

 

 

Prepping

 Three more days until my students return! From now until Wednesday I am busy with meetings and back-to-school prep. I know that life will still be chaotic when classes resume, but I would rather be busy with students than with a notebook. I'm excited to start working with all of them again.

I spent the weekend focusing on making our home as 'work ready' as possible by I prepping meals and ingredients in the hope of easing the frustrations of making dinner after a long day. The weekend wasn't exactly relaxing and I went to bed last night exhausted. However, my freezers are full so hopefully my busy weekend will be time well spent. 

This is Robby's last week at home before returning to school. It is hard to believe that his summer break is coming to a close. I absolutely adored having him home. While I know he will be happy to be back to his college lifestyle, I will miss him. I'm not the only one who is going to miss him. Timmy has thoroughly enjoyed having Robby home during the day and playing video games at night.  

The next few days are going to be busy. Wish me luck! 

Meetings

Traditionally, the professional development and the back-to-school festivities that confront teachers when returning to the new school term are necessary but mind-numbingly boring. I was pleasantly surprised that yesterday's convocation was both brief and informative. I can appreciate a quick two-hour informative meeting, especially when I know that an 8-hour version exists.

After the meetings I went to connect with some schools and sent emails to my students and families. Reaching out to my families was, without a doubt, the best part of my day. Each replied enthusiastically with promises of sharing adventures from the summer. At this point, I wish I could fast forward the clock and have the students return today. Sadly, I will need to wait until next Thursday.

Today will be spent connecting with schools and trying to locate my student's teachers. After work Scott has an appointment with his cardiologist. While medical appointments always cause him a lot of anxiety, I am looking forward to it. I suspect a change in cholesterol medication will be prescribed, which will hopefully help lower his numbers even more.

 

Have a great weekend! 

Work?

 Yesterday was the first official day back at work for school personnel, myself included. Before heading to my base school I sent an email, asking for a status of my contract. I did not hear anything, so I went to work. I either have a job, or I'm working for free and nobody is noticing. (Hopefully the situation has been settled and informing me is of little consequence and was forgotten.)

My first day back was uneventful. Because I cannot really build my schedule until the kids are settled, I spent my time helping a new teacher understand the students on her caseload.  As I was helping her understand the files as was as her new role with the students, I was left with one overwhelming feeling. I am so very glad I am no longer a teacher. 

While I still work within the schools, the responsibilities of teachers are vastly different than mine. I attend meetings, I do not have to organize and run the event. In my humble opinion, I have the best job in the county. I get the perks of working with amazing students while avoiding a majority of the pitfalls associated with education.

Unfortunately I cannot miss all the icky parts. Today my schedule is packed with 'back to school' meetings. Wish me luck! 

Sunny Sunroom

 Summer vacation, at least for Scott and me, has come to an end. Tomorrow we both report to work and the pre-year chaos will begin. Robby and Timmy have another few weeks of vacation time, so both are gloating rather than emitting any great empathy for us. Of course, I have yet to hear anything official about my position, so I am planning on showing up and seeing what happens.

With our vacation days dwindling away, I managed to achieve one of my summertime goals just under the wire. Yesterday the boys allowed me to play Designing Women by completely rearranging my sunroom. It was a lot of work (more for them than for me) but I am delighted with the flow and the look. As a bonus, all of my little plants have direct access to a lot of sunlight and will surely thrive.

I'm not sure what is on tap for today, but I suspect it will be cut short because of the storms. Yesterday some wild ones blew through our area in the afternoon. Thankfully we didn't lose any trees this time, but I always worry when that wind starts to blow.

Have a great day! 

Idiots

 For the first time in nearly 15 years, I am now cooking on a fully functioning cooktop. In our previous house, the back burner never worked correctly. When we moved into this home, I quickly learned that the front burner only worked on what we quickly dubbed 'burn your face off mode.' I'm used to adapting, so purchasing a new cooktop was never a top priority.

Last weekend our stovetop stopped working entirely, prompting a new purchase. Despite issues and confusion over our electricity, the appliance was installed on Saturday. My goodness it looks pretty in my kitchen, and having four fully-functioning burners feels like an exciting novelty.  To our delight, the 'power boil' feature does actually boil water nearly 3 minutes faster than its counterpart. (We spent Saturday night boiling water with timers.)

Yesterday morning Scott and I were awoken to the sound of Timmy vomiting. Initially worried that he was ill, we quickly realized that he had eaten too many Spicy Nacho Doritos before going to bed, and they did not sit well. Unfortunately he did not make it to the bathroom, and deposited bright orange nacho cheese vomit in the center of his large floor rug.

After getting Timmy settled, Scott and I moved the furniture off of the rug and lugged it outside to rinse it down with the hose. It was as we were schlepping the heavy, dripping wet area rug to lay it out to dry in the sun, I realized that we are complete idiots.  

We could have just used the carpet cleaner.  Neither Scott nor I thought of it. Instead, we created a lot of work for ourselves.

For those who are asking, I still haven't heard about the license issue.  Fingers crossed. 

 

Frustrated

 My new employee orientation is now complete. Let me tell you, it has been a long time since I attended seminars and lectures for three solid days. I'm exhausted from sitting and listening, and I'm frustrated and nervous about the unsettled contract issues. At this point, I feel like I have provided everything needed and it is out of my hands. I am planning on returning to work full-time next week Wednesday when the rest of the school staff report- I hope my badge works. 

Yesterday we were supposed to have our new flat top stove installed. Unfortunately, the breaker that we currently have is 60 amp and the cook top requires 40. I was able to find an electrician to come on Saturday to do the breaker work, but I will admit that the delay is frustrating. It's always something I suppose.

Today is going to be hot, which means I'll be inside. I have a lengthy to-do list I want to tackle before the school year starts. Time is dwindling, I need to get on it!

Have a great weekend.