Yes, I know I have fallen off the face of the blogging planet. Yes, I know how annoying it is to check your bookmarked blogs only to find that there are no new updates. Yes, I know that posting a couple of pics and a few whimsical words does not take copious amounts of time. Yes, I am aware of all these things but hear me out will ya?!
All I can say is that my life was turned upside down on August 20th when I got the news that I was going to be a fifth grade teacher. I was handed the keys to my classroom on August 23rd and there has been no looking back, no stopping to catch my breath, no savoring the moment, etc since late August. It is as if I jumped on a treadmill going 20 mph when I had never run a day in my life. It is as if I was pushed out of a plane without a parachute. It is as if I am caught in the undercurrent of the ocean. It is as if...I am a first year teacher. Apparently all of these feelings are "normal." Dear Lord.
Don't fret, I'm still alive and am rejoicing in the fact that I have finally found a few moments in my weekend to blog and think of things other than curriculum, parent emails, state standards, writing prompts, Halloween parties, sub plans, fundraising, etc. Although I have already spent 4+ hours this morning going over lesson plans and emailing parents, I have also found time to enjoy a home cooked breakfast courtesy of my husband, slowly down a pumpkin spice latte, download a ton of new tunes for the iPod, upload more than 300 new pictures and reflect back on the two months that have sped past in the blink of an eye.
Could it be that I am finally starting to feel human again?! Is it possible that I might get home from work before 8 p.m.?! Am I to believe that there is a silver lining to this ever-looming dark cloud I've been living under?!
Yes, I think all these things could be on the brink of becoming reality and not just a dream. But stay tuned as things change rapidly when you have 31 pairs of eyes staring at you all day, 31 minds depending on to fill them with knowledge, 31 sets of hands and feet clomping around in 300 square feet (or less) for 6.5 hours a day/5 days a week and more than 70 adults looking to you to educate their children and set them on a path to succeed and be the leaders of tomorrow. (Say what!?)
Now I know why teachers get their summers off. Now I know why teachers should get paid more. Now I know why it is important to fund public education (even if it means paying tax on candy and bottle water.) Now I know why smaller class sizes are a MUST. Yes, I am on a soapbox and I am pretty damn sure I have earned that right in the last 8+ weeks of my new career.
In the words of Jack Donaghy from 30 Rock, "I'm letting morality get in the way of making money. I might as well go be a teacher."
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