Case of the Mondays....and Tuesdays?

So coming back from a family vacation is always difficult. But especially when it's a new month - and that month is the one that USED to seem so far from now, and that happens to be the month during which you are STARTING SCHOOL!

The vacation with the six-pack (I have three siblings, it's a six pack of soda...) was fabulous, especially seeing them here in my new apartment, and getting to walk them through the school halls and campus! They had so much feedback when we were in room 110 - it was overwhelming! It is so great to hear what everyone has to say about their experiences in elementary school - there is always one teacher, one subject, one bulletin board, one reward that really sticks with someone from each year they had in grade school - and they all want to tell you all about it!


Back to the subject at hand - this week I am working on balance. I am doing a fair amount of babysitting for people I have found through church and neighbors, which is fun and also funding my "temporary unemployed" lifestyle until that first paycheck gets rolling. This is also a great outlet before next week - which will be five days FULL of time at school working on my room, planning, getting organized. I am working on balancing myself and my students - something other teachers keep reminding me of. I don't want to spend the last week I have off sitting in front of the TV the whole time, but relaxing, getting sleep, doing things for ME, finishing those summer books I have been neglecting for teaching texts, and running MY errands before the games begin is important. I hope to maintain my own life amidst the picnic perfection :)

That's not to say that I"m not TOTALLY EXCITED. or totally freaking out. :)

My mom was reminding me of something last night on the phone that really stuck with me. I have been having anxiety dreams, and waking up feeling like there aren't enough hours in the day or that everything isn't going to be ready. My mom gives GREAT advice - so great that maybe each morning I should either write these five on my hand in sharpie, or recite them aloud in the shower, haha.

1) This is a process. Enjoy the ride, and don't necessarily be so caught up in getting there, in being finished, in being ready. GETTING ready and finding ideas and making changes are what it's all about.
2) this is an investment. I am not going to be teaching until I'm 95, and I may not even have second grade ever again - but all of these things I am making, collecting, buying (being broke theme reappears)are not for the next 9 months, they are for LIFE. Either the rest of my life as a teacher, or for my own children, or for my career in education that may lead me outside of the school door.
3) It doesn't all have to be done on the first day. Just like moving into a new apartment and living out of boxes for a while until you can buy (or finish painting) that dresser, my students may walk in the first day and be wowed by a room that is still a work in progress - a room that might require THEIR help, the help of their parents, that might change every 6 weeks, or that might have mismatched bins, desks, and shelving. :)
4) The first year is the hardest.

Also, this goes back to my love of journaling during high school and college - sometimes just logging into this blog and putting my thoughs and swarming ideas down on paper might be the best and most therapeutic thing on my to-do list. :)

SIDE NOTE: ANT FARM ARRIVED IN THE MAIL...more to come!