Atypical Week

 We have staff prayer every Friday morning before school. Each teacher and staff member signs up for one week where they host the prayer in their classroom, lead the prayer, and provide a breakfast treat. This morning one of the kindergarten teachers hosted. She started with an activity where she asked everyone to write down the reason(s) they became a teacher or decided to work in a school. When we were done she shared that many years ago someone had her write down her reasons for becoming a teacher. She has kept that paper and it has brought her joy throughout the years - a reminder of why she got into this profession and a source of inspiration to get through the tough times.

It was timely for me. Spending a few moments focusing on the WHY of what I do was the perfect way to start my day. Whenever anyone has asked me why I became a teacher, I have always cited Jason, my foster brother that attended kindergarten with me. Jason lived with my family for five months, at most. But somehow his presence in my childhood had a huge hand in shaping who I became as an adult. Jason is why I became a teacher. Jason is why I was a foster parent and am heartbroken that I was not able to adopt.

Last week was nutso. That's already been established. This week was... atypical. Monday was Valentine's Day. My husband put a vase of roses on the kitchen table while I was in the shower. That evening we ate leftovers for dinner, while our new cleaning lady was *still* cleaning our upstairs. We felt bad for her, having to work so late on our dust and clutter on Valentine's Day... but eventually had to eat while she was still working.

On Tuesday, as the end of the school day and the first of my three overlapping meetings was approaching, I felt a migraine coming on. Generally, my migraines result from dehydration or poor nutrition. But I knew Tuesday was going to be crazy, so I had paid careful attention to my food and water intake throughout the day. I mentioned to my co-workers as we were coming in from carpool that I would need ibuprofen before our meeting because I felt a migraine coming on. One offered to bring Excedrin to me at the meeting. When I arrived, stopping after carpool only to remove my coat and use the restroom, I was distressed to see there was nowhere near the door for me to sit. Knowing I'd have to duck out early, I was not happy about having to slink to the back of the room. My friend brought me the Excedrin, which I took before going to a different co-worker to ask if she could take over the Zoom breakout room in my second meeting in case I had to leave for my third meeting before the breakout session ended. She told me our principal had told her to skip the second meeting. I walked to the space in the back of the room where I had set my stuff and started crying. Fortunately, she noticed and basically escorted me out of the meeting.

After settling me into my chair and listening to me vent for a bit, my friend returned to the staff meeting. I was not functional enough for that. I drank a liter of water and attempted to sort student papers. Half an hour later, I was still not very functional, so I chased the Excedrin with ibuprofen and drank another liter of water. This was enough to kick the migraine down low enough for me to attend the Zoom meeting. I ran my breakout room and pitched my friend's book. As soon as I was done pitching my friend's book, I gathered up and walked down the hall to the interview.

Also throughout the week the fourth graders were planning ways to show my partner teacher their love. They created a memory book that included pictures they asked the principal to take during recess time. They brought clipboards, handmade cards, and coloring supplies to the playground and made sure every fourth grader signed a card. Today, my homeroom students made her cards, and after lunch recess we trooped across the hall to deliver them, and share Krispy Kremes brought in to celebrate a student's birthday.

Just in case this wasn't quite enough, sometime this week we had a COVID positive case in our grade level. The email came mid-week, and students in both homerooms believe it to be a student in the other room. Since many schools have mid-winter breaks that stretch beyond the one day my school has off for President's Day, lots of families are traveling, leaving attendance spotty in both classrooms.

This afternoon the interviewee from Tuesday came to teach a lesson in my classroom, and we interviewed another candidate after school. This schedule had me unavailable to say goodbye to my partner teacher. I have mixed feelings about that. She walked out of the building for the last time while I was interviewing her potential replacement.

I finally found time to open my Valentine cards from my students tonight. I may have come into teaching because of Jason, my foster brother, but my students keep me coming back for more year after year.

I don't know what next week will bring, but I do know my husband is doing what he can to help me relax during these high stress times. He's taking me away for a couple of nights on this long weekend. We booked the trip on Monday night, as we ate our leftovers and tried not to feel guilty as someone else vacuumed and scrubbed our home. We'll be a few hours away from home, spending time together that we just haven't had in the past couple of weeks. 

No matter what next week brings, I know I have amazing support. My husband, my co-workers, and my principal are all willing to jump in and do what it takes to keep me sane! I am grateful for all of them.