I Thrive on Insanity

And that is indeed what this week has been.  I started teaching on Wednesday.  My sub was the wrestling coach.  Kind of a funny side bar...you know that whole six degrees of separation thing...it was fully in place.  He is a former MMA fighter and a trainer for various NFL players and MMA fighters.  His youngest is in D's class.  He trained one of my girls from a previous high school who has entered the MMA circuit, using the gym of one of the earlier faces of MMA, who trained at the Judo club I nearly grew up in.  It was a weird moment of, "Hey, do you know..." and we did.  Super nice guy.  But still not a teacher.

At this moment much of my time is being spent doing some a crap-load of un-training with my kids, so that I can re-train them.  Yesterday, I got the class from Hades the previous two days on my side (one strategic student at a time) and the class after it decided to test the boundaries.  <sigh> Ah well.  This is indeed urban education. Wait until I introduce them to DBQs next week...

This is the view out my windows.  Jealous?
I can't wait for a crisp, clear day!
 

Wednesday night, J  was there with me until nearly 8.  He brought my "classroom" to school.  Two flat bed carts stacked as high as him. And of course...I am on the fourth floor...and the elevator is three long hallways away from my room.  During the course of that time we got all of my books unpacked and all of the cabinets full o'junk, emptied.  And that was about it - my books were put away.  I will have to take pictures on Monday just to give you some perspective on how many books are in there. Four hours later, in a 90 degree classroom (In the end of September, really?) you have a really tired teacher.  Headed home to muppets starving for my attention, a pyr in my lap and another ignoring me and I needed to plan my lessons for the day, make a seating chart, eat (which I had forgotten to do all day) and I think I passed out somewhere before 10pm.

Can you tell there were kid fingers on my phone?

The next day, a bit of a blur, really.  My classes were all good - except for the one from heck.  I got locked in a stairwell while trying to find an unlocked bathroom. J came after school again so we could make it look like someone lived there.  He got my fabric and borders up on the bulletin boards helped with the posters in my classroom with ceilings up to there. I thought for sure I'd have to buy more fabric, yet somehow he made it work.  But of course it was another 90 degree day...in September... on the 4th floor of a nearly century old building.  AND of course, he brought the muppets because the three little ones HAD to see my classroom.  Which meant I got half of what I could have gotten done, done.  Ah well.  By 7:45 I was dragging my butt out that door.  When I got home, I could barely concentrate.  I think I was dehydrated, despite the gallon of water I drank.  

I woke up at 3 and HAD to create a Prezi.  J threatened to drug me to keep me asleep.  I think he might be serious...

Yesterday, I taught at the start of class instead of fighting over seating charts.  And my class from hades came around beautifully.  The heavens opened up and shone down upon me.  But then the next class decided to push the envelope. <sigh>  I was so disappointed after the high from getting that other class to come to my side.  Ah well.  My psych class at the end of the day was so much fun.  I am grateful to end with them. And I discovered that the Coke machine takes credit cards - that is dangerous territory, my friends.

I left right after the kids.  Headed to a bar with a good portion of the rest of the staff.  Met the staff and the teacher I replaced.  And I felt instantly at home.  Our secretary is dating a FF. (Who, by the way, gave me a hard time about teaching for 3 days and still showing my face in the bar with them.  And then told me I would fit right in!)  I met 2 other FFWs.  We really are everywhere... The staff reminded me of the first staff I worked with in MPS and I felt a tad homesick for a bit.  And then I realized that perhaps, this amazing staff is going to be like the one I found myself pining for.  

We were definitely in the trenches.  The last time I found myself in a battle zone, I was looking for the greener pasture.  Even when I found the perfect teaching job - with no real discipline and everything in technology I could hope for - I was feeling empty.  Maybe this is the reason.  Maybe this is where I am meant to be.  These kids need someone and if the school is looking to bring back the neighborhood to it, I am needed there, as well.  It is 5 minutes from home.  And I have a beautiful view.

That gives me reason to look forward to the next gathering...and this school year.

Life is good.  Hubby was on shift last night and headed straight for the race track.  We have football this afternoon and then my hubby should be home by dinner.  Debating on whether or not to take the kids to the airport for the Honor Flight Homecoming or if it is okay to just veg.

Hug those firemen and read to your muppets.  Laundry will wait, time will not.  Peace.

Shaking Off the Old

I am a firm believer that if something isn't working, sometimes it is best to shake off the old and move on to the new.  And that is hard.  It is hard to move away from where your comfort level is.  It is hard to venture into the unknown.  Sometimes it is hard to stand on your own two feet when the rest of the world is telling you to sit down and hush.  

Now, here is where I have to practice what I preach.  My first inclination is not to move on, but to stay and fight and make it work.  And I wear myself out with that.  I have seen in my marriage, in my classrooms and in my personal life.  I am a fixer.  I am a control freak.  I am a perfectionist.  I feel a drive to make things work and when they don't there is a sense of defeat...failure...sadness.

However, after I let myself let go and accept that nothing lasts forever; that I need to take what I can from it and move on, things become easier.

We saw it when we entered  the fire world.  My husband was a teacher for over a decade.  He came from a family of teachers and he was fighting to make it work.  And I tried to help him make it work.  But it just wasn't working.  Everyone was unhappy.  And there was a sense of failure...yet again.  The fire service came up in the discussion and it was scary.  I was going to be home for 24 hours at a time with four small children.  I was going to work around a teacher's schedule AND the fire schedule.  We almost literally jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.  And it worked!  It was scary, but it worked.  There is a sense of calm among the chaos that our home has never seen before.

O - crashed in my classroom.

Now, it is my turn.  My time in the Catholic schools has come to an end - for a myriad of reasons.  Distance was not my friend, especially not with 4 kids in tow - tired and cranky many times.  Football season nearly killed me - sent my b/p SOARING.  Inclement weather turned our usual 40-45 minute drive into 2+ hours of white knuckle travel, with the kids in the car.  There was a difference in ideology for my classroom.  It was time to move on.  

Now, I find myself more at home - both literally and figuratively.  My kids' school is 5 minutes away from home.  The high school I will be teaching at is 5 minutes away from home.  And the two schools are just a parkway apart.   I can come home in between school and open houses - without cutting it close.  I can eat DINNER!  ohmygoodness.  Sounds like silly little things, but with the exception of 10 months of my career, I have always had to drive on the freeway to get to work.  I have never been closer than 25-30 minutes from home.  If I forget something it will not take my entire prep period to go and retrieve it.  Gas won't cost half of my pay check. I DON'T HAVE TO BE OUT THE DOOR BEFORE O'DARK THIRTY!  My guilt about leaving the public schools for a cushier gig is officially gone.  Life is good! 

You have no idea how exciting change is.  So far, I think I am going to love my department.  I have been teaching World History for EVER and I am very familiar with the good and bad of the text.  I don't have to reinvent the wheel!!  I can pull out my units and tweak them!  Psychology is new-er to me.  I have not taught Psych since my student teaching.  And that is and of itself is exciting!  I am 3 minutes from the kids' school - which might allow me to still attend Muffins with Mom and such events I have usually missed out on.  Shift days won't be near so painful.  If I need to get work done at school, I can pick up the kids and drop them off at home - AND GO BACK TO WORK.  Such a novel concept!  

I can be part of the revitalization so desperately needed for this historic cornerstone of our neighborhood, especially as the school enters her centennial year.  Change is good.

So, as life comes at you, it will be in a constant state of change.  Work, friends, homes, family, hobbies...nothing is static.  All aspects of our lives are in a constant state of change.  We can fight it and struggle to keep the status quo in place.  Or, we can jump in to the changes with an exciting, adventurous outlook and see where it takes us.  I think that is where I am going head!  Wish me luck.

My FF is still recovering from his insane last two weeks, especially after his fantasy football draft last night.  But, my friends, that is a story for another day. Kiss those FFs, laugh with those moments and realize that sometimes you just gotta embrace the change.