What a day!

Hello, all!

Wow. What a day! I don't know what's been up lately, but it seems like my systems are breaking down. Why? I don't know. I'll explain how today went:


I got up this morning, went to work, and then headed over to the library to take some books back, check one out that I needed for today's "Learning Strategies" lesson plan, and pay $35 worth of library fines that I have accrued since the the beginning of the school year when I went on a "Aaack! How am I going to teach the Odyssey!" checking-out rampage and then didn't take very good care to keep track of the books I checked out.

So, on my way out of the parking lot, I accidentally ran into this guy's bumper. He was pulling out of his parking spot and I came around the corner too fast and ran into him. The plastic cover on the side of my headlight needs replacing now, and there's a hairline scratch on his bumper. He was very careful to take all my insurance information (in case his huge pickup has any internal damages from being tapped by my small sedan) and to mention that the paint on my car shows evidence of the time I accidentally scraped the side of a garage door when I was trying to enter the garage from a funny angle. Irritated as all get out, I just wanted to go back to work . . .a hairline scratch on his bumper is not something we need to discuss over coffee. Worse damage happens when someone parks too close to me and dings my door while getting out, but I don't make a federal case out of it. He pointed out that he could "buffer" out the scratch in his bumper. (Please! Why do they call it a "bumper" do you think?)

Anyway, as soon as the fellow in the pickup gave me leave -- and as soon as he had written down my name, my license plate number, my insurance provider, pointed out the error in my driving, inspected the hairline scratch in his bumper, and sweetly refreshed my memory about the paint on my car, I went back to work, my pride wounded and my already over-loaded and scattered brain ready to collapse. I got back to work, got to my classroom, and just started bawling, and it was really hard to stop. Even so, I pulled myself together and went to make copies, only to find that Monday is "Copy mom" day -- the day when all the organized people who can plan a week in advance get their copies made. So, I separated all the copies I had, being sure to give her individual instructions for each one. An hour later, I went back to find that none of the copies had been made, so we had to proceed with tenth grade English class without them. During tenth grade English, I realized I'm going to have to practically start over with the "personal narrative" because the kids are thoroughly confused. The rest of the day wasn't so bad, except for a certain student's behavior that I wont go into because that would turn this entry into a dissertation. The rest of the day wasnt' so bad. I just have to say, I'm wiped out. Completely wiped out. Exhausted. Emotionally and mentally drained. All I want to do is sleep, and cry, and curl up in a ball with the covers over my head.

A good thing that happened though. I e-mailed my liason from teh district, and she wrote back to say that she is really surprised that I didn't break down before this. (I have an especially tough job that is especially underhelped and underfunded) She said that she retaught things lots when she first started teaching, and that if I wanted to get together for coffee tomorrow night she would help me plan for tenth grade English. that was awesome. My mom was great too. I'm just so tired, and so freaked out right now. It's one of those times teachers remember always -- the doom days.

Right before I started teaching, I heard a story of a teacher who went through a divorce and got her first high school teaching job at the same time. Five different preps. Five! He said that she came home every night and cried for half-an-hour before she picked it up and started working again. This can't be nearly that bad, but that's akin to what I feel right now.

It also reminds me of the teacher I knewwho went through chemo and taught at the same time. HOW???? How can you have cancer and teach? That's amazing. I have no idea.

But Im going to go. I have to get ready for ninth grade English, and my ninth graders are my sweethearts.

:) Elisabeth