So long, summer break

My summer break is officially over. Today (Thursday, so probably yesterday by the time you read this) is my first official day back at work. We don’t have any students, just meetings and work time.

The past couple week has been busy. My sister was in town and that created a layer of stress and feelings of time scarcity that I’m not used to at the end of summer break (she usually comes in January, which is not ideal either). I found myself packing most days with tasks, in an attempt to gain some control over my life when my emotions felt big and overwhelming. Some of those tasks were:

• Packed the snorkel set and booties in the shed (UNDER the winter boots and clothes boxes)
• Packed away all the luggage and packing cubes
• Packed away the summer clothes (we definitely won’t be wearing any of it anymore here, during the coolest summer on record)
• Deep cleaned the car (inside and out) with the kids (they mostly cleaned and I mostly supervised)
• Washed all the swim wear
• Washed the couch and cat cushion covers
• Got my allergy shot
• Was seen by a dermatologist! (via my new GP, who I like very much!)
• Picked up two new prescriptions (new sulfur face wash and lower dose estrogen patch (breast tenderness was bothering me)
• Got the 11yo’s sports physical done and athletic release form completed
• Took both kids to the get their teeth cleaned
• Signed myself up as a new patient at the kids’ dentist
• Spent time with my sister eight of the nine days we both in town (this was exhausting, and put a strain on family stuff at home)
• Taught three straight hours of classes at the dojo on Monday
• Started a WhatsApp group for families from the 11yo’s elementary school that are also moving on to his middle school (if you knew anything about my WhatsApp group participation, you’d know out of character this is for me)
• Provided references for my student teacher who applied to a last minute Spanish position opening at the other middle school (SHE GOT THE JOB! WOOT!)
• Washed and folded so, so, SO MUCH laundry
• Cut the 15yo’s hair (we’re both really pleased by how it turned out!)
• Cut the 11yo’s hair (it’s still growing on both of us)
• Completed one (of the four) training modules I need to finish by October 3 (Bloodborne Pathogens)
• Unpacked and washed five new Bentgos (the 11yo is using the bigger ones now – I got them from Costco years ago and they’ve been waiting in a box in my garage for this moment)
• Took the 11yo to the batting cages, to get a baseball bat (HOW ARE THEY SO EXPENSIVE!?), to hit balls with a friend at a park, and to batting practice with a coach (twice!)

Some things I’m still hoping to do before students walk into my classroom:

• Finish Little Bosses Everywhere: How the Pyramid Scheme Shaped America (it might already be late and we can’t renew it – I’m almost done!)
• Read The Bright Years (this doesn’t have to be done by Wednesday, but if I haven’t made a bit dent in it by then, I probably won’t finish it and it also can’t be renewed)
• Complete the other three training modules (Mandated Reporter, Sexual Harassment, and Respectful Staff/Student Boundaries)
• Do a Costco run (I’ve gone twice in two weeks but still need a few things!) – (Did this this afternoon!)
• Take the 11yo to his 6th grade orientation on Friday at 3pm (we finally got the information on this YESTERDAY! ::all the face palms::)
• Spend four hours at the dojo on Saturday.
• Do some work on Sunday, to make up for leaving early on Friday.

Today at work (I started this post yesterday, wrote some this morning, and now am finishing it at 9pm Thursday evening), I was a scattered mess. All the furniture was pushed against a side of the room, and it took me forever to start moving it around. I stopped and started a million tasks today, my attention was all over the place and my focus was non-existent. I really hope tomorrow is better.

But! Not all is lost! I did some planning today while the 11yo was working with the batting coach. I paid the 15yo to put colored tape flags on pencils for me and she did ALL SIX CLASSES! That is 180 pencils! She actually enjoyed the repetitive activity and very much appreciated the money I paid her for doing it. Not having to tear 180 pieces of duct tape and carefully wrap them around the tops of pencils? PRICELESS! She’s about to come down to do the Sexual Harassment training module with me, which will make it way more fun, instead of an absolute slog. I’m also relieved to have cut the 11yo’s hair (this just happened) – it was my first time attempting a no-clippers hair cut for him, and I think it turned out okay (I’m sure I’ll like it better after he sleeps on it and washes it).

The biggest positive is that I bought a TV for my classroom! This may seem excessive, as the school provides one that works (and I’ll still have that one), but when they installed the “cooling system” (which seems to do what it’s name suggests!), they had to take down the old, broken TV that has been mounted on my wall for five years (the one that works is on a stand). I requested they leave the mount up, which they did, so now I can put up my own TV there, so I’ll have two! They’ll be projecting the same images (I have an HDMI splitter) – the second TV will just be a lot easier for a good portion of the room to see (the one on the stand is just not very tall). I’ve been dreaming of having two working TVs in my room for years, and hopefully tomorrow I will make that dream a reality. I found a nice 55″ flat screen on sale for under $300 (with taxes), and I bought it today. Tomorrow I just have to get it up on the mount. I am REALLY excited.

Well, the 15yo and I just finished my Sexual Harassment training. It was a new module, and instead of being kind of awful and cringy (what she was hoping for), it was really well done and thoughtful. While she was a little bummed out that we didn’t get to laugh at all the ridiculously overdone examples of sexual harassment, she appreciated the examples with queer and transgender people being portrayed realistically and respectfully. It was definitely more interesting to complete the training with her – we had some interesting conversations!

Well this post has been all over the place. Welcome to my brain at the start of school! I don’t know if I’ve ever just shown up on the first required work day, without having stepped foot in my classroom at least a couple times over the summer. I definitely felt stressed out today, but I don’t think I could have managed just showing up like that without doing some work before hand in the past. I really do think my baseline stress levels are a little lower right now, from the HRT and quality sleep. I’m still very grateful for how decent I have been feeling!