Two in a Day! And Two Days in a Row!

I figure the other one doesn't really count, so. . .

It's Wednesday, and this week is officially more than half over. It is Wednesday, right? I lose track. Today I'm staying after school to grade papers, clean my desk, and prepare for tomorrow. . .then (ideally) I won't take anything home. We'll see if it happens that way.

My days are looking up. Most of my classes are falling into line, and I'm feeling more organized and more prepared than I did the first few weeks. I still don't want to get up in the morning, and I still don't want to come to school most days, but it is at least livable (and maybe even enjoyable) once I'm here.

I've come to a new realization this week that what our society has done in allowing women into the mainstream workforce is not only "allowing equal opportunities" or "sharing the work," but quite literally created new and additional chores. It's not as if working women replace the work they would otherwise do at home with a paying job. They add the career on top of the work that is required at home. What logic is there in doubling one person's work load and then being surprised when both spouses (spice?) are stressed and overworked, as is true for many American households today? No wonder people feel like they can't keep up. More money does not equal more time. In fact, it may often equal less. "Time is of the essence" has a whole new meaning in our two-paycheck-family world.

Only 70?

We're not talking about years, but posts. My dashboard says I only have 70 posts. Is that a pitifully low number, considering the length of time this blog has existed? How many posts do YOU have?

To Quiet My Conscience

So I'm feeling guilty. So I haven't posted in. . .how many days? So I got a ShinyStats e-mail yesterday notifying me of faithful would-be readers. So I post.

It's sad, really. I come up with all these great post titles during the day, when I can't post. By the time evening comes around and I can post, I've either forgotten the great titles (and therefore lost my motivation) or am too tired to feel like typing something cheerfully newsy. Last night my great post title was "Hungry Husbands and Weary Wives." Great, because it's alliterative. I wasn't so much weary--although Kevin was hungry--as just tired. Weary implies more long-term tiredness, exhaustion, and apathy fueled by lack of energy. So maybe it wasn't such a great title. But it sounded good.

Today all my classes are taking tests, and it's wonderfully quiet. . .relatively speaking, of course. It gives me time to grade, at least, although I have to leave in about 30 minutes for a workshop having something to do with preparing 10th graders to take the state writing test. Blah. And I could be grading!!! Maybe I'll take it with me. . .I wonder how conspicuous that would be.

Students return from lunch in 1 minute. Gotta go!

Succumbing to Peer Pressure

In response to complaints and wishes for my uninspiring prattle, I blog.

I confess it has been too long since I opened this page. However, the truth is I haven't been enjoying an overly positive outlook on life. That bad week I wrote of before seems to be prolonging itself, indefinitely. School, on the best days, is trying. I consistently feel sapped of energy and enthusiasm, and not just for school. Behavior continues to be a serious problem; a day with only 1 fight in the school is a good day. A day where I only write referrals for students who have too many tardies or don't wear their IDs is a really good day. I have called numerous parents, written too-numerous referrals, and have gone almost completely gray. (Okay, so the last part isn't true. Does it get me any sympathy? I'm only 23!) I keep injuring my fingers, too: a paper cut here, a scraped knuckle there, a burn blister from cutting hot peppers. My AP class tells me I need to slow down. They don't understand why I always have a band-aid somewhere on one of my hands. (Speaking of band-aids, I've almost run out. . .and I don't have kids to use them up!)

Last week started off badly, but was better by the end of the week. Hopefully this week will be the same. Most of it is just stress and an overwhelming number of things to do (which is why laundry is piled high in my closet), combined with lack of energy to prepare any real meals. However, I did pre-cook some meat this weekend, so I can probably start cooking again. K is gone for a business trip to DC for the next 2 days, and I'm hoping to get caught up on grading and cleaning while he's out. Then we go to OKC for him to get his wisdom teeth taken out, and then Amanda is coming to stay with us for a couple nights during her Fall Break. Then I get Fall Break(!!!) and a birthday. In other news, my mom is back home. Brian still doesn't have a mode of transportation; Insurance wants to total his truck. And my class is returning from lunch, so I must go.

Farewell.