Takes Some Getting Used To

It's been awhile. And by awhile, I mean...almost three whole months. Who I am? Why do I blog? Why should anybody read when there is nothing new?

Well, I probably don't have a good answer to any of those questions now. What I can say is that life since NY has been a whirlwind. I always thought it was trite to say that a first year teacher had one of the worst jobs in the world. Granted, I love what I'm doing (mostly), but it is difficult to keep up the 80-100 work weeks. Of course, my kids are what keep me going -- except when they disrupt my class, disrespect each other, and generally destroy the papers I so carefully copied for them. But, I love them. Their smiles are beaming, their pride in a good job priceless. Occasionally, they reward me with their good test scores or the proverbial light bulb bursting on.

More often, I look around the room and am awestruck at the fact that they are the students and I am the teacher. I am the teacher. I am a teacher. I have their grades and their brains all in my precious care. And, as middle schoolers, that kind of care is somewhat essential.

Of course, life outside of school goes on. I miss my mom. Especially in those moments I would usually call her, which is about every day when I'm in between meetings or just leaving school. Sometimes, it's a vague pang, and other days, it's a full-blown version of homesickness I've never quite felt before. Thankfully, I have people around me that fill (at least somewhat) that void. When it's not sad, it's weird for me to think about these being the first few months of my life without my mom and grandma. They sure prepared me for a life of independence, but I wish that could have waited.

It's good to know that I have a lot of them still living in me though. Of all times for such dramatic change, at least this came when I was already planning a big change and starting to face life head-on.

So, that basically sums up the last few months since my last blog. Lots has happened. Even more has changed.

Instead of my life being filled with reading and writing papers, my life is filled with grading, reading young adult novels, lesson planning, thinking about 12-14 year-olds and ho awkward/crazy/profound they can be. I have a whole library of professional development books, hours logged in professional development itself, countless more hours of faculty meetings, team meetings, parent conferences...

A year ago, if you told me this would be my life, and it would be in Tulsa, OK, I would have laughed at you. I would have said that I would take the job if it came my way and I didn't have anything else to fall back on. Welcome to the 2009 American economy, folks. I would say I still got a pretty good deal. It just takes some getting used to.

~MJ