In utter panic I jumped up, dragged my son out of bed and
while toasting his frozen pancakes I texted a colleague to alert her to the
fact that I wasn’t going to make my meeting and asked her to look out for a
student who I had invited to join us. Her reply was: No worries! Scouring the
clean laundry pile and pantry I threw together outfits and lunches, splashed my
face with cold water and dragged my boy towards the car while shoving him into
his coat. I don’t recall whether or not I brushed my hair!
As soon as I opened the garage I knew I was in danger of not
making it in time for my first class of the day let alone my meeting. Of course
it was snowing and the roads were a disaster. After twenty minutes I had traveled
a total of two miles, experienced inertia first hand as my car resisted the
brakes and drifted into oncoming traffic, and realized that I was utterly decaffeinated.
Time to call for back up! Blearily negotiating the roads I called two of my 5/6
colleagues for assistance. Both were stuck in traffic but assured me that they
would arrive ahead of me, organize my kids and get my first class up and
running. I got to my son’s school relieved that my first class was covered but
still rushed down the hallway to drop him safely at Kids Club. That’s when I epically
wiped out. Both feet went up in the air and I landed flat on my back. Since my
hip has been bothering me for the last two weeks this wasn’t the greatest thing
that could have happened. In extreme pain I assured my kid I was okay and once
he verified the fact that we were alone in the hallway, I took a moment to
remain prostrate, lament my fortune and gather my thoughts about my scattered
life.
I signed him in with a kiss goodbye and limped back to my
car. I entered my class three minutes after the bell rang and my teaching
partner Rick Joseph was there, with both of our classes, taking attendance and
getting them set for the day. We arranged our special schedule, raided the
fridge in the teacher lounge for a breakfast consisting of leftovers from the
PTSA conference dinner the night before and had a great morning of learning. I
introduced a cartoon activity I thought the students would be excited about and
when one of them asked if he could do a Powerpoint version instead, I felt good
about the fact that my kids feel comfortable negotiating with me about how they
demonstrate their learning.
During lunch I prepared guest teacher plans for
tomorrow when I will continue conferences for my math students, and my 5/6 science
partner Tammy Brown brought me back a much needed, heartwarming soup lunch!Conferences began at 1pm and at 3pm my partner had to head
for the airport to present at the NCTE conference in Washington D.C. Happy for
him to go and learn and grow, I was also sad to complete the evening without him
as it’s always good to have my other half to bounce off during conferences. A wonderful
dinner was provided for us by my principal and vice principal and I headed back
to the final three hours of conferences reenergized, albeit nervous about the
continuing snow fall, the state of the roads, and the fact I had no snowbrush
with me to clean up my car.
At 6pm a parent arrived late for her conference and was completely
understanding of the fact that the full schedule meant I couldn’t fit her in
without inconveniencing all my other appointments for the night. She left happy
to reschedule and, I suspect, unaware of how truly appreciative I was of her flexibility.
Throughout the rest of the night I was glad to share the successes and future goals
of my students, and receive well wishes for my transition into my new role as
instructional specialist. One of my last students of the night arrived with a
cake he had made for me, and I headed for the
car park ready to deal with my inevitably snow buried car.To my amazement I found my truck free and clear of snow, in
stark contrast to it’s neighbors. I can only imagine that someone had blessed
me with a random act of kindness and cleared my car for me. It was such a
relief at the end of a long day and permitted me to concentrate on getting home
in time to kiss my own children goodnight.
I guess the point I’m trying to make is that when you work
at Birmingham Covington School there really is no such thing as a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad day. I am so lucky to work with an amazing team of educators
who I can turn to in times of trauma and I know they have my back, no questions
asked. They nurture and support me and I cannot express my gratitude for them
enough. My students are total troopers and have the skills and maturity to bend
and adapt to the flow of an unusual day. Their parents have the unique ability to
make me feel like a super star and I am honored to know and serve them. My bucket
overflows tonight as I check my alarm is set, and prepare to do it all again
tomorrow.
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