Sick Day

One crappy thing about being a teacher is you can't just call in sick. Calling in involves taking a good hour to write substitute plans and assemble all the gobbledygook that goes along with them. Upon waking my kids up for school and finding that one of them is sick, I usually fall into a frenzy, throwing on sweats, flying to the school so that I can excavate my desk and whip it into some semblance of organization for the sub. Then there is the great debate. Do I actually have the sub try to teach something or do I stick everyone with 6 hours of busywork? With CRTs two weeks away, my conscience won't let me go the busywork route. Don't get me wrong, we do have some great subs at my school--but they're just not me, you know? Then there's the classroom that I go back to tomorrow. A stack of busywork to grade (or more realistically to throw in the garbage when no one is looking) and a list of kids who were screwing with the sub to discipline. At least my desk is clean.Steve has it easy. If he were to wake up sick tomorrow morning and decide to stay home, here's how it would go: He'd say in a most groggy voice "Dee, I'm sick...will you bring me the laptop?" After I placed the laptop onto the bed next to him, he would roll over and crack one eye long enough to send an email, before pulling the covers back over his head and falling asleep again. He doesn't even have to call in. He emails in sick. Even though it is way harder for me to stay home (in my opinion, of course--he might argue that statement), we do take turns staying home when the kids are sick. So here I am--AJ's watching TV on the couch, I'm catching up on my blog and getting ready to clean house, grade papers and pay bills. I kind of wish I were sick so I could justify sitting on the couch all day with her. I do plan to catch up on Grey's Anatomy while she's sleeping, so the day isn't completely lost.

Harvest

I made it out to the garden this morning and found that the garden doesn't care whether I visit regularly or not. Stuff just keeps growing and growing without me. I cut one of the smaller giant zukes up into strips, dipped the strips in tempura batter and deep fried them. I haven't deep fried anything since I started weight watchers five years ago. Man, they were yummy! I'm not sure what I'm going to do with all those cucumbers, though. I'll put them in the teacher's lounge tomorrow. Every teacher knows that the lounge is like the black hole for food. I once put a nine-by-thirteen pan of Mom's pistachio dessert out before school started and that sucker was gone by first recess. It looked like they had licked the pan. I bet the cucumbers don't go that fast, though.

Anyone have a recipe that calls for humongous zucchini? I can't let them go to waste since it was my beginning-of-the-school-year neglect that made them like this. I'm personally responsible. When I first saw them out there this morning I felt actual guilt. Like some mad scientist experimenting in zucchini deformity. My conscience won't allow me to make fried zucchini every night this week and we've had more than enough zucchini bread this summer. I don't think they'll be good sauteed, but I guess I could try it. I could send zucchini sticks in Munchkin's backpack for snack (but he'd probably disown me). I thought about entering them for a giant zucchini prize in the county fair, but we don't have a fair, here. Can you use them to carve jack 'o lanterns? I promise to garden responsibly from now on.

Remembering 9/11

Go read Mary Alice's post on 9/11.

I talked to my fifth graders about 9/11 today. They noticed the date this morning and were commenting--"Oh, hey, it's 9/11, guys." I think someone else said, "Cool." September 11 has taken on a kind of folkloric feel for our kids who were, like my students, two or three years old when it happened. So I talked to them about it. I told them about waking up to the phone ringing and what I saw on TV that morning and how scary it was to not know if we were safe. I drew a sketch of the twin towers and showed how they collapsed and told them that thousands of people died--people who had just gotten up to go to work that morning. When I was done talking, their hands flew up. Where were the terrorists from? Why did they do this? I answered the best I could. I told them about our freedom and compared it to what life was like for people, and especially women under the Taliban in Afghanistan. I made them understand that the freedom we have is the reason I'm such a stickler about the Pledge of Allegiance. I think we are so used to enjoying the freedom of our country that we forget its cost. We forget that American families such as Mary Alice's are sacrificing for that freedom every day.

I miss you, blog

Between teaching a new grade level and having almost thirty kids in my class, Munchkin's soccer, and being on the PTA board--I'm not sure I'm going to make it through September. Just the paper grading alone is enough to put me under (and I've kind of prided myself on speedy grading practices in the past). I feel like I'm bringing mountains of papers home at night. Nose-picking and bloody teeth falling out aside, 2nd grade was nice in that the grading was pretty easy. I think the problem is that my personal life (well, not that it feels like my life is mine, personally, right now) isn't allowing me to stay late at school this year like I have in the past. It's amazing how much we really do have to work outside our contracted hours in order to do our job well. (If you disagree with that statement...please let me know how you do it!)

I miss blogging, I miss reading. I miss gardening (I'm sure I have zucchini out there the size of watermelons, right now). I will figure out a way to take care of myself this school year. I hope you are doing the same, faithful blog-reader.

Dog Tired

I am drug out dog tired tonight. I got up 30 minutes early this morning to work on lesson plans because it's too hard to work in the morning with the Munchkin in my classroom. Not that I don't appreciate his singing the ABC's on my classroom microphone. It's just hard to get much done when you are reminding someone to EAT YOUR BREAKFAST for the thirtieth time in as many minutes. School started and I taught until lunch. By "lunch" I mean the sandwich that I ate while hovering over the RIZO machine making copies for the PTA. I taught until school was out...wait, you have a prep every day, too? It seems like everyone in the world has a daily prep period except for Northern Nevada teachers. Make that Northern Nevada elementary school teachers. (Yeah, middle and high school teachers, I'm glaring at you right now). I worked until 4:45 doing the stuff that I might have done had I had a prep today, then ran and picked up the kids. At home I tumbled them out of the car and into soccer gear, ate a speedy dinner of microwaved fat-free hot dogs, and tossed them back into the car. We headed to the park for the game. I think the soccer game was the first time I sat down all day; that is, until Bean pooped her pants. Thankfully it was at the end of the game since there were no paper towels or toilet paper in either bathroom. We headed back home for baths, books and bed, after which, I worked on some more beginning-of-the-year parent phone calls (I have to call them all by Friday). Writing this blog is the first thing I've done for myself all day! The Geek is in school tonight so I won't see him until tomorrow. He gets mad when I say how easy it would be to just get to go sit in class for a while and I know how much he misses the kids during the semester. I do have to say, though, that after a day like today, sitting in class sounds kind of nice. (Sorry Geek. I love you.)

Week One under my belt

Having a three day weekend after the first week of school is a gift. We spent the day yesterday at the University football game; today I'll be unearthing my house from a week of utter neglect and I still have tomorrow to play with. (I didn't want to tell you that tomorrow I'll be going in to work on lesson plans and grading and parent phone calls that are due Friday). But hey, at least I'm not doing those things today, along with the housecleaning.

The Munchkin started kindergarten. I've never been a my-child-can-do-no-wrong parent. However, I'm afraid I am guilty of knowing that my child is surely the smartest, most special child in the class. I'm sure Mrs. B can just see the parental love radiating from him when he's standing among his peers. I wonder if all parents feel this way. I guess I should make my parent phone calls extra positive this week.

I am thrilled to be teaching fifth graders. I did my time in second grade last year in order to get a job close to home and this first week back with older kids has completely reaffirmed that I am an intermediate teacher at heart. I decided to focus hard on procedures the first two weeks of school--sharpening pencils, formatting math homework, writing journal entries, even how to stand up and push in your chair. I figure if I take care of all the piddly crap these two weeks, then I can spend the rest of the year just teaching. This seems like a really neat group of kids. I think it's going to be a great year.

I guess I can't put off the housework any longer. Thanks for reading my blog. I enjoy your comments. (Come on--don't make me cry when I check my blog and see yet another post with "0 comments." Okay, shameless comment begging complete. Have a great long weekend!

Concert Tickets

So, the Geek bought tickets to see Dave Matthews Band in Sacramento. This is about the most perfect way I could think of to end the summer. We've been wanting to see DMB since....forever. One small problem. The concert is wayyyy at the end of summer. So far at the end of summer that it is actually on the first day of the new school year. We can't go, I whined. How could you spend so much money on tickets without paying attention to the date? I implored. The district wouldn't even let me take a personal day the first week of school, even if I was crazy enough to want one, I moaned. Besides, it's the Munchkin's First Day of Kindergarten, practically one of the most important days of his life, I huffed. The Geek assured me he could sell the tickets on Craigslist since the concert is sold out. Sob.

I was at Book Club last month griping about not getting to go to The Concert (we have to warm up before we start talking about the book) and my dear friend J said, "Well, why don't you just go?"

I hadn't thought of it that way. I could just go.

I worked out some of the details on my drive home. The Geek will pick the Munchkin up from AM kindergarten and take him and the Bean to a sitter for the night. He'll be there to pick me up right when the bell rings at 3:15, we'll drive the three hours and we might not even miss the opening act. We'll drive back that night and I'll be tired as hell at work the next day, but who cares--It's Dave Matthews Band!

When I got home from book club and crawled into bed with the Geek, I told him the good news. The next day he emailed me from work, "So who in Book Club do I have to thank for changing your mind?" I glared at him, or at his email anyway. How do you know it wasn't just my idea? I didn't have to ask. He knows me too well. As I get closer to thirty, I'll try not to always be so practical.

It's going to be great!