Tuesday, January 18, 2011

The light at the end of the tunnel...

The light at the end of the tunnel...I'm just now seeing a glimmer in the distance.

It's been a chaotic couple of weeks.

I mentioned way back when that our old and busted school was being rebuilt.

Well, the many months of waiting and watching has come to an end. Construction is complete, at least enough for us to move-in.

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Move. Mid-year.

**scream**

Noooooooooooooo!

Why, YES!

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Have you ever moved? It's a gigantic stress ball, right?

Imagine moving with 22 five year old children in your charge. And having to teach them while at it.

I managed to get all of the popsicle sticks, books, crayons, pom poms, unifix cubes, glue sticks, and other kindergarten necessities packed.

This was no small feat.

But the mission was accomplished.

Everything successfully made it to my new classroom.

This, too, was no small feat.

I was given one weekend to unpack all boxes, arrange new furniture, and find places for all those popsicle sticks, books, crayons, pom poms, unifix cubes, glue sticks, and other kindergarten necessitates.

One weekend.

One weekend?

One weekend.

Have you ever seen a kindergarten classroom?

I'm going to let you in on a little secret: Kindergarten teachers spend at least a couple of weeks getting their rooms all decked out for the wee ones to come and wreak havoc.

I was getting a couple of days.

Thanks to loud music, Diet Dr. Pepper, and a Mr. who did an ace job of picking up the slack, the impossible became the possible.

The room was ready (enough) to greet my posse this morning.

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We had a very successful day in our new building. It was like the beginning of school all over again. We had to learn a new bathroom routine, where the office and nurse were located, where our new square on the rug would be, and most important, how to get to the lunchroom.

There were a few snafus: One of my little peeps decided to bring a snow globe to school, which shattered in her back pack. Another one stepped in mud up to her ankles...literally. This was all discovered while trying to exit the building for an unexpected fire alarm.

Oh, and did I mention this excitement all took place in the first thirty minutes of our day?

Which brings me to now.

Things are calming down.

I can see us returning to our familiar routine. Last night, I folded a basket of laundry. Tonight, I cooked for the first time in over a week. Tomorrow, I plan on cleaning the bathroom.

I've had to let things slide.

It has been a real struggle. I don't do well when things aren't "in their place". I have a difficult time concentrating. Anxiety is high.

It hasn't been pretty. The Boy started referring to me as an angry elf again.

I need time to catch my breath.

I'm hitting pause.

Please know, Blog Land homies, that I am reading and enjoying all of your recent posts, whenever I get a free moment. But commenting has been an extreme challenge. If you don't get a shout-out from me in the next few days, you know why.

I still love you...I just have to put away the clean underwear and get rid of the ring around my tub.

I knew you'd understand.

XXOO