How Time Flies

As I was sitting in my new classroom today, staring helplessly around at the huge pile of stuff that I've managed to accumulate during the past 5 years, one of my new coworkers popped in to say hi. He noticed that I'd spread my 50 or so photos of Charlotte on the chalk tray of my board (though, is it still called a chalk tray when it's a white board, not a chalk board?), and asked about her. He mentioned that his wife has a blog in which she writes about their young daughter, and how he'd printed the posts and put them in a book so one day their daughter could look through and see her growth from her parents' perspective. That conversation made me miss my blog, which led me back here. It's been quite some time since I've posted anything, as necessities seem to get in the way of wants, but it often seems that all those little requirements like work and food and laundry just don't matter as much when you can't do something you enjoy. So...here I am.

Honestly, I should be working in my room. This is going to be an interesting year (though I should probably be careful when I say that--more on that later); I have 4 different classes to teach, and what seems like increasingly less time to plan and execute my lessons effectively. Starting at a new school makes things a little more tricky, because I am still so unfamiliar with the policies and workings of the new machine. Hopefully, by the end of the week, I'll be a little more comfortable with my new surroundings. Right now, I'm sitting at my desk looking at my classroom, and not much seems different. A classroom is a classroom, a desk is a desk, a pencil is a pencil. But I know that on Monday morning, the students entering the room will not be my students, and that hurts a little. Or a lot.

I know they will become mine, just as this school will, but I do worry about the time it will take for us to acclimate to one another. I haven't felt the first day of school jitters like this since my first year of teaching!

In addition to moving jobs, I'm also moving houses. It's exciting but stressful, and I look forward to when it's all done. I would very much like to never have to buy another house or pack up and move again. It would be a lot easier if I just had time to do it, but with the start of the school year, I'm so limited in the time I can give. I feel quite ineffectual.

I also feel quite sore. Charlotte and I were involved in a three-car collision yesterday in the pouring rain...on the way home from the doctor...where we discovered that she has severe tonsillitis. A very young driver rear-ended us and caused me to hit the car ahead of me. Let's just say that my mom's poor Sienna looks like a Toyota Oreo. Let's also say that I never, ever want to be that scared again in my life. Even after it was over and I knew that Charlotte was safe, I still kept imagining all the ways it could have been worse...and I have a very active imagination! I know it doesn't do any good to dwell on the "what-ifs," but somehow I can't seem to stop. I wish there was a pause button, or better yet, a STOP.

So there you have my very hectic and emotional first day back at work--I very much hope the rest of the week (and year) isn't quite as "interesting" as the first day!