End of Quarter CRAZINESS!!!

Have you ever felt like you were stuck on a roller coaster and just couldn't get off? I actually love roller coasters, so under normal circumstances I would be loving life. However, I don't find it so enjoyable when I'm stuck on said roller coaster and start to feel claustrophobic and the end of the ride is not in sight.

I should preface this seemingly negative introduction with a confession: I have in fact, watched several of the Texas Rangers playoff games. As you may realize, they are (at least) four hours later here than local time. This means that even if it's a 4pm game in Detroit, it starts at 8pm here. This sounds reasonable enough, but if a person were watch the whole thing, they wouldn't get to bed until after midnight. For some people this would not be a problem, but for an individual like myself this DOES become a problem. Especially when it develops into a pattern. Miss Black become a monster, comparable to the Incredible Hulk without all the green muscles and potential for saving the world.

That being said, back to the roller coaster. This past Wednesday was the end of the first quarter. Grades are due Monday. My grading pile is many inches too thick. Tonight my handball team plays an elimination match in the tournament playoffs. Immediately following handball I am responsible for close to 40 middle schoolers...not just for a few hours. No, that wouldn't be worth it. I am the staff sponsor for their lock-in AKA all-nighter AKA sleepless night for Miss Black. Tomorrow afternoon I am taking care of my friend Micah. He's six and his parents are out of town so we're hanging out for a few hours. If the Royal Pains make the finals I will be playing the next round of handball Saturday night. Sunday's schedule includes church and small group. There's a lot on the go. I feel overwhelmed...and apparently I'm using my blog to blow off some steam.

I was feeling slightly panicked and lamenting my very full schedule in the staff room this morning when I realized that I was sounding very negative. On a roller coaster our vision is often blurred by the speed or the wind, but I don't want to be blinded or become known as an 'Eyore' so I promptly decided that I should brainstorm some of the brighter things in my life at the moment.

1. My classroom A/C has been working reasonably well after months of not working at all. If I leave it on overnight it's a freezer in the morning and the cold stays in for most of the school day.

2. My first class today was very engaged in the reader's theater they were doing this morning about King Hammurabi's Code of Law.

3. Last year I found it hard to go back to teaching after lunch, but this year I usually look forward to my afternoon classes. They are smaller and we have a lot of fun. Today we are creating scavenger hunts.

4. While I was brainstorming my list of positives, one of the teachers in the staff room told me that I looked pretty today :)

5. The coffee this morning was French Vanilla...yummmm

6. A frustrating conversation I had this morning was resolved quickly and the person who had hurt my feelings apologized

7. The Middle School Senate is really excited about the lock-in and have done the majority of the planning

8. I found enough sponsors who are crazy enough to stay up all night with me

9. I love the kids I teach...and think most of them love me back

10. Supper will be waiting for me when I get home this afternoon: shrimp and bacon fettucine.

Needless to say I won't be blogging this weekend, but I'll see you on the flip side!

PS. For those of you who submitted an answer to last week's trivia question, I played field hockey in middle school and again in my OAC (grade 13 in Ontario) year.