And for my Midwestern friends, I’d like to expand to the full “Uff-da may-da!” Okay, maybe that’s just something I like to say, but I’m sure it came from somewhere in Wisconsin. For those of you not in the know, the uff is pronounced like “poof”. And it basically takes the place of “oh my gosh!” or “holy crap!” or “are you fucking kidding me, dude?” Welcome to the land of the Norwegian.
I realized after reading everyone ELSE’s blogs today that I’ve been a serious slacker. Sorry, all. I spent the weekend practicing balancing my personal and professional life. We went Saturday in the car up Cameron Pass to see the trees, take pictures, frolic in the wilderness. Maybe we should have checked the weather first, because about halfway up, the freezing rain started. So we went all the way up, didn’t take a single picture (can’t get my Nikon WET!!!!!!) and turned right around. We were almost winding road-free when Ryan puked. I’m sorry that I can’t find a better way to say it – should I explain what a Sonic corn dog meal with tots and milk looks like on the way back up since I didn’t take a picture? Frightening. We stripped her down, thanked God there was a blanket on the actual seat of the car, tossed an extra Megan jacket on her and prayed it wouldn’t happen again. It didn’t – she fell asleep and after about 20 minutes was fully recovered. “Did you take a nap, Mom?” Um, no, Ryan, I didn’t. I was too busy trying to keep my coney dog down because I couldn’t erase the mental picture of your vomit going into my cherry limeade cup. Thanks for checking though, punkin.
On Sunday, I spent 2.5 hours grading Really Boring Essays. Seriously. They really weren’t that *bad* per se, but reading about the first day of school 27 times in a row is booooooooorrrrrrrrrring. The trade off for that was a nice round of golf (which made me sore today – yes I’m that out of shape) and a reinstatement of Sunday evening get togethers with my kick-ass sister in law. We went to Chili’s, drank margaritas, ate food that was generally bad for us and gossiped. I lub her so.
Jeebus, now that I’ve updated my diary…. 🙂
So lately my mind has been pretty much on survival mode. (thus, the uff-da) Did you know that your brain will physiologically begin to refuse to accept new information when you are under extreme stress? That’s a fact. I’m exhibit A. I cannot believe all there is to think about and do and prepare for and worry about this year. Being student council adviser along with trying to view the world through the eyes of an administrator has completely upended me.
Remember that day when you realized that your parents really DON’T know everything? That’s how I’ve been feeling lately. It’s been truly eye-opening to change my point of view completely. It hasn’t made me want to change my plan – which is a good thing, I think – but it certainly has made me change my views of the people around me. I know that ultimately this will make me a better teacher and administrator, and frankly, that’s what keeps me going. To cope, I’ve just made the decision that what I get out of it is completely up to me. I need to take control and make this experience my own, instead of letting it be defined for me. I refuse to do this any other way. I want to be able to sleep at night.
Speaking of which, I think I better do that. I’m old, you know.
October 6, 2008
Categories: Uncategorized . . Author: taratru . Comments: 1 Comment