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Life as we know it....A Teacher's Life in August

August....just the sound of this month gives me such mixed feelings.  The sight of school supplies creates a strange feeling....almost nauseating...but at the same time the excitement of a new school year.  If you are not a teacher and are wondering what these last few weeks "off" are like for those of us teachers, well wait no longer.  It goes a little like this....

(NOTE: I'm leaving out a HUUUUUUGGGGEEE part.  Juggling being a mom and wife too!!!! I don't want you reading this post and have an anxiety attack. :))

*Wake up....make to-do list. One for home and one for your "other " home.
*Attempt to cross off SOMETHING on your home list without becoming extremely overwhelmed with your other list...that is just waiting.....with all those other empty lines that you know will be full by the end of the day with many other things that have yet to be done.
*If by chance you are able to go to school during the day, you are greeted by a empty classroom that smells like a mixture of dust and cleaning supplies.  You look at this random assortment of materials..supplies...STUFF.....and again feel overwhelmed with the task of creating a MASTERPIECE of a room that will entice 20+5 kids to love learning.
*Next.....hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours... are spent sticking, cutting, printing, moving, sorting, filing, cleaning, dusting,  etc.  And repeat.
*When you finally realize you haven't eaten or been to the restroom since you arrived, you decide it is best to just get a few more hours in before taking a break.  It's good practice for your body.....to get back into the habit of having 15 min or less to eat and teaching your bladder to wait an entire workday.
*As you turn off the lights, you realize you didn't even have to time to consider what you are going to actually teach the first day of school.  Again....feel overwhelmed...but realize that will have to wait until tomorrow.
*Go home....work on that home to do list.  Only accomplish a few things before realizing that all those classroom pinterest projects aren't going to make themselves......spend a few hours on the computer until you can't keep your eyes open.
*Sleep....if only you could sleep.  It's amazing how you can be so exhausted, yet not be able to sleep.  As soon as your head hits the pillow, your mind jumps on this teacher treadmill...going through all the little things you forgot to do today, all you need to finish tomorrow, and all those little faces that will walk into your classroom in a few short weeks.

Those little faces. :)  That's why we put ourselves through this exhausting process right?  I think becoming a mom has given me more insight into my job as a teacher.  As strange as it may sound, I think I appreciate what teachers do, more than I ever have.  Because now I realize--Reid and Rylee's little faces are going to be bouncing in a classroom sooner than I want.  And it truly amazes me that these people we call teachers...would do so much..for my kids they know nothing about.

So I pray your child's teacher is the "not sleep, no break, overwhelmed" kind of teacher.  But I pray you take the time to thank him/her....because that teacher is probably not in it for the HUGE salary and summers "off"...but for those little faces. :)

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