Week ten was… a long week. Work has been stressful lately with the pressure admin has put on the ELA department to administer and analyze the STAR exam. Plus, my co-teacher has been out for three weeks because of an injury, I had my formal observation, and our rosters continue to change as students return to four days of in-person learning. My mental energy for writing has been somewhat sapped as a result, and my self-imposed deadline for round one of revisions is only a few days away.
Absolutely no one is relying on me to finish this pass of the manuscript by the fifteenth, and there will be absolutely no consequences if I take a few extra days. But I don’t like to disappoint myself.
Sunday
As always, though, there were some highlights to the week. I enjoyed a Sunday dinner with my dad and Bailey Boo. It brings me immense joy to watch Bailey live her best life.
Monday
While my observation Monday was plagued with technical issues, which made teaching from home even more cumbersome, the students and I got through the lesson together with smiles on our faces. And!!! Personal progress: I did NOT comment on an ignorant Facebook post someone of high stature in our district made. I took a deep breath and fed the birds.
Tuesday
On Tuesday, I discovered I have a fairy godmother who sends me ethically-sourced chocolate without my asking. What a pleasant surprise to get an anonymous package of delicious chocolate! (I immediately correctly deduced the sender to be Guru Kath).
Bonus surprise: A polite little skunk visited my porch! With civility, he enjoyed a meal of cat food, but left some behind for the strays and raccoons! Like I said— well-mannered little guy.
Wednesday
Second Spring has arrived in Upstate, New York, too (First Spring lasted about two days). Which means people and animals alike were out and about. I got a few good WODs in at Nick and Ashley’s, finally getting my hands on a barbell again, and did a little running.
Thursday
And for the first time in about a year, I went to a store (that wasn’t a grocery store). Fittingly, it was the Nobe. I didn’t go there to shop, though. Many moons ago, I used to work at this location, and I was picking up some boxes for a coworker who’d announced they were in need at our staff meeting.
But, of course, I couldn’t not go to the YA section. And it was the most wonderful feeling— like running into old friends. I’ve gotten so immersed in the world of authors over the past year or so… with Pitchwars, NaNo, critique groups, and Twitter hashtags and follows… The YA section of the Nobe is teeming with books I’ve ordered, books I’ve read, books I’ve heard about… and I saw Isabel Sterling’s This Coven Won’t Break on the shelf! I’m in a weekly critique group with her! I felt mad cool by association. But mostly I felt connection. Here were these worlds of words, and I felt a familiarity not just with the some of the novels, but with the spirit of writing, taking comfort in story, and finding truth greater than fact.
Friday
I was ready for the end of the work week when it came because I felt antsy to have longer periods of writing time. Friday, yet again, wasn’t an easy work day of teaching, but it was still Friday. And there were moments of lightness— particularly when I was monitoring student screens and caught a glimpse of an email exchange between two girls. One asked the other: “are yall finna make out??” First of all, let’s be happy their question was that innocent. Secondly, they were both separately exchanging messages with me through GoGuardian (our monitoring platform) getting help on assignments. Y’all are calling my attention to your screens! Children. Get it together. I returned to the messaging tool and sent: “You know I can see your emails, right?”
The looks on their faces? Priceless.
Saturday
By Saturday, I was hustling toward my writing deadline, but not making much progress when a woodchuck made a guest appearance alongside some garbage Friday night’s wind had blown into my yard. He shall henceforth be called Doug (Credit to J. Erion). He dug the hole under the fence even bigger than it already was, and I love him for that.
Okay… off to do some more writing.