Long Days, Happy Days

With winter slowly but surely approaching (at least in this hemisphere), it seems like the days are getting shorter overall.  (And winter is DEFINITELY near in Songdo...after a rainy Saturday it has been incredibly chilly.)  But the hours I spend working or at school just get longer and longer!  For some this might be overwhelming and a source of additional stress, but for me, they're days that are filled with things that I love and am passionate about.  Everything I do feeds my soul, so I can draw energy from it.

I was chatting with one of the school administrators today, and she asked about how a recent scheduling snafu was resolved.  I reassured her that I had managed to get what I needed, and we agreed that being a cross-division faculty member is hard work sometimes!  At the end of our conversation she explained, "Well we all love you and we all want you," which is why it feels like tug-of-war sometimes.  Even though things get crazy at certain times of year, I don't mind being caught in between two things that I love.

Take the last two days, for example.  As always, I got to school super early (just before 7am), and on Mondays, that means assembly prep.  I dropped my things off in my classroom and headed straight to the theatre to check microphones, set lighting, fire up projectors, and coordinate with presenters.  After assembly I spent the morning planning the week with the TD of the theatre and then finishing the lighting focus for the fall play.  After a quick lunch, I scurried back to third grade for science lab.  We introduced bottle rockets and the kids got to work on their own designs.  As soon as we went the last group back to their classrooms, I gathered my backpack and coat and headed to the theatre once more for two and a half hours of play rehearsal.  Last night, after a somewhat hectic weekend, I came home, ate some leftover taco salad, and went to sleep before 8pm!

Today, a similar day.  The school day was a blur of supporting our classroom's student teacher (who is lead teaching this week!  woohoo!!!), setting up the tech table in the theatre, a meeting with my grade level team, and hanging with my students.  The day concluded once more with play rehearsal (only 45 minutes this time!).  I scooted right out to catch my PD class on teaching ESL students in mainstream classrooms, which I actually really love.  Once I got home, I visited my next-door neighbors, who I'll be babysitting on Friday night.  I hung with their kids to get them re-acquainted with me and wound up staying for a delicious dinner.  After a few minutes at home, right back to it -- babysitting for another family two floors up!  Since they went to sleep I've been alternating between catching up on TV and homework for my PD class.

Several years ago, I spent my summer doing sports ministry.  My head coach during my first and last sessions became a dear friend of mine and is incredibly wise.  The ministry program worked us hard, and I dropped into bed bone-tired at the end of each day.  My friend DH told me once that he loved that feeling of being exhausted when climbing into bed; it meant he had given everything he had that day.  So even though there are some days like Monday where I pat myself on the back for even making it home, I reflect on the day and am happy with how my energy was spent.

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Currently reading:  still The Boleyn Deceit...my students challenged me to read for an hour tonight, let's see if I manage it between that and my PD homework!
Current high:  days filled with purpose and passion
Current low:  between early bedtime and homework, we had very limited time for Nerf Wars tonight!