Sigh, Big sigh. My ACE have left. It was SOOO wonderful to have them visiting here. To see their smiling faces, feel their hugs, hear them laugh, share thoughts, sympathize with the pregnancy complaints. I'm so glad I'm the GRandma! I rejoice at my children's adult lives right now. They are doing well, struggling with the things of life and working on dreams they've made for themselves. A mother's prayers...
I was really bummed I forgot to pray With them before they left today, but I did it for them by myself, anyway. I'm too used to doing everything 'alone.' (Don't feel sorry for me, I didn't mean it that way.)
My house still has a faint scent of Thanksgiving cooking, left over pie crumbs and a refrigerator with containers and containers of bits of yummy left overs. My DIL is such a gourmet cook! CB2 better get over here soon, or her favorites will be eaten up! There are dishes and linens that need to be washed. I love it all. Makes the memories fresh and alive. I have CDs of pictures taken and those will be poured over and copied onto 'my pictures', then sent to friends and family elsewhere. Grr. Once again we forgot to take a picture of ALL of us together. Photoshop anyone?
And Lilo? Finally feeling a bit more secure from all the comings and goings of people in the house. She usually lives a quiet, 'alone' kind of life with me. She became quite skittish, stand-offish and even hissed at people who seemed too close to her favorite spaces!
Yesterday, while the kids visited their dad, I got my snow tires put on. It really feels like it could snow, but maybe I'm not attuned to the weather yet. I do know it is COLD! BRRRRRrrrrr.
**
As this holiday draws closed, my mind is drawn to my work at school again.
I am finally moved to the classroom upstairs and we are functional, though details are not finished yet, and furniture is still being shifted around. I moved my desk from home (I didn't have room for it) to the classroom and will buy a lateral file to match it (cherrywood look). My 'teacher's space' area of the classroom is still piled higher and deeper, as I haven't had time to sort through it all. But it will look nice and be very organized when finished...maybe by Christmas?
My injured assistant was out of ICU quickly (she didn't have to have any surgeries for her injuries) and went home the day before Thanksgiving. I've been remiss about contacting her, but will do so today or tomorrow before school starts up again. She still uses a walker, but is stubborn and will most likely recooperate in no time! She still will be off work for a couple months.
Slowly, my substitute assistant is getting the hang of the job, though she has been ill with a cold this last week. My other assistant called in sick on Wednesday. Of course, all the kids were there, but we made it through. NO, there are no subs available (especially the day before Thanksgiving! Are you kidding?)
I worked 8 hours last Sunday (yes, Sunday) putting the upstairs classroom together into working order. I'm thinking of taking those hours as comp-time on Friday and take a little trip to Portland to visit friends ... if the weather is good and all.
At least my car is working good now. I still think the clutch is a little spongey feeling, but I don't think the mechanic here replaced it. I need to ask them about that.
I think maybe it's time for a nap. Busy, happy times. Yawn.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
You Knew I couldn't hold out for long...
Okay, I'm back. But this time I just have to, well, complain, mostly.
My work here is so hard that I'm questioning God's leading and my sanity. I question staying here another year, yet am too tired to even think of moving.
Update: My classroom is finally moving upstairs for safety issues. Good thing, no? However, principal tells me today they are emptying the upstairs room of all the stored junk and should be able to move the 'main stuff' from my classroom upstairs tonight so I could have class up there tomorrow. She's just blowing out her a... There's no way. My kids need transition time, I, YES, I-I-I need transition time! The room isn't going to have the yearly once over cleaning? I know for a fact that the bathrooms don't have the diaper changing areas set up/installed, nor does the classroom. Unless those custodians are staying at work all night, this move tonight will not happen. The principal is just nuts, nuts, nuts. I can't stand her, but am trying to 'play the game'. I want to puke every time I'm faced with another 'turn to play.'
Then, the next to final straw (I don't even want to think what the final straw might be). When I arrive this morning 1/2 hour before school starts, the secretary tells me that my 'right arm' assistant has been in a serious car accident and is in ICU. I can't believe it. NO ONE TOLD ME?!?!?!?! At noon, I finally track down one teacher who said she left a message on my phone...left me a *%&$ message! {Oh, and did I tell you that a hefty wind storm knocked out my phone and internet over the weekend?} Why would they be content to leave only one message in this life/death situation? They can't make a 'long distance' call to my cell phone? What are they thinking/drinking?
I'm not just my assistant's 'supervisor'. We have worked hard together and formed a friendship bond. I was/am so hurt and angry by the obvious deletion of my 'needing to know'!!!!!!!!! I've been so angry today I've barked at the staff and the students! I've had to apologize all over myself. By noon, I was exhausted just from trying to control my emotions and think rationally about how to keep my classes running smoothly. First of all, I had to round up enough adults to push strollers and wheelchairs downstairs to the classroom on arrival. Being down one assistant makes it me and the other assistant for 4 nonambulatory kids. Thankfully the OTA could help, her supervisor was available and one nonambulatory child was absent. {Oh, yeah, this morning there was a "Do not use" sign on the elevator, but before I could get to the elevator, the class had entered to go down to the basement classroom...thankfully the elevator DID work that time. That just goes to show the kind of judgment my 2nd assistant has...."It seemed to work, I didn't think it was really broken".} Other staff kept running in and out of the classroom saying, "Are you all right?" Do you need any help" or bringing by useless volunteers who shuddered at the diapering, wheelchairs, etc. My main assistant was in her usual 'Monday" daze (even though it's Tuesday).
Okay, that's on top of my having to walk to work because I've been without a car since last Thursday. It's been in the shop as they keep adding on yet more things that seem to need repair. My son says I'm getting 'taken to the cleaners'. Maybe so. I know my car was in need of a lot of repairs, as my trusted mechanics in Portland had told me so 6 months ago with the same stuff. So then, after school, I needed to find a ride to get my car or walk the 3 miles to the shop. It's not the same beautiful 3 mile walk I enjoyed in OH. It's bitter cold wind and along a busy major thoroughfare (if you can call these roads thoroughfares).
The Walla Walla Way. I despise it.
The only two beautiful, precious things here are my CEO and the sunsets.
All in all, at the school, I know 3 staff who are trustworthy....and none of them are the administrators. I actually had one of my administrators tell me that, when I questioned her, "none of us does know what we're doing this year as we've changed duties and its not all ironed out yet." I wanted to spit.
I'm not saying my life is totally the pits. I know it could get worse. And I pray it doesn't. But today was one of those days when all you want to do is yell and scream with your hands high in the air...away from what bugs you. Then hide in a fetal position under a warm quilt at home with the door locked, the phones unplugged/turned off.
I'm going to do that now and hope I can relieve my headache and get to school early enough in the moring to do the prep my assistant did. Training 'green' assistants is as hard as teaching the kids. Where's that quilt?
My work here is so hard that I'm questioning God's leading and my sanity. I question staying here another year, yet am too tired to even think of moving.
Update: My classroom is finally moving upstairs for safety issues. Good thing, no? However, principal tells me today they are emptying the upstairs room of all the stored junk and should be able to move the 'main stuff' from my classroom upstairs tonight so I could have class up there tomorrow. She's just blowing out her a... There's no way. My kids need transition time, I, YES, I-I-I need transition time! The room isn't going to have the yearly once over cleaning? I know for a fact that the bathrooms don't have the diaper changing areas set up/installed, nor does the classroom. Unless those custodians are staying at work all night, this move tonight will not happen. The principal is just nuts, nuts, nuts. I can't stand her, but am trying to 'play the game'. I want to puke every time I'm faced with another 'turn to play.'
Then, the next to final straw (I don't even want to think what the final straw might be). When I arrive this morning 1/2 hour before school starts, the secretary tells me that my 'right arm' assistant has been in a serious car accident and is in ICU. I can't believe it. NO ONE TOLD ME?!?!?!?! At noon, I finally track down one teacher who said she left a message on my phone...left me a *%&$ message! {Oh, and did I tell you that a hefty wind storm knocked out my phone and internet over the weekend?} Why would they be content to leave only one message in this life/death situation? They can't make a 'long distance' call to my cell phone? What are they thinking/drinking?
I'm not just my assistant's 'supervisor'. We have worked hard together and formed a friendship bond. I was/am so hurt and angry by the obvious deletion of my 'needing to know'!!!!!!!!! I've been so angry today I've barked at the staff and the students! I've had to apologize all over myself. By noon, I was exhausted just from trying to control my emotions and think rationally about how to keep my classes running smoothly. First of all, I had to round up enough adults to push strollers and wheelchairs downstairs to the classroom on arrival. Being down one assistant makes it me and the other assistant for 4 nonambulatory kids. Thankfully the OTA could help, her supervisor was available and one nonambulatory child was absent. {Oh, yeah, this morning there was a "Do not use" sign on the elevator, but before I could get to the elevator, the class had entered to go down to the basement classroom...thankfully the elevator DID work that time. That just goes to show the kind of judgment my 2nd assistant has...."It seemed to work, I didn't think it was really broken".} Other staff kept running in and out of the classroom saying, "Are you all right?" Do you need any help" or bringing by useless volunteers who shuddered at the diapering, wheelchairs, etc. My main assistant was in her usual 'Monday" daze (even though it's Tuesday).
Okay, that's on top of my having to walk to work because I've been without a car since last Thursday. It's been in the shop as they keep adding on yet more things that seem to need repair. My son says I'm getting 'taken to the cleaners'. Maybe so. I know my car was in need of a lot of repairs, as my trusted mechanics in Portland had told me so 6 months ago with the same stuff. So then, after school, I needed to find a ride to get my car or walk the 3 miles to the shop. It's not the same beautiful 3 mile walk I enjoyed in OH. It's bitter cold wind and along a busy major thoroughfare (if you can call these roads thoroughfares).
The Walla Walla Way. I despise it.
The only two beautiful, precious things here are my CEO and the sunsets.
All in all, at the school, I know 3 staff who are trustworthy....and none of them are the administrators. I actually had one of my administrators tell me that, when I questioned her, "none of us does know what we're doing this year as we've changed duties and its not all ironed out yet." I wanted to spit.
I'm not saying my life is totally the pits. I know it could get worse. And I pray it doesn't. But today was one of those days when all you want to do is yell and scream with your hands high in the air...away from what bugs you. Then hide in a fetal position under a warm quilt at home with the door locked, the phones unplugged/turned off.
I'm going to do that now and hope I can relieve my headache and get to school early enough in the moring to do the prep my assistant did. Training 'green' assistants is as hard as teaching the kids. Where's that quilt?
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Hiatus
Yes, this blog is going on hiatus. Bringing momsboydnest close to 1/2 the family's nesting grounds has left little to say. I can email the distant boydsnest as easy as, or more so, with news. Should there be anyone else out there that's interested in continuing news, leave a comment.
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