I found this while lingering on blogs this morning. I found this link to the Two Writing Teachers:
After reading some blog entries, I ditched the math post for a bit and decided to try sharing my own slice of life. 2 weeks ago, I wrote about a day at school. Life goes on after the bell buzzes.
At dismissal time, when I should take a moment to breathe, I remember that my preschool son is waiting for me down the hallway. As I'm walking down the hallway, I notice X and his family, and I note how tall he's getting. Long past a first grader, I'm greeted with a hug, and he informs me his growth spurt isn't over and he'll be taller than me yet! (That doesn't take much...) I enjoy quick visits with this family and worry about him as he gets older.
At the end of the hallway, stands my preschool son. He's patiently waiting in line. When I see him, I notice he's wearing extra clothing. Hmmm...why? Oops! The hoodie came out of the backpack this weekend and he didn't have enough clothes for recess. A quick stop in the preschool room to return the extra jacket and thank this team yet again for being so gracious and awesome to my son.
Upon return to my classroom, I notice a student still hanging out. He doesn't want to go outside because it's too cold to wait. I tell him he can look out my window to watch for a ride. I run into a colleagues room for just a moment. When I come back, the student has taken his coat off and curled up with a library book that he has found in a basket of books to be returned. Finally a connection with his ride.
My preschool-er gets comfortable and offers me a juice box. It's a stash I keep around to buy myself some time after school so I can clean up. We enjoy a few Teddy Grahams together, and I remind myself to relax. I love having him at school, but I'm constantly having to breathe deep and remind myself that it's okay to walk away from work earlier than I want to. He settles into a couple of shows, and I can get my desk tidied up a bit. I chat a bit with a super colleague or two about the day's events. Before I know it, it's almost an hour from daycare closing. Time to go home!
We arrive at daycare, and my oldest playing and entertaining the babies. We get in the car and make the short drive home. On a side street, I demonstrate to my five year old what happens when you don't use the accelerator.
We get home, and I notice that the boys are going to be cooperative and pleasant this evening. I'm grateful for this, because I have this to-do list this week. One brings the garbage can and mail in, the other one jumps right into playing with Legos. I want to tackle my Christmas to-do list from the moment I walk in the door, but my oldest asks for some "Farkle time." I want to tell him no, but I say yes and play for 15 minutes. We now have a running game going.
When I announce it's time to make dinner, everyone wants to help. This is awesome, I know. But again, I find myself giving myself a pep talk to slow down. (Yes, I read that.) In the end, my oldest learned how to manipulate the stove top, and the youngest worked to prepare our fruit and pour our milk. I receive a glass of milk too, even though I usually don't drink milk with dinner. (I'm an almond milk in the morning kind of girl.)
In the afternoon, waves of email flooded my inbox. Now it's time to catch up. My oldest tries for a game of Farkle again, but I have to turn him down this time. I catch up on some email, and connect with a friend who has had a procedure today. As I'm settling down in front of my laptop, my oldest sits down next to me and pulls out his writing notebook from school and adds to a story he's working on. (Angels are singing now! My heart is so happy!) "Can I write with you mom?" As the night goes on, I start this post but I'm having to stop and explain blogging. This is fun, I love that he's really at an age where I can sit with him and chat about school!
So the boys head to bed. I chat on the phone with another super colleague a bit, and just as things are wrapping up, my preschool-er comes down stairs and smiles. "It's snuggle time!" Snuggles are over, we end our night with I love yous and smiles and giggles all around.
And look, my to-do list is still here waiting for me. But I've already done the most important things!
Joy!
Kendra
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