I Miss You, Mommy

My job is exhausting. It is emotionally, physically, and mentally exhausting. Much like motherhood, teaching is just one of those careers that can really take it out of you. Yesterday I had a full day of teaching, then I had to drive 40 minutes for a two-hour training and drive 40 minutes back. It was an 11-hour day. I got home just 15 minutes before B’s bedtime, and when I walked in the door he said, “Hi Mommy! I miss you!” Heartbreaking. My BTSA schedule this year will have me at 18 after-school meetings in ten months. Half of these meetings will bring me home after B is in bed, which means I will not see him for 24 hours, and when I do see him it’s for 10 minutes while I get him dressed and drop him off. The cherry on top? I do not get paid for any of it. And every minute of it is required. How this is supposed to encourage and equip teachers is beyond me.  Mostly it makes me want to quit and be a ballerina. But I don’t. Why? The following reasons:

1. GATE kids. They’re overachievers and I love them. They do everything I ask and more, often with higher quality than I was expecting. And I have lots of them this year. They’re brilliant and nervous and fast, and they are often polite and kind and helpful.
2. Rock Bands. It’s a new project that I’m trying this year. The students form a rock band with their classmates and create a blog chronicling their world tour. It’s a geography study, but they’re so busy being clever and creative and writing songs about both Justin Bieber and Antarctica that everyone’s learning (including me) without any effort. They are loving it, and so am I.
3. My Student. Let's call him Buddy. He always has to get a drink of water, he never brings his work, he’s super smart but puts forth little effort, he never stops talking, he drives me insane, and he’s one of the sweetest and funniest kids I’ve ever met. He makes me sigh and laugh and pull my hair out and want to come to work.
4. Middle School-ers. This is seriously the worst age. These kids are nuts—they are selfish and entitled and egocentric and apathetic and absolutely hysterical. They make me laugh with their attempts at socializing, their terrible dancing, their awkwardness, their dramatic public break-ups, and the way that they are different human beings every day. I can’t imaging working with any other age group.
5. My school. It’s amazing. The staff is extraordinarily supportive and loving, and we’re a big crazy family. Today I’m wearing a fat headband, an I heart NY t-shirt, a striped sweater-vest, a plaid skirt, and jellies because it’s MisMatch dress-up day. It’s stupid and funny and my feet are killing me.

And a million other reasons.

Now I need to go because I have no meetings today and I have no idea why I’m staying after and writing this when I could go home and be with my munchkin. Maybe we can be dinosaurs today…