It has been a month. Not sure I'm ready for August, but also not sure I'm sad to see July go!
"So, you have a new student for the fall, and her parents want her to go ahead and spend the last month of the summer in your class so she can acclimate before school begins - she has never been away from mom before and might have some separation issues. Oh, and she only speaks Chinese...but you've done this twice before, so we figure you've got a handle on it, right?"
...of course! And she's very sweet, and it IS a good idea to acclimate her before the academic year starts! I'll just load up those fourteen "mandarin for dummies" apps I got for the last two, and hope I don't tell her to eat sour pickles by moonlight instead of grab your lunch box and line up! It'll be good - see me smiling?
"So...this older kiddo has been flipping some MAJOR attitude at her teachers, and we just want to see if we can give her teachers a break and at the same time give her a change of scenery, a little firmer hand, a bit more structure, and maybe a sense of purpose and being needed - it might help her attitude and outlook. To that end, we'd like for her to hang out in your room and be your new helper. Will that work for you? Should I speak up? I'm not sure you heard me over the wailing Chinese child on your hip..."
...we can make it work! I have a VERY high energy bunch, and the new little one does require a lot of focused attention right now, so extra hands would be great!
See me smiling?"You'll need to move all of your things into this other, somewhat inconveniently located and oddly shaped classroom with roughly half the storage space, oh and you'll have everything ready for back to school night in by couple of weeks, right?"
...sure! I'm adaptable - embrace the change! I've been bellyaching about how much I really NEEDED more floor and wall space, and this room has more floor and wall space! And the view is the best in the building!
See me smiling?"So...there wasn't time for the janitorial staff to deep clean the room before you moved in, so they'll be pulling everything you just moved in back out of the room for rug shampooing and such. That's not a problem, is it?"
...no! No problem at all! Who doesn't want to start the year with a nice, clean classroom? I WAS kind of distressed when I saw all the stains on the floor - now they'll be gone!
See me smiling?Now, don't get me wrong - my new little one is an absolute TREASURE and learning to communicate her needs in English VERY quickly, my "helper" with the raging 'tude responds a LOT better to a crusty old battle axe than to the younger teachers, and has turned out to be a huge help. My new little one actually bonded with her almost instantly, and it made her transition go much more smoothly. The new room has me flustered, but the view is much better, I have room to do some things that I was wanting to do but didn't have room for, and...well, I'll figure out some way to store everything. I have room to bring in auxiliary storage, now.
The point is, I've been putting an inordinate amount of effort into spin-doctoring and maintaining a good attitude lately, and I'm soooooo overdue for my vacation next week...so after I clocked out, spent an hour getting the room functional for my sub and finally headed out the door today, I was feeling "in the clear" for the first time in a very, very long time!
Put a little spring back into my step as I walked home.
Oh, look - the neighbor is walking her ankle-chewing little min-pin! Hello, puppy! What a cutie!
Oh, look - someone's sprinkler is spraying all over the sidewalk! How refreshing in the 95F heat!
Oh, look - there's Lloyd, our mail carrier! I won't have to burn my fingers on the metal boxes - he can just hand the mail right to me!
Oh, look - this box he handed me is from Frisky AKA Jim! What a nice guy!
Oh, look - it's ticking! Maybe it's a clock! Or a metronome! Or maybe a...
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"You really need to get moving on getting ready for your vacation - you'll need to pack, wash the car, attach the bike rack...you probably don't really have time to be sitting on your rear, hugging your knees and rocking like that. You really ought to shower, too - you're all covered in soot and you smell like a campfire..."
Sure...I'll get right on that...see me smiling?
See me smiling? See me smiling? See me smiling? See me smiling?*********
Jim Nichols done lost his luvin' little mind! He posted a pic on FB a while back, of an old school CAO 65th anni, and I congratulated him on the choice, because I loved those things while they were around, and had said goodbye to the last of mine a couple of years ago.
Today, he assaulted me with TWO of the golden-tubed lovelies!!!!!
To keep them from getting lonely on their trip, he sent along:
Tat M80
Tat brown label
Tat brown label reserva
PAM
Oliva MB3
WOAM
Perdomo reserve Cameroon (DEAR old friend, and my favorite size for these!)
An RyJ undocumented worker
Tat monster (is that a Jekyll?)
Fuente Rothschild (rosado? I'm not as well versed in fuente labels as elitists like you!) (
now positively identified as magnum rosado)Ask Jim sometime how he got the nickname "frisky!"
Jim...you need to check the ventilation in your shop, because the paint fumes are giving you dain bramage!
And now...I'm going to need to unpack the traveldor and rethink my selections!
Thank you, Jim!
Edited by user
11 years ago |
Reason: Not specified
