August 23, 2014

That Went Well. Not.

The first week in the classroom for all three of the members of this family did not go as planned.  That's putting it mildly.  It's a bit disappointing as this is Liam's kindergarten year.  You only get to witness your child's first week in kindergarten one time.  And yet, I want to forget this week.

Oh, there was nothing catastrophic--just a series of moderately annoying situations.  A seemingly endless series...

It all started when I took my car to be repaired for what I thought was under warranty.  Not only was it not covered but a part had to be ordered and repair rescheduled.  While in the service waiting area, I bumped into a glass shelf, shattering it into a thousand tiny shards and earning the disgust of every single person in the room.  It really was a freak accident--I have a terrible four inch bruise to prove it.

And so the week began.

The flooring I ordered and paid for in July couldn't be installed until this Tuesday--my boys' first day of school.  I had to move every stick of furniture from the front of the house to the back and disassemble the dining  table.  The boys had their first day breakfast on the sofa with chairs and bookcases surrounding them.  When I came home from work I had to reassemble the table so we could have dinner.  The boys tried to tell me about their day but all I could think of was the amount of work that awaited me after they went to bed.

On Wednesday, Liam told me that a boy in his class pushed him down the stairs while going to lunch.  On Thursday, he told me that his teacher put him in timeout.  On Friday, my second grader asked his new teacher if he could use the restroom but had his request denied.  He wet his pants an hour later.

The back drop for all this is a late summer heatwave.  My air conditioning hasn't worked since July.  I check the thermostat before going to bed--last night it read 81 degrees.  And it's not just hot--the humidity has been well over 90% for almost a week.

Wait, there's more!  Apparently, mice don't mind a lack of A/C because after catching five tiny rodents--I've thrown my hands up--I'm ready to admit that there must be an entire colony living inside the walls.  Tuesday night (yes, that Tuesday)  I heard something scratching under the stairs.  It sounding like a kitten doing cartwheels.  How do you get a mouse out from inside a wall?  Even if I knew where to put the trap, it probably wouldn't work.   They seem to have figured them out and avoid them at all costs.  I need an exterminator and fast!  But when will I schedule that?  I certainly can't take a day (or even morning) off to have that work done.

I can't imagine leaving my classes with a substitute right now.  I have 160 students and the first five days together have been great, if not terribly productive.  It's time to hit the ground running and engage their minds!  I'm struggling to learn all the names.  Each year my goal is to learn every one of their names before going away Labor Day Weekend.

All three of us have been looking forward to spending time away for the three day weekend.  Now, I'm not sure it's going to go as planned.  I didn't successfully arrange for a dog walker.  Poor planning on my part.  I hate to press my friends for favors like that.  It looks like I will have to cancel the hotel and break the boys' hearts (it's just about all they talk about right now) OR take the dog with us--hoping for cool enough weather that he can spend a couple of days in the car.  I checked--the hotel will allow him in our room with a significant pet deposit.  It's just not how I envisioned "getting away from it all".  Oh well.

I'm certain there's something I've forgotten, but you get the idea....it hasn't been a stellar week.   Still, there have been bright spots here and there.  I really have to look for them, focus on them, but they've been there.  Times when friends helped out with a smile and coworkers went out of their way to say a few kind words.  Then there's the moment when, about to yell that we were late for school, I looked over and saw Henry teaching Liam to tie his shoes.  Or this morning in the car when Henry told me "Mom, I did geology in my mouth!"  (He informed me that salt and water had eroded his peppermint.)

I can't make this stuff up.  All I can do is write it down.

3 comments:

  1. Yikes! What a week! All you can do is try to focus on those good moments, as few as they may be...& write it down, of course.

    ReplyDelete
  2. And I hope you do continue to write it all down; as well as continue to see the good moments even when life is exhaustingly frustrating. Hopefully your week will only get better xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  3. That sounds terrible. I'm so sorry about the week from hell. It can only get better ( I keep telling myself this) and I hope everything works out, especially the mice situation.

    ReplyDelete