Time Flies
Dear Diary,
So many times in the past 8 months (dang!) I came here to write and read instead. Thinking back to last September and our return after Rita, I remember feeling overwhelmed by things that were happening. Some of it was job related, some of it was family related, some of it was just Susie related. Before I knew it, December was here. And then came the call.
The call was from a former coworker. Actually she was one of my mentors the first year I taught. We joked back in those early days that we were her "chicks"…and she was the "mama hen". There were 3 of us…first year teachers, all three blondes, and all with a last name that began with S. In fact the mama hen’s last name began with S. But the call…mama hen wanted to know if I was interested in a long term sub position. Pay was $125 a day and then $135 after 10 consecutive days. Long term was Jan. through May. I told mama hen that I would seriously consider the offer and the next day the principal called to set up an interview. I was basically told I had the position and the interview was just a formality. The position ended up being vacant as the teacher was reassigned on the same campus. I was offered a contract for the 5 months at a pay that equaled my daily rate according to the pay scale for a teacher with 28 years experience (way more than the $135). What a blessing this was at the time.
I earned every bit of the pay. It took 3 weeks and 15 phone calls to parents to get the class under control. The kids thought the class was an easy A and it could have been just that if they had done the work. One student actually told me that I was to sit at the computer and they would sit and talk. And I wasn’t teaching a computer class! Once they realized that I was doing it my way (actually teaching the class), and they needed to "build a bridge and get over it!" things settled down. It was necessary to have a couple of students’ schedules changed and I had no qualms doing just that. They didn’t need the credit, had no interest in the class and was only there with their friends taking up precious breathing air. One student had to be physically escorted from class after calling me a dog. I refused to deal with him on my own as I knew his temperment. I had previously defused 2 near fights he started with 2 different girls in the class. Actually, the last of those 2 fights, I had a young man who was physically bigger than this student who put his body between him and the girl and myself. Afterwards, I sincerely thanked L. but urged him not to do that again as I didn’t want him to be hurt. His response was that the guy had no business talking and treating a girl that way. He had seen it too many times with his stepdad treating his mom and in his words "I don’t put up with that $h*#".
The schedule was a little rough in that I woke up at 5 a.m. to be on the road by 6 a.m. to make it to school by 7 a.m. Traffic was a bitch and road construction a pain inthe ass. After school activities meant that some times I didn’t leave there until 7 p.m. Not much time left in the evening to take care of things at home. I kept the part time job with the church, managing to keep up with my duties in the evening 2 nights a week and some times on Saturday morning. I thought long and hard when the position was offered to me for the fall. But I didn’t accept it and don’t regret that at all.
Yesterday I took my oldest son to the airport…this time his travel is east to Europe to Germany actually. Such an adventurer he is. Some times I wonder how it is that I actually gave birth to him! I’m envious and wish I were traveling with him. But he travels a lot lighter than I would prefer. Like I told my sister this afternoon, I’ve already done the 2 weeks with a backpack (1 pair of jeans, 2 pairs of shorts, 4 shirts, a pair of sandals, a pair of tennis shoes, no hair dryer, and a sleeping bag!). He has a ticket to one of the World Cup games tomorrow (the 27th), his birthday! He’s excited and so am I.
There is more. So much more. And whether there isfun or not…
…time flies.
~Susie