WNBP: All In Our Places...In Theory.

Well, that's it for the holiday break.  I spent the first day of 2013 finishing up a few of the random projects I'd set for myself during the down time and then focused on Getting Ready.

I'm not saying it's a resolution or anything.  I don't do resolutions.  But I will admit to wanting less of a hurry/flurry thing going on in the mornings.  I reasoned that half the problem was a lack of preparedness and vowed to have everything ready to go come Wednesday morning in order that I might make it to work on time without having to break any land speed records.

How did I fare?  Well, let's just say I'm glad today was one of our Late Start/Staff Development Days.  And that I wasn't the only one dashing into the building with flat hair, a gas tank nearing empty and half a cup of coffee sloshing around in a dirty travel mug....

Here's the Wednesday Night Bullet Post, rife with tales of the return to the routine!

*I was late.  I don't know exactly where I went wrong.

*It might have had something to do with my hitting the snooze button and muttering, "I am some kinda wicked prepared so I don't have to get up on the first alarm."

*Or the second, apparently.

*The third actually kind of jolted me back to reality and I honestly did still have plenty of time...

*But lost it somewhere in the next thirty five minutes of morning routine roulette.

*Everyone made it in to school today, although I wasn't the only straggler.

*We looked pretty darned good, too.

*Let's face it:  We are never so buffed, pumiced and polished as we are after Christmas.

*Every stocking is stuffed with health and grooming products, the kind we never think to use on a regular basis.

*I saw more polished nails than I've seen since the last holiday season.

*My nails were not polished and, as I mentioned, my hair was kind of flat.  But I still had that post-holiday glow about me that can only come from new lotions.

*For what it's worth, buffed and polished mean nothing if you forget your lunch on the kitchen counter while you scramble out the door on your first day of Being More Organized In The Mornings.

*Mr. Principal started our meeting by saying, "Well, I notice quite a few new hairstyles this morning!"

*Which was a pretty good opening line, I thought.

*I slept great last night!  I was worried about that, what with all the insomnia I've had lately.

*So how come I was so tired today?????

*I'm not talking "gosh, I think I need a second cup of coffee" tired.

*I'm talking wiped out, falling asleep on my feet tired.

*I don't have regular recess or lunch duties, but I stick around the cafeteria and playground just in case there's trouble with any of my students.  It's kind of an unofficial duty.

*Which means I get to sit down on the stage at the front of the cafeteria instead of walking around giving stern looks and keeping an eagle eye out for flying mashed potatoes.

*I dozed off on the stage.

*Just for a second; there was no embarrassing tumble to the tile involved or anything.

*But seriously...in the crowded cafeteria?  The loud cafeteria?  Whilst sitting up on a stage?????

*I suggested that my teaching assistants send someone up to check on me during fourth period when they are out covering classrooms.

*We agreed that the kids probably wouldn't do anything too horrible to me should I fall asleep on the floor.

*They'd probably cover me with a jacket and then go quietly play computer games, shushing anyone who came into the room for fear I'd awaken and start wildly teaching English.

*But it still seemed like bad form to be snoozing during class time....

*I have made an executive decision.

*Dinner time is now 7:00.

*I used to schedule dinner for 6:00.  Then I'd forget all about it or somehow assume that dinner is something which magically produces itself, ready for consumption at the appointed hour.

*Dinner is now scheduled for 7:00.  I'm going to pretend I am a very cosmopolitan and continental type of person who dines late.

*As opposed to a middle school teacher with morning organization issues who needs to be out the door at the crack of dawn and who forgets her salad on the kitchen counter.

*And whose socks didn't match this morning either.

*The continental/cosmo types don't ever have that kind of thing happening in their lives.  They dine late, sleep deeply and swoop gracefully out the door sometime around noon for their pedicures.

*I have come to expect somewhat grumpy kids after a long school vacation.  That's just part of the game.

*This year, the little tricksters surprised me by being quite pleasant.  Dare I say it...even happy to be back!

*Everyone claimed to enjoy his/her break and had fun stories to tell.  It was a very pleasant day.

*At least the parts I remember since I may or may not have been dozing for God knows how long.

*And if you don't factor in the whole Aren't I So Much More Organized Now fiasco.

*I decided to pick up a copy of Deadtown (A Deadtown Novel).

*It's one I started reading on my Kindle app last year, but didn't finish.

*I read across devices.  It's a quirk.  One that Amazon doesn't really appreciate all that much.

*I figured I might as well pay for it twice and finish it on my Nook as opposed to wondering how it all turned out.

*It isn't my favorite series, but certainly good enough that I picked up Hellforged (A Deadtown Novel) before the last bell tolled on my holiday break.

*And in the car?  Oh, I found a fun little "listen" for the daily commute!

*Undead and Unwed (Undead/Queen Betsy)

*Not great literature, by any means.  And I wasn't sure about it at all.

*But it's got good "snicker value."  

*And anything that can make you snicker while you're dashing through the dark, hoping against hope that you make it to work on time is worth the price.



Well, I see by the clock on the wall that it is 6:35.  Since dinner still hasn't gotten around to mysteriously appearing when needed, I guess I'd better go craft something.  Having forgotten my lunch, it seems prudent.

Then it's off to the closet to select tomorrow's outfit and check the sock color in the "good light."There is yet another school day ahead of me tomorrow and, with some quality planning, I'll bet I get there early!

It could happen...

SA