BulgingButtons

Not bad for a fat girl


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Two Ways of Looking at Monday

Monday morning, ugh.

I’m not a fan of Mondays. I’m not a fan of transitions, in general. It took me a long time to realize this about myself, but it’s true.

I used to think that I just didn’t like going to bed, and I don’t, but I don’t like waking up either. I don’t like getting into the shower, but getting out is no fun either. Same with a swimming pool. I love being wet, that’s not the issue. It’s the getting wet that I don’t like, and the getting dry too. Transitions.

The transition from the workweek to the weekend doesn’t seem to bother me as much, though. Go figure. The opposite, however, is a bitch.grumpy_cat_cutie_mark__canon__by_lahirien-d71u11w

Here’s today’s Monday thought catalog:

  1. I have playground duty this morning. Ugh.
  2. It’s cold outside (well, relatively speaking, I know…54 isn’t really that cold), and I have playground duty.
  3. It poured last night, leaving the fields wet and muddy, and it’s cold, and I have playground duty.
  4. My math tests didn’t quite finish scoring themselves.
  5. My students are still struggling terribly with division.
  6. This week we start the dreaded fractions unit.
  7. After school I have a dental appointment.

I realize that not one of these things, by itself, is that big a deal. In fact, the whole collection of them isn’t awful. It’s all in the framing. Maybe I ought to try something like this instead:KTje8beGc

  1. I have the chance to get some fresh air before school and chat with the kids.
  2. It’s a brisk morning, so I’ll want to walk around and get some exercise while I’m outside.
  3. There will be plenty of kids on the blacktop to visit with.
  4. I have some time this afternoon to finish scoring the math tests.
  5. I’ve pinpointed the kids who need the most help with division.
  6. Fractions are necessary and kids generally enjoy learning about them, at least at first.
  7. I have good dental insurance and a terrific dental office to take care of me.

That second list is a lot more palatable. I think I’ll go with that one today. I hope your transition into the work week is a smooth one and that you’re able to see your little challenges as speed bumps rather than mountains.


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Another Monday Do Over

id-like-do-overMonday again.

That means a new week, which in turn means a new start.

I get to start over with my students, and yet again tackle the daunting mountain of paperwork that their education seems to require. I get to laugh with them, lead them, and help them learn.

I get to start again with my colleagues, producing and sharing lessons so that all of our students can learn in ways that are meaningful and helpful to them. I get to explore different ways to share ideas with our students, and I have the opportunity to learn from the experts around me.

I get to start again with my family, sharing my life and my home with them with love and grace. I get to choose how I communicate with them, and what to focus on. I get to set the tone in my home.

I get to start again with my goals and dreams. Will I write this week? Will I sew? Will I make my home more beautiful? Will I lavish attention on my beloved dog? Where will the week take me?

I get to start over with myself. Will I care for myself this week? Will I nurture and love myself? Will I feed myself correctly and push myself to make good decisions, even if they aren’t my preferred choices?

I feel so fortunate that it’s Monday, and that I get a do-over. I hope I use it wisely.


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My First Ever Missed Appointment

7110Today has felt like quite a Monday. It wasn’t an awful day, but it had a few little bumps.

This morning when I packed my lunch I noticed that the single serving guacamole packets that I bought YESTERDAY had a use by date of TODAY. Grrr. My fault. I should have checked the package at the store.

Speaking of my fault, this afternoon I missed a doctor’s appointment for the first time ever. It was an appointment to go over lab results, no big deal. Except, I never went to the lab.  I cancelled that appointment and didn’t reschedule. Apparently I forgot to cancel this one as well. Oops.

Today’s appointment slipped my mind, and would have been gone forever, had the automated reminder service not called me on Friday. Yes, Friday for a Monday appointment. I know, I know… it’s my responsibility to remember my appointments, not the automated system. You’re right of course. The thing is, by the time I got the message it was after office hours, and there was no way to leave a message. I knew I wouldn’t be able to make the appointment, so it was frustrating that I couldn’t cancel it. Even if I could have made the appointment, there was no reason to go. No lab means no lab results, ergo the doctor and I have nothing to talk about.

Again, my fault, I should have cancelled it right away. Still, I wish that I could have left a message stating that I wouldn’t have been able to make it. I had that appointment hanging over my head all weekend, so you would think that maybe I would have remembered to cancel it today, right? Wrong. I don’t have a lot of down time during the work day, so taking care of personal business gets pushed to the back burner. Typically I try to take care of things after school, but today I had a meeting. A long meeting, it turned out. So long that my phone reminded me of my appointment (silently, of course) ten minutes before the actual appointment (the default setting on the phone- helpful, right?).

By the time the meeting ended (about two and a half hours after it began) the phones at the doctor’s office were turned off. Of course there were about a dozen options for various recordings, but no option for me to beg forgiveness for missing my appointment. Ugh. Now I have to TRY to remember to call tomorrow and BEG them not to charge me for my missed appointment. We’ll see how THAT goes. I know, I know… it’s my own fault, but I really miss the days of the personal reminder call. Now that would have solved everything.

 

And for those of you skimming and just reading the highlighted words, here they are as poetry:

Monday

Yesterday Today

Could Wish Maybe

Try

Beg

That

Everything

What a lousy poem! I hope it at least made you smile at how terrible it is. Tomorrow is a new day, and everything will work itself out. In the meantime I plan to indulge in some of my favorite things… a new quilt magazine, my favorite TV shows, some writing, and dinner with my sweetheart (that he’s cooking… score!).