I have a short drive from work, only about 12 miles, but the early morning drive is a great time for reflection of the previous day and a great time to mentally plan for the upcoming one. Then, out of nowhere, some yahoo comes barreling by me going fifteen or twenty miles over the speed limit, whipping in and out of traffic and bringing out the anger in me. Anger should not begin a day. Why, at 5:30 a.m. is this person so intent of driving like a maniac? This begins my day but the drive home is even worse because there is more traffic.
Yesterday, as I was driving home and approached the traffic light at Tuttle and Fruitville Roads, the roads slick from rain, an accident had occurred where a car ran off the road and was sitting in the CVS parking lot on its' side. Numerous emergency vehicles were there and by the time the traffic had been sitting through three red lights, even though the intersection was not blocked, people seemed to lose their minds. Trying to squeeze in a hole meant for a tricycle, a huge dually pickup was insistent they were going to turn around in the intersection because they did not want to wait for the light. Patience, Grasshopper. Patience.
Once I finally made it through the light, cars hit the gas, speeding by Girls, Inc., even with stopped school buses and red stop signs, and then comes the school zone flashers on Tuttle. I slow down to the posted 15 miles an hour and two cars, at least, came whizzing by me with no thought to those elementary school kids standing on the corner. I swore I was coming home, parking my truck and not leaving the house this weekend.
The second observation of the week is how hard it is to try and remain positive in life when the setting around you continues to be so negative. I asked on social media if people who were not teachers understood the stress we were under and just about got attacked by someone in the medical field. I get it. I know the stress medical personnel are under must be horrendous but every day, 5 days a week, I am responsible for children. I have watched as my classes dwindle due to students either contracting Covid-19 or being exposed to a positive case. After last year we all know that once they are quarantined, school is not even a thought until they return. You may receive an obligatory email from a parent that first day, then nothing. Keep smiling. Then you receive even more forms to be completed for even more data to be computed for even more lessons that no one is going to do because there are not enough students in your class. Keep smiling. So you revamp everything to fit what is going on in the world today and someone sends you another email to hawk even newer pedagogy that is going to bring your kids even higher test scores on a test that does nothing but stress the students out and lowers your VAM scores so you are perceived as a struggling teacher. Keep smiling.
My dogs are my confidents and love me unconditionally, regardless of the craziness which our world has apparently become a part of. Everyone should have at least one. They will enrich your life.
Having people in your life that you can call, not text, and vent to is very important to maintaining a level of peace. I am lucky in having several and they always seem to pop in just when I need them to. They don't seem to mind when I begin letting it all out to them. My son, who is great to talk to, simply asks at the beginning of the conversation if I want solutions or empathy. He comes up with both, depending on what I say.
I hope all my students have a safe weekend and return to school on Monday. I hope those crazy drivers I experience on a daily basis don't hurt anyone. I hope you have a restful weekend to regain your positivity. I hope we have a turnaround soon on the virus. I hope, hope, hope. I still have that, because if you lose that, you have lost the process of life.
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