Good Job. . . Good Job!

So, about this "entry about every six weeks" thing. . . since our last episode of "The Life Imagined," I've been a busier-than-usual-these-days girl.  Around the time of my last entry, we were getting cranked up with one-act play at Thomson High School - I was directing - and the resulting daily practices.  Our competition play was Ford Ainsworth's "Persephone," which I directed at LCHS back in 1995 (aka around the time that Claude and I started dating. . . and come to think of it, before any of this year's cast was born).  Fortunately, the slew of bad things that happened toward the end of that production (too many to name here) didn't happen this time, and THS repeated as region champs!  We went on to state the following weekend, gaining experience that will come in handy next year as only three of the cast members were seniors and enjoying some INCREDIBLE plays.  (<--- This photo, courtesy of Johna Wright, was taken at the end of a very long day that began with a 5:45 A. M. departure time from school. . . we're posing here at nearly 11:00 P. M. at the Milledgeville Starbucks.  Well, we had to make a potty stop somewhere, didn't we? :-)  And I've been told that my pushing 50 self blends in decently well with the two juniors, one of whom I found out not long before region was my next-door neighbors' grandson :-), and the sophomore in the picture.)

I can say for certain that my 49 year-old self doesn't handle the back-to-back weekend pace as well as I once did - and the weekend that preceded those two included a trip to Cordele for Price to ride Thomas the Tank Engine - but I had a great time working with a fantastic group of kids and one very talented and tremendously helpful mom.  However, I didn't have a lot of time on my hands, and I've been playing catch-up ever since both on the home and work fronts.  This afternoon and evening, I finally took a time out for myself. . . hence, the opportunity to write this blog.

As for my new job that doesn't really feel so new after 13 1/2 weeks. . . I can honestly say that I'm the happiest I've been in my professional life in at least 6 years.  As much as I loved English and as at home as I was in Lincoln County, I was burned out and worn down from all of the grading. . . and as great as everyone was at Glascock County, I was spending 135 of 315 instructional minutes every day teaching grade levels for which I totally was/am not wired.  And in both cases, of course, there was The Drive. . . 22 miles/25 minutes to LCHS and 23 miles/28 minutes to GCCS.  This year, I have ONE PREP.  Yes, folks, you read that correctly:  ONE PREP.  I teach Spanish I all day, every day.  If you don't speak teacher, you don't know just what an amazing thing that is.  And because we're on an A/B schedule (one set of four classes on one day, another set of four on the next), this means that one lesson plan lasts me two days.  Yes, folks, you read that correctly:  I can teach an entire year on 90 lesson plans.  Perspective: during some of my years at LCHS, I taught six different classes, which meant three new plans every day for a total of 540 lesson plans.  Last year, I did get to repeat some things with PAWS, middle school Spanish, and elementary. . . but I still figure that it took about 370 lesson plans to get me through the year.  This year. . . 90.  Aaaaaaaaand it's all high school, aka my people.  Aaaaaaaaand it's only 3.4 miles from my house. . . about 6 minutes if the lights aren't in my favor and 4 1/2 if they are and if the cars I'm behind properly appreciate the fact that the speed limit on Harrison Road is 45 MPH.

The favorable logistics are pretty awesome, but they aren't the only reasons I'm loving life at THS.  On the first day of new teacher orientation, I felt pretty good about where I was going to be when we were told that those doing the hiring had prayed that God would send the right people to fill the many positions for which the county was hiring last year.  However, the next day, which was the first day that I spent in the building getting to know the other members of my department, I truly felt at home.  Julie Hopkins and Tara Lively have been phenomenal. . . after working, talking, and going to lunch with them that day, I didn't feel like an outsider - and for me, that's saying a lot as it generally takes me a while to stop feeling like a kid playing Red Rover and trying to break the line.  Everyone on the faculty/staff and in the administration has been welcoming and supportive, and the learning curve hasn't been as steep as it was last year - probably because I had a year of practice at not knowing "the rules" a year ago after having been in one place for so long.

And of course, it's hard to love a job without loving the kids - and I do.  I don't always like what they do, but I love them. . . a fact that would no doubt surprise some of them.  Of course, I've loved the kids everywhere I've taught, but I do feel as though I've clicked with quite a few of them (and if that's my imagination, I hope that I get to keep on living in my fantasy world :-)).  I love it when various ones randomly drop by just to chat about nothing in particular or hearing the "Hey, Mrs. Robinson!"s in the halls.  I don't love so much when things happen that make me worry about them - I'm hoping to make it through the rest of football season without any more injuries that scare me, and I'm also hoping that THS wins the in progress game so that I'll have at least one more week to hope - but part of being a teacher who loves his/her students is being concerned for their safety.  I can't say enough about how wonderful the one-act cast was. . . they were wonderful enough that I think that those who are returning have probably talked me into directing again next year, something I had no intention of doing toward the end simply because it was so time-consuming.  And we'll see if I get to love coaching debate and speech there. . . the interest is there for sure, and there's even another teacher who's interested in taking it on, too.  Getting things going is on my to-do list after I get completely caught up from one-act, and I'm almost there.

So every day, I'm thankful for the opportunity God gave me to work at THS.  I can't say that I wouldn't prefer to be retired or able to provide the same level of income through writing, and I do keep a tally of how many days I have left until retirement - but I don't update it every day, and that's saying a lot.  Yes. . . I truly do have a good job, even better than I could have imagined!