Last Friday was a teacher workday with parent-teacher conferences. I met with 14 parents. One of the challenges of the family model is having to meet with so many parents. We are supposed to meet with our math and literacy students' parents...which is about 40 students for each of us. Conferences were both enlightening and exhausting due to so many language barriers and translators. Many conferences had multiple translators with 3-4 languages being spoken within one family.
My saving grace is always the weekend, where I can bond with Jackson while Jesse is at Toys-R-Us. Last weekend we went to the pumpkin patch and Chinese restaurant on Saturday. We spent Sunday at church, running errands, and napping.
Monday was full of Halloween shenanigans. I dedicated a whole post to this, but trust me when I say it was a whirlwind of a day (in the best way possible).
Tuesday included a parent-teacher conference from HELL. The principal had to sit in to defuse the situation. I was ready to walk out and quit. I left immediately after the conference. My mother-in-law left at the same time to drop Jackson off at the house. We were both stuck in traffic (coming from opposite directions) for over an hour. Once finally home the outside cat ran inside the house and went CRAZY. My mother-in-law and I were screaming and the cats were hissing, which made Jackson cry. By the time we got the cat back outside, it was after 7 p.m. I spent half an hour with Jackson before we both crashed.
Wednesday was another day of nonstop activities.
After school my teammate and I made two home visits to the parents of some of our Vietnamese students. The living conditions were a bit surreal, but the families were incredibly gracious in welcoming us into their home.
Jackson was with his MiMi and Jesse was going to pick him up. I rushed to our weekly Bible study. The leader asked us to make a time line of our spiritual journey from birth to present, making sure to highlight significant highs and lows in our relationship with God. It was my turn to share with the small group. I inevitably ended up crying, though I convinced myself beforehand that I wouldn't. By far the greatest "spiritual high" was throughout my pregnancy. I feel like I have felt God's presence decreasingly less since going back to work in August.
After Bible study I took advantage of my brief time with Jackson before he went to bed. Jesse and I ate dinner. I stayed up baking my brother's 40th birthday cake. I decided on a three layer chocolate and red velvet cake with cream cheese icing. (I didn't take a picture of the cake but it looked very similar to this one, minus the mint leaf:)
Thursday afternoon I had another parent-teacher conference, then quickly headed home in just enough time to get Jackson and drive to Gastonia for my brother's birthday party. Jackson and I enjoyed the food and company. We didn't get home until nearly 10 p.m.
Friday was a pretty good day at work. My class did really well in our geometry rap battle and my kids were very successful in creating an impromptu bulletin board. I had a hodge podge of students while the safety patrol students had an ice cream party. In only an hour, my students created this biome board 100% by themselves (stapled it up and everything)!
Jackson loves the Gerber puffs. Jesse bought some mango and apple puffs. Jackson still hasn't developed the fine motor skills to pick up the small pieces and put them in his mouth. He likes to throw them in attempts at putting them in his mouth. He can definitely chomp down on them with his front teeth once we put them in his mouth.
Saturday was an emotional day. I was all weepy over severe job dissatisfaction and overall loneliness over not being invited to something. My cycle finally started back (over a week late) and I was cramping and hormonal. More importantly, Saturday marked the four year anniversary of Mom's death. I still get mad that Jackson is missing out on knowing her. My cell phone must have fallen out of my purse on Friday night because it was in Jesse's car the whole day. Instead of going anywhere, Jackson and I literally spent hours curled up in a blanket in bed watching TV. The constant business from the week created one seriously messy house! I managed to be productive for a few hours by cleaning the house, vacuuming, doing dishes, folding laundry, and cooking lasagna for dinner.
That finally brings us up to speed. Today (Sunday) began with our typical pancake breakfast and church. Since it was Daylight Savings time, Jackson was wide awake at 7 a.m. I was able to get all of my science lesson plans and handouts created before breakfast. After sharing my concerns regarding math reteach, I received a VERY bitchy e-mail response from a staff member that once again confirmed my increasing frustration with administration. Unfortunately I have let this dictate my mood for the majority of the day.
After church Jackson and I briefly went home before making the hour long drive to Bessemer City to celebrate my niece's birthday. We shared in food and hugs, then drove back home a few hours later. Now I'm just fighting to keep Jackson awake past 7 a.m.
Here's to hopes for a more relaxed week ahead...
"I feel like I have felt God's presence decreasingly less since going back to work in August."
ReplyDeleteThis makes my heart hurt. =(
Prayers.