A Day in my Life 4:30 am to 7 am…

When the kids were little the daycare used to give us sheets that said something like “what I did today”.  They were generally useless until the kids started talking and then generally hilarious, as they included things like “quotes of the day", which almost always included "Boyisms" that I wish I'd saved better..

Today the assigned lesson for my freshman orientation class was for them to identify how they spend their days—“How many hours a day do you spend watching tv?   Going to and from school?”, etc.  So while they were busy writing down their day I started thinking about my day…and then tonight decided to make it into a blog entry---bha-ha-ha-ha

4:23 am  I am suddenly awake for no good reason.  If it was Thursday, I’d blame the milkman (he quite often bumbles around on Thursday at about 4:30 am and makes just enough noise that I wake up).  I can’t identify anything wrong, no smoke alarm, no funny noises, no pets or children in the bed…so I roll over and try to go back to sleep.  My new strategy for “going back to sleep” is to think about my toughest class and start praying for each kid, for specific things if I know specific things or for patience for me at least…

4:28 am  The Boy arrives at my bedside and asks to climb in..

5:00 am My alarm goes off.  I actually turn it off on the first try, climb out of bed and shut my window.  If I don’t shut my window when I get up, it gets really hot in the bedroom during the day…Carefully, without turning on a light, so I don’t wake Mr. Ranch and The Boy and the two dogs and two cats in our room…I head for the bathroom.  Today I only stepped on one dog once.  Major progress…

5:01 am Have a conversation with Puff Tiggy about his water bowl, fill said water bowl, shower, get dressed, put on makeup…continue conversation about water bowl with the Tigster..avoiding his sharp little  claws as he tried to catch my feet, apparently in a misguided attempt to speed up my water bowl filling.

5:30 am  Stepped on Indy (again...ok, so I stepped on her twice...you'd think she'd just stay out of my way...).  Convince Tigger to come out of bedroom, convince Liberty to stay in.  Shut more windows, take sheets off The Boy’s bed.  Go downstairs…again, in the dark.  Open back door, turn on fan (geez, why is it so hot, still?  I mean, I’m not ready for snow, but geez….).  Feed Tigger (who is still talking), put sheets in washer, write note to kids (put sheets in dryer, finish packing lunches—Ramen noodles today…really?) .  Pour coffee into overly complicated mug.  I might have to give that mug its own post…it is leak proof…and challenging to open and close.  Heated up some quinoa and fruit for breakfast, checked email (school and home) and facebook…turned off fan, shut back door, pick up mail that needs to go to box, searched for (and found) shoes…headed outside.

6:00  Oops…running late…I usually try to leave the house by about 5:45, which translates to 5:50 or 5:55…moving even slower than usual today.  Mailed a couple things and started the drive.  It is 26 miles from my garage to the school parking lot.  Both of the highways I use to get to school have been under construction, so it takes a few minutes longer in the morning…but nothing compared to the afternoons…ey, yi,yi…We've resorted to taking the "back way" home the last week or so because the traffic on the highway just sits. The drive in takes me about 35 minutes, barring any long stop lights (there aren’t many, it is mostly highway) or construction/accident delays.  I like to listen to KLOVE on the way in—a couple more minutes to think about the upcoming day in a different light…My biggest annoyance is usually “the construction guys”—pickup trucks full of guys who look like they are in a big hurry to get to work and drive like loons…

6:30  A few minutes late to get my favorite front row parking spot, but not bad.  Gather up my 70 zillion bags, coffee mug, water bottle…no jacket today, way too hot…find my school keys, put my car keys in my purse.  (This is an important step, so I don’t lose my mind looking for them later).  Head into building, check mailbox in main office—pick up misc papers and debris…recycle most of it.  Walk to my office—it is open already because this year we have more earlier risers!  Turn on photo copier, computers, put away purse, misc bags…sit down at my desk.  After checking my email it is time to head out to PLC—Professional Learning Communities, which is both my favorite and least favorite part of the week...

To Be Continued…