Busy, busy, Busy

The beginning of a new school year is always busy. Getting in the routine again, setting the alarm clock, planning lessons, meeting new students and learning their personalities. Someone recently mentioned that going from August to September for a teacher is like riding up a hill in a roller coaster (August) to suddenly zooming down at breakneck speed (September). That example seems to fit perfectly. But that’s not all that’s been going on this September. I’ve also spent the last month taking an online class dealing with integrating technology into the classroom. It’s been a great class – I’ve learned a lot, but the timing was not the best. The beginning of the school year is not a good time to take a class. It turned out to be much more work than I thought it would be; I’ve spent every weekend and several nights during the week working on it. That, along with regular schoolwork (and a new math series to get used to), has provided very little free time.

But now I can breathe again. I finished up my work for the class last night (at 6:50). I celebrated by opening a novel that’s been sitting on my dresser for the past three weeks, just waiting for me. I read two chapters; it felt so good to read for fun again. And today, I celebrated with my first Sunday since the school year began, truly at rest. I slept in and went to the later church service, had a great walk through the woods and meadows at VanRaalte farm with Tosca this afternoon, made bowtie lasagna, and finally posted a blog entry. What a blessed day.