Bummer!

Coming home from Chicago left me with mixed feelings! I'm proud to say I survived the plane ride home much better than going up. But being home was a readjustment!
After landing, we had to swing by my in-laws to pick up the kids at 10pm. Hubby & I had had nothing but time for ourselves for soooo long that I had to try to get back into the "mom" mode of listening & talking with teens. For the most part, no problem. It's just trying to pick up again on the quick pace that teens live by. The kids missed us & had a lot to fill us in on.
The next day was "the big day" at my school. State & county officials came in to observe us, classroom by classroom. I can honestly say I was EXTREMELY fortunate & glad I'd had all the time off with Hubby. Just from the time in the a.m. that I opened my classroom to the time I walked to the office to check in, I had no less than four people pass me who looked tense & expressed concerns over how we were going to do with all the officials coming in. I was unprepared for those comments & felt bewildered by them. They had no "scary" affect upon me. I am convinced that it is due to the time I had to relax in Chicago the previous week. Thank goodness I did because when lunchtime rolled around, some anxious people had some nervous moments to share. Turns out all the officials showed up in groups of three & four & sat down right behind the kids to listen. Some actually plunked themselves down IN THE MIDDLE OF A READING GROUP AT THE TABLE!!! Geez...
Such a high number of visitors threw the kids off, to hear the teachers talk about it. Many turned around & gawked at the visitors. And I say rightly so. I believe the state & county folks should know better than to overwhelm the kids like that. They are used to a couple of visitors at a time & we worked at getting them used to having people come in. But higher numbers were not wise.
Anybeehova...I still wasn't too bothered by their presence, perhaps because I was also more rested.
The rest of the week stayed busy. Tuesday included two more meetings. Wednesday was a required PNE update training that all PNE support teachers must take after three years. (PNE teachers are coaches to new teachers in their first, and sometimes, second years of teaching.) Thursday & Friday brought conferences with parents that I had to make up due to my Chicago departure. Friday night also brought with it a school skating party & pizza dinner out with four of our sons, who also skated. Today our daughter had a regatta for her high school rowing team. Nothing like getting up at 5 a.m. on a Saturday to slog through weeds, mosquitoes & ants at the Hillsborough River. ha! This was Daughter's first race...women's novice 4. They placed 8 out of 9, but hey! As we've tried to instill in her, it's not the destination...it's the journey!

I feel Hubby & I pulled back in a bit closer to one another as a couple. We've spent many moments this week just hugging & reminiscing about Chicago. We'd had so little time together lately, between my job & our kids. I already can't wait to do it again when possible! It was a sorely needed time away!
~sher