The Plot Twist

Today is Friday.

Today I came into school early in the morning to try and finish getting ready for my new second grade classroom.  My knee was very sore and I was limping.  My principal and vice principal asked me to meet with them first thing.  They saw I was struggling with knee pain and got me some ice packs and set me all up with ice for the meeting.

During the meeting, I went from teaching second grade to first grade.  Which is fine, because I double love first grade, but it was exhausting because I had already labeled my whole classroom for my new second grade students.  I wasn’t forced to do this, rather I was willing to do so because another teacher was having a hard time emotionally with letting go of a few second grade students and it was really quite ok with me if she wanted to teach second instead.

When our meeting was over, I stood up and the skin behind and on top of my knee was hard and white and looked like it had frost bite or something!  In my stress, I forgot to make sure I had something between my skin and the ice packs and I think I freezer burned my skin.

And it plain old hurts.

So I went to my classroom and tried to get organized.  I have hardly any faces to any names and this was my third class list, third schedule, and third draft of my welcome letter to parents to sort through and I was all sorts of confused.  Plus I think the skin all around my knee was dying a slow and painful death.

So, I cried.

I had tried hard to stay strong, but I cried.  And these are the reasons I cried:

1.  My knee hurt.
2. The skin around my knee hurt.
3. I loved my new kinderteacher partners and now I had to say goodbye.
4. The sweet gal they transferred from a new building?  She had started the week teaching kindergarten, was switched to second, had met all her second grade students, and then was forced to out school.  She wanted kinder rather than second, which is how I was removed.  And she is lovely and nice and stressed.
5. I had reached out to my families from last year and told them last night that I would have their kids after all.  Then I had to retract.
6. The skin around my knee really hurts.
7. I am tired.

After I cried and texted with a few friends, I had a cup of coffee and got to work.  And a teacher partner from last year stopped by to help me relabel a few things and brought me a personalized cup, of which you can see in the following picture:

It reads:

“When something goes wrong in your life, just yell PLOT TWIST and move on.”

I had to go to the doctor for a knee check up and was ordered more physical therapy and burn cream because I did something way wrong to my skin. I wanted to go home, but really didn’t want to come back in tomorrow.

So, I went back to school.  I slathered on the burn cream.  I had a snack.

The snack gave me new life and I remembered how much I double love first grade and teaching first grade is like second nature to me now.  I lovingly labeled and made copies and wrote plans (only for Tuesday.  I am not exemplary) and knocked it all out of the park.

Then Hadley got off of work and came to help me.  And life is better when you have someone working right beside you.  And I gave her some money and she went to a restaurant to get some take out for the two of us, since David and the boys had already left for the river.

Before I left, I took a few pictures of my completed room.  The room that has been all the following classes in the last 36 hours:
Kinder/1st

Kindergarten

Second

First

And I am now ready for students.

If you enlarge the picture, you might be able to see the two new wall decals I put in the room.

The first says:
“Work hard, be kind, know that you are loved.”

The second says:

“Treat others the way you want to be treated.”

So obviously, I have uncovered the secret to having a loving and kind classroom.  And I just know those two decals will solve all the problems in the world.

Also, I got this on clearance:

It is a framed picture that says:

“No Drama Llama”

And I plan to pull it out anytime there is drama, so I can remind them that we are the:

“No Drama Llamas.”

And that is just perfection.

Anyways.  The room is finished.

I am ready for kids.  I love first grade.

I hope I can read Charlotte’s Web again.  Because it is the literal best.

And I know I have the best job in the world.

And, also, I work with the best people in the world.

Everyone is great, and everyone wants to do what’s best for the kids.

So.

Three cheers for Hadley.

Three cheers for Teachers.

Happy Weekend!