An attitude adjustment

This week was a pretty stressful week. It doesn't rank in the top 5 or anything, but definitely the most stressful of this current school year. One parent threatened legal action. Another sends a nasty email about a mistake on a grade. Our regular schedule is changed a couple of times and kids don't react well to anything outside of their routine. I had four parent meetings, three of those had an administrator sitting in. I cried in one administrator's office...something I have never done at this school. A grade level meeting that needed to be extended because there was so much to discuss, another thing that has never happened. I needed to call a parent on the phone regarding her child's behavior. Two boys were throwing erasers at each other during a test. I stayed at work until 8pm one night, then brought papers home and graded for another hour and a half. The list goes one. It had been a stressful week. I called my mom on the way home. We hadn't been able to talk in a few days and needed to catch up. We talked for an hour and I was able to "get it all out" as the saying goes.

By this time, I had arrived home and checked my email. A friend had emailed wanting to do dinner and a movie. A small group went to Two Rows and then to see American Gangster. I again called my mom to chat on the way to dinner. Her first words were, "You sound much more upbeat this time!"

Sometimes, all it takes is a change in environment. I was spending the evening without 25 ten year olds. Therefore I was happy.