1 day down, 170+ more to go!

That's a depressing number, but when you break it down into weeks and months, it doesn't seem so bad. At least that's what I'm telling myself!

Yesterday was our first day back at school. It was only a half day, so it was over and done in just a handful of hours, which was fine by me. I was tired to begin with and I'd had a headache all day, so seeing the kids leave made me slightly joyous. I'd also had a few run-ins with kids and just needed a few hours of childless freedom. I had 2 new prechool children burst into tears upon meeting me (ah, the trauma of the first days of school) and one little boy demanded to know why I put his mother in jail. Oy....

Today I met most of the kindergarten class. The teacher's aide steeled up and took in a sharp breath when I asked about a particular student. He can be troublesome, but it's not that he's a bad kid, he's just curious and struggles to listen to the rules. When matched up with our teacher who finds that the rules are what makes our little ones tick and move swiftly through the day, well.....I have a feeling this kid will be spending a lot of time at the back of the line this year (that's where the naughty kids stand).

I teach my first official class of the 2009-2010 school year in about 15 minutes. I *think* I'm ready, and if I'm not....well, there's not much I can do about it now, is there? It's a little overwhelming to think about starting another school year about a month after I finally got some time off, but....well, I'll survive. My other responsibilities are the ones that are weighing pretty heavily on me today, so I'm distracted, that's for sure.