The beginning of August marks a time of dread for me... the end of summer. Stores are full of back to school deals, flyers are arriving in the mail, and stay-at-home moms are posting all over Facebook about how happy they are that school is almost back in session. And that last one really gets to me. Isn't the whole POINT of being a stay-at-home mom to spend time with your kids? I don't think they realize how many people would LOVE to stay home with their children (like me!) but can't financially afford to do so. So when they start spouting off that nonsense, I can't help but get a little bitter.
And I know, I know... having two months off in the summer is GREAT. But I can guarantee you this... every time a non-educator tells you that you shouldn't complain about summer ending because "at least you get all that time off!", you strongly desire chopping them in the throat. Yes, you get time off but being an educator is HARD work with long hours, not much appreciation, and dealing with other peoples' "babies" all day leads to some uncomfortable and interesting conflicts with parents. By the time summer rolls around, you NEED that time off or you will go insane.
So I'm in full-on dread mode, trying to avoid stores because each time I see a colorful and excited sign about back to school, I want to punch or kick it down. Once I'm back in the swing of things, I'll be happy to be there, happy to be back helping kids graduate high school and hopefully move on to bigger and better things. But knowing that a long week of pointless training and team-building activities, not to mention some 11-hour days, starts off the school year? UGH. That's enough to make ANYONE dread the return.
Here's to enjoying the last couple weeks of summer... hope you all have built some wonderful memories and have made some time for yourselves. Fall will be here before we know it! *XOXO*
2 comments:
I totally hear you- on the one hand I'm excited to get my classroom up and running and get organized and ready to start the year with a bang, but I know that lots of work lays ahead.
I can also relate to wanting to do some chopping when people comment on teachers getting so much time off. Instead I tell them that 40 hours per week times 52 weeks of the year is 2080 hours, which I work and then some between September and June, so really I'm just flexing time in the summer since I worked all my hours for the year already. Give 'em something to think about!
Have a great rest of the summer!
That's a great way to think about it! Flex time! I love that :)
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