A Mid-Summer Check-in

We are now nearing the half-way mark through the summer and as a teacher, I rely on this time of year to decompress and to lighten the mental/emotional load of the school year. If all goes according to plan, I should be losing track of what day it is, doing projects around the house and working on major music projects for my Houghtoonz.com website. It’s a kind of teen-aged bliss you might remember when in high school and were off for a couple of months, although this time around with a bit more purpose and responsibility - after all I am a parent and have a mortgage!

As I said this is a check-in, so I ask the question, “Am I in ‘Summer Mode’?

Well, alas, this is not the case this year and hasn’t been for several years in a row. WHY??? Two words - Summer School. Yes, instead of leisurely getting out of bed, scanning through the day’s news and listening to whatever tuneage Spotify is offering up; I’m up early, prepping my lunch, scarfing down my breakfast, getting materials prepped and on the road. Don’t get me wrong, I do like the relaxed feel of my classes; usually they are small or even one to one. But! and it’s a big BUT!, it’s still teaching, I still need to plan ahead for the next day’s work, I still spend a good chunk of my day at school and not at home doing ‘me’ things and I am very acutely aware of what day of the week it is.

This, you might say, is a ‘first-world’ problem and many of you may be playing the smallest violin in mock-sympathy for my ‘plight’. Well cry those crocodile tears, my friends, but know that the rest and reset that I crave is sorely needed. If you have taught as a classroom teacher in grades K-12, you know what I’m talking about. Teaching full-time for 9 months straight is like a full court press on a court that seems endless. So, if you haven’t taught before, lay off, will ya? Trust me, the time off is needed.

Okay, now lets get reviewing the ‘check-in’ -

1) Am I Feeling rested? on a scale of 1-5 where 1 is disheveled and 5 is bright and shiny - I’d give a 2.5 - I don’t have to get up as early as I do during the regular school year, so there is some ‘snooze-room’ with the alarm, hence I get some extra sleep.

2) Do I look forward to going back to school? (this is a big test because despite my complaining, I do like to teach and if properly rested and prepared, I look forward to the upcoming year.) Same scale as question 1 - I’d give a 2 - I’m not out of school technically, so I’m more excited about not teaching but I do have some new ‘toys’ to play with this year and am excited to work on them with my students.

3) Is my blood pressure normal? Yes, 120/80, thank you, BUT I’m on meds.

4) Have I gotten projects done around the house? No, not really, getting ready, though - one more week of Summer School and then onto Home Depot!

5) Do I know what day it is? Yes, unfortunately…

6) Am I in better shape and lost weight? - eh… better shape yes, lost weight, no…

7) have I made progress on musical projects for myself: not much, waiting for my mini-break to make that happen - keep glued to this blog for further developments.

If I were to give a grade for how well I’m decompressing from the regular school year, I’d give myself a ‘C-’ at this point but I’m looking forward to cramming in some major relaxation/me time in August! The only conundrum there is how does one “forcibly relax?” Force denotes effort and effort denotes NOT relaxing. So instead of making sure I’m relaxing, I’m going to center my efforts on making each day productive and enjoyable and make sure I throw in some backyard lounging with an adult beverage or two. We’ll see how that works, yes?

And so I Hope you’re fairing well, my friends - enjoy the warm weather and we’ll check-in just before school starts to see how well we’ve decompressed.

Cheers!