Takin' Care of Business

Tomorrow morning will be the first day of teacher in-service that I have not attended in eight years. Without fail, the end of August heralds in another academic year for me, and I readily anticipate it with my own new school supplies and ideas for my students. However, I have a newborn who is not yet a month old. Therefore, I will be sitting out the entire first six weeks of the school year. And as I think about all that I'd like to do in my classroom and with my lessons, my emotions are getting the better of me. 

It's tough because I wouldn't want people to think I don't love my own children. I have two beautiful boys:

Being able to hang out with my 3-year-old this summer before the baby was born made for great memories. Since the baby arrived, I have equally enjoyed the cuddling and loving that a baby requires to be happy. There is no doubt that I love being a mom especially since my children totally rock.

It's just very few people are blessed with jobs that they love. I AM TEACHING. Everything about it fits my personality. It is also a great feeling that in a small way I am changing the future. There are so many minds to open and enlighten. Not to mention how much I learn from the students who walk into my class. In the past eight years I have influenced and been influenced by roughly 1200 students. That's only counting the ones I have directly taught.

So tomorrow morning when my alarm doesn't go off but I wake up at 6 o'clock anyway to feed my baby, I will probably fight back tears because I know that the academic world will continue to spin without me.