Energy Zapped (Slice of Life Day Fifteen)

Do you ever have a day where it feels like someone forgot to charge your batteries the night before and then all of a sudden your battery dies?  Do you ever feel like all the energy has been drained out of your body and no amount of pop, coffee or candy is going to kick start you into gear? Do you ever feel like the pep in your step has been zapped?

I do.


Here's to having a difficult adjustment to the time change!

What did you just say?! (Slice of Life Story Day Six)

I really debated about sharing this moment but felt it was something many women (and maybe men) could relate to.

So yesterday morning I felt like a kid again being with my mom and brother.  Well, by mid-afternoon that feeling drastically changed.  I felt old.  I am talking tired, frumpy old.

Here's what happened.  I was laying around the house being lazy and so was my husband.  I could feel him staring at me so I inquired what the staring was all about.  And in the most gracious, gentle voice came the terrifying words, "All your gray hairs."

WHAT???!!!!

Now, the way he said was incredibly as sweet as could be.  I was in no way mad at him for speaking the awful truth.  Also, I know about these pesky, gray hairs.  I have noticed them tremendously multiple over this year as if they were horrible weeds in a beautiful garden. But it did make me stop for a moment and think.  Do I run to the nearest drugstore, buy a coloring kit and fix this?  Or, do I graciously let my gray go and hope that it looks dignified?

The jury is still out on this one....

Ch-Ch-Changes!

Change.

That word instills fear in some, excitement in some and both for others. Change can be difficult, but I believe it is all in the way of how you approach it.

There are those that the word change makes their knees start shaking. They are like Chicken Little running around and screaming "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" They get all flustered at the slightest change and need lots of reassurance that things will be okay. They look to others for help without looking at what they themselves are capable of first.

There are those that embrace change. They are the ones that have no fear in trying something new and appear to be very accepting when things come their way. When change does fall in their lap, they persevere ahead and do not let it drag them down. It's like they don't even miss a beat!

Personally, I am someone who feels both. I tend to look change in the face and say "Come on and get me!", while in the pit of my stomach are butterflies fluttering about and banging into each other. On the eve of a change in our district technology this is exactly how I am feeling.

How do you approach change? Any tips to quiet the butterflies?

Roadblocks

This week most certainly has not gone as planned. In my mind all teachers would have their new laptops, the new network and wireless system would be up and running, and the printers would be actually be printing. This would free me up to start the real reason I took this job - working with teachers in collaborating with using technology in their teaching. Boy was I WRONG!!! Needless to say, not going into great detail, there was an emergency meeting followed by a whole week of troubleshooting and things are still not where they should be by now.

Kids come Tuesday!!!! We aren't ready!!

On one side I have learned a lot about imagining, networking, and binding computers. But, I believe more importantly, I have learned that teachers are flexible. I can't print in my classroom yet? Ok, I will email it to the secretary and get it done that way. I can't print in my building yet? Ok, I can put it on a flashdrive and print at home. You say my computer isn't ready yet? Ok, I can share with my colleague. It was amazing how teamwork came out of all of this.

With all of this my stress level kept rising throughout the week and I really appreciated the people that made me sit down, catch my breath, made sure I ate and listened to me have my "moments". As educators this time of year does bring out the stress in us and we need to remember to take time for ourselves. Remember to eat, hydrate and connect with others!

I know eventually things will be up and running smoothly and I am really looking forward to that day!!!