Ten Things...

...that you just have to laugh at or else they'll make you miserable because they didn't make the first day of your second year of teaching go as you envisioned it.

1. After taking Nyquil and beginning to feel its drowsy effects the night before the first day of school you ask, "Should I have showered tonight?"

2. After waiting to shower until the morning you find that getting ready takes longer than you remembered it taking before, setting you way behind your ideal schedule.

3. Taking quite the leap from bagels with cream cheese spread just the way you like it as one's morning sustenance to a bowl of plain, instant oatmeal.

4. Doing the potty dance all morning because you forgot to use the restroom before you went to greet the kids.

5. Playing Radio Disney softly in the classroom because you realize that it is really too quiet with only two kids in the room.

6. Having to literally drag yourself out of your desk chair to go upstairs and eat with your colleagues because you are just that lazy.

7. Opening your lunch to find that the ravioli you were so looking forward to consisted of no more than six one-square-inch pieces, leaving you hungry for the rest of the day.

8. Mixing up the names of your two students at the end of the day.

9. Staying until after 6 p.m., all too closely mirroring many an afternoon of your first year.

10. Getting home to find that both Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune are reruns to which you not only remember the questions and puzzles, but also the people and their personalities: what they're wearing, their names, what you like, what you dislike about them, etc.

All that being said, I am laughing at these things because, although my day did not go as I envisioned it, these things and the great things that happened throughout the day made it what it was.  And although I would  love to have a Nyquil-free night and am anxiously awaiting the growth of my class, both in size and knowledge, I am excited for what this year will bring.  I think that being able to say that in my half-asleep Nyquilness and after an 11-hour visit to work says a lot.  

Here's to another great year!