Longest week of the year

The first week of school has to be the longest week of the year!

I had planned to blog each day -- to give true insight into the first week of a NerdyTeacherMom. But, as you can see, it's Labor Day, and this is my first post since school started.

The week leading up to teachers' returning was met with denial. Remember all of that "I'm going to work several hours each day in August" talk? Well, that didn't quite happen. I did, however, watch some good Spanish programming on Netflix (I could argue that was work-related) and reached new heights in Candy Crush.

After a few hot hours in the school building on the Saturday before students started (the air conditioning was not on), I managed to be ready for three classes of Spanish 1, two classes of Spanish 2 Honors, and a new weekly homeroom class called Bear Time.

Monday was grueling. Despite a large mug of dark roast, I felt like I never really woke up. Dang those summer mornings sleeping until 10 a.m.! After school, my mind told me I needed to work out -- it tells me that all the time -- but as usual, I didn't listen. I took a long nap instead. And I enjoyed it!

Tuesday was kind of a blurr. I felt like I was coming down with a cold, so I did nothing after school and went to bed before my kids.

Wednesday happened, too.

And then there was the longest day of the week: Thursday. It was a relatively normal school day followed by Back-to-School Night. As a 9th grade teacher, I ate pizza with our team at 5:15 p.m. and attended Eat, Meet, and Greet with the parents of freshman at 6. An hour later, the program for all parents started. By 7:40, parents were passing to their children's first-period class, where we teachers explained what they can expect this year. By 9:15, I had keys in hand and was dipping into the parking lot to beat the rush. I'd enjoyed meeting new parents and greeting familiar ones, but I was pooped. All told, I'd spend about 11 hours in the building that day.

On Friday morning, our awesome principal greeted us with coffee, donuts and bagels. I snatched the last maple-frosted donut, feeling like I might actually be able to make it. I did, and I even conjured up enough energy to take tickets at the football game that evening.

Saturday was my day. Thank God my family could read the "leave-me-the-heck-alone" signals I flashed. I spent most of the day on the deck, reading magazines, caring for my four lame-looking plants, and crushing candy.

Needless to say, I am planning to give up a good portion of my Labor Day to prepare for Week 2. But I'm actually okay with that.