I hate to do this, but I am learning to recognise when I have to step back a little…
Right now, my life is filled with so much, and I think, for a little while, I am going to have to step back from the blog for a little while until things settle.
Home life, work life, and my own writing schedule… it is so hard to balance right now that aside from a possible weekly Spidey post, if I can, and my Book & A Brew posts, I will be stepping back. I will try and read posts, as and when I can, but I apologise if I am not there on your blogs for a while…
We are in week four of school now, for the academic year, and things are already a tad fraught.
Expectations from up above, higher than our head, and pressures with shortages of staff around the school, along with managing different levels of need in our new classes, means that I am so busy constantly.
I don’t have the same headspace I used to. Things are fogging over. (Thanks Perimenopause, for your input!) And I still have home life to think of, too!
But I will keep swimming like Dory says, because that is the only way I can get through…
So, Peeps, what do you do when you feel overwhelmed? 😊
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “Last/Lest/List/Lost.” Use them in any form you like. Use one, use two or use them all. Bonus points if you use all four. I’ll chip in extra bonus points if you use the word formed from the missing vowel in a well mannered way, but behave yourselves lest you lose all you bonus points… Enjoy!
I feel like I’ve lost my marbles.
I’m making list after list to remember everything I need to do, lest I forget something.
Last night I collapsed in bed, exhausted, and there was no lust for anything… just sleep! Hence the later than usual post time!
I can’t believe I have been in school for two weeks already!
I’m just pouring my green tea. What are you having?
If we were having chai, I would say school was an interesting place to be this week, what with our children starting for the first time. Half days, until lunch. Usually, we have time in the afternoons to prepare for the next day and the next couple of weeks, but with staffing shortages, several of us were drafted to different classes on different days! I ended up in Year 6 for an afternoon, teaching VIPERS (a comprehension scheme), a mental arithmetic test and some PSHE! What a culture shock that was. Children who were able to sit in their chairs and follow instructions! A lot of these kids were in my nursery, so it was lovely to see them and how they have progressed 7 years later. As for my new Reception children, they are a lovely bunch, and I am not just saying that! Yes, there are a couple of SEN needs we are aware of and, a couple we need to assess, a couple that require some gentle guidance regarding behaviour, but that is usual for 4-year-olds. We’ve had a bit of errant urination in the wrong places… (try stemming the wee of a 4-year-ld midstream. I guarantee you CAN’T!) But hey, we are on the case already! I finished the academic week tired but a bit more confident that we can do this. More confident than the last couple of years.
If we were having chai, I would mention that I had a three-hour Governance conference we, as SLT, were asked to attend one evening. It had its uses, and we were able to support our new to the role Head of School (previously Deputy) and the buffet provided was absolutely amazing! Yes, I went for the food!
If we were having chai, I would tell you I joined an amazing Autumn Writer’s Retreat run by Anita Faulkner. It was all about goal setting, visualisation, and finding your Why? that is sparking your end goal. I loved it. Two mornings of talking with like-minded folk, and we will have some more catch-up sessions over the next 6 weeks, too! I am feeling a little more inspired to get writing again, now!
If we were having chai, I would bring it back to Sonu Singh. This weekend, he found Lil Man’s cricket bag, and it was as if he knew that it wasn’t going to be used for a while, now, so it became his new bed of choice! I know it doesn’t look comfortable, but he lay there for the whole afternoon!
This week, what with more staff shortages, I will be farming my team out to different classes some afternoons, as well as our own kids coming in for half days plus lunch! That means we get to stay with them, and have school dinners, too! We have a new catering company making the dinners, so I look forward to sampling some lovely food! Lil Princess has an orthodontist appointment, and we have a threading appointment. Oh, and I am getting my flu jab, too. Lil Princess also has her first sweet sixteen party to attend at the weekend, too. It’s Lil Man’s last week of freedom before he starts a new higher apprenticeship-based job. My boy, working! OMG!
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But I Smile Anyway... 