Returning

I've been away from the blog for another little stint, and now I'm back to it again.  The last post I wrote was reveling in snow (see title) and now I'm reveling in spring in Minnesota like everyone else, even if it's early.  REALLY early.  I'm back to the job today after Spring Break, and I am happy to report that I am refreshed.  It wasn't the kind of week where I did a lot of errands and small jobs and got super productive.  I turned off my mind. 

I didn't think about kids, I met new people in another part of the country when visiting friends in Connecticut, and no one called me Miss Christians for a week.  I didn't think about technicalities, and I saw the ocean and good people.  I also got out of a mental funk that was actually really overwhelming at times....something that usually typifies February thoughts for many people I think.  The vacation was good.  Feeling anonymous for once was good.  Encountering different things and not seeing them through the lens of 'I'm a teacher' was good. 

I wrote this giant blog post about my trip to Connecticut, but I just haven't posted it yet.  It is coming, complete with pictures of cute babies and the ocean and the fun things we (Allison, Seth, Grace, and I) did while I was there.  But for now, I will write about a dream I had last night.



I dreamt that I had to teach a class of high schoolers mid-lesson for one of my old history teachers in high school.  The class went haywire.  Then I had a conversation with this teacher about best practice methods and what the heck was even happening.  I didn't even know those students in the dream.  I then went back to my own classroom, and I walked in to see that instead of taking a test, the math teacher was organizing a wine tasting session for the 8th graders.  And no one was doing anything to stop it!

I woke up very confused.  I then reminded myself that we would NEVER do that, and that I actually do have a plan (mostly) for teaching today, and it's going to happen normally.  Teachers must have some weird anxiety complex deep deep down inside because we take breaks throughout the year.  Our dreams ask us, 'Can you really do this job again?  You've been away for a while, and you seem to be faltering here.' 

But then, thankfully, the reality kicks in as soon as our eyes open and we get up and actually do our jobs in a normal manner.  I don't believe for one minute that those dreams have any bearing on the things I'll actually emulate at school today.  And the things you dream about before returning to school after summer break, Christmas break, spring break...they really don't happen. 

Just to be clear here, I like to keep the students engaged in something up to the bell....(because of these dreams?) 

And I would never give them wine. 

Cheers to resting, turning off the mind, and then returning to good things.