I heart Saturdays.

I am working on setting up the office. There are books literally everywhere in this house, so I am taking a much-needed break: a little coffee, some fresh air, some computer time. It does feel good to be getting organized, but I also have this panicked feeling that I'm managing so far today to contain---. The first day of school is Thursday, and I cannot believe how much I've left to do. My classroom isn't set up yet since I didn't get my stuff (that was shoved in the back of some trailer, lost) until Thursday afternoon. I went up Friday but a tour of the "new" school took up a lot of my time. I can't even begin to talk about the new school... . Let me just say that...no seventh grade classrooms were built. SO, I am not happy at all. I cannot fathom how this happened, because obviously it makes no sense when we're talking about a 6-8 school. You should see the sixth and eighth grade sections. Not only do they have a nice little "community", but they each have an extra classroom AND a work/play area with skylights, close to bathrooms. WE get science rooms (complete with gas spigots and eye wash centers, perfect for rebellious middle schoolers who are supposed to be reading) that are all connected to some greenhouse that all the other students will be traipsing through at any random time, plus we're going to have to train like we're marathon runners because the bathrooms are approximately a mile away.

This is the only other comment I'll make right now on this topic: I'm sick of the seventh grade at my school being shoved aside for everything. Talk about setting the kids and teachers up for failure. This is the hardest grade for the kids in this middle school, but we're continually forgotten about and then, of course, the teachers are blamed when the kids go nuts. It's a hard enough time for kids, anyway.
OK. I'm done. I'll quit being an Eeyore and start being a Tigger. (Thanks, Motivational Speaker from Tuesday).
No, really. Adam and I have both had a lot of discussions lately about how we need to be more positive. I know it's very important, and somehow I've let stress get to me. I know we can be okay, though. --

So, at least I have a nice little space at home in which to work on my thesis (I AM FINISHING IT THIS YEAR; I HAVE TO), plan my Reader's Workshop/Responsive Design lessons, and get my work going for a blog/web page that I've been planning. It's getting easier to breathe in this house, which I hope will make everything else just a little bit easier, too.