My First Attempt

Okay, I've never done this before, so bear with me. I'm a writer at heart, so this kind of thing should come easy to me, but we'll see...

To fill you in, I'm a mother of an oh-so-cute little man who is the ripe age of 7 months (and for those of you who do not have kids, "ripe" here is used as the adjective I would choose to describe the contents of my son's diapers) named Mason, I am a teacher and a wife. Well, I'm a lot of things, but those three titles take up most of my time.

Why start a blog, you ask? I suppose it's because I've had many phone calls and conversations with friends and family members that ask, "so, how's Mason?" or "how are you doing?" and I usually use the automatic "good, fine" answer, because I feel like nothing happens around here. But really, being a mother of an infant, there is never a day that goes by that NOTHING happens. But I have always thought no one would be interested in the silly little details that make up my day. Then I thought, maybe somebody would.

If you are a mother AND a teacher, your life consists entirely of tending to, loving, entertaining and caring for the lives of children. It never ends. Never. When I'm on my lunch break at work (I work in a 6th grade class at a charter school, by the way), I'm thinking about what needs to get done when I get back. When I'm at home and Mason's napping, I'm making his bottles, washing his itty bitty clothes, cleaning up the disaster that occured during his mealtime, or trying to keep the plethora of toys he's already accumulated in one contained area. I love being a mother and as a crazy as it sounds, I love working with kids as a career, specifically the middle school age. Right now you're probably thinking, "Say what? Who in their right mind would actually like working with little hormonal time bombs that are ready to go off at any second, plus try to teach them anything?" And you're right. I'm probably not right in the head. I've always said you have to be a little nuts to teach. If you were right in the mind, the first day of school when you were confronted with your class full of whining, energetic, stubborn balls of attitude, you would jump out the window screaming and run down the street like you were being chased by a mass murderer. I believe it's an unwritten prerequisite to be a teacher. Nevermind the college education, training, tests, certification and paperwork. It's all about being a bit of a nutjob. But that's just my opinion...

So, here we are. It's a Sunday, and I've got my little sweet pea sitting in my lap as I type. He's rather entertained sitting here, because there are endless forms of entertainment on the desk: fun little buttons to push, papers to crinkle and try to eat, a hard desktop that makes a great conga drum and many other items in reach. I suppose I could babyproof the desk, but then he'd be bored, and just like my 6th graders, if he's bored, he acts up.

I just finished my first week at the charter school. I've taught before, but never 6th grade in an elementary setting and never in a charter school. It's actually a pretty decent place to work. Most of the kids have been together since Kindergarten, so they're already comfortable with each other, which fastforwards past the social awkwardness that often occurs the first few days or so of school. Which is a good and bad thing. It means they already have a lot to say to each other, which means they rarely shut up. But it's a good group of kids. And guess what? I get to go to Disneyland with them!! (which further proves my point that I'm insane) They will be the first graduating 6th graders from that school, so it has been decided by the powers that be, that we will take them to Disneyland at the end of the school year, as a celebration. And I'm actually excited about it!! It's only one group (about 30 kids), unlike a middle school setting where I'd have 5 or 6 times that. Plus, being a charter school, the parents are very involved. I'm sure we'll get lots of volunteers. I just hope Mickey Mouse and the gang are ready for us...

Well, Mason's getting grunty and wiggly which is his universal sign for "if you don't put me down for a nap STAT, I will be screaming momentarily." So, off I go to tend to my motherly duties. I shall write more tomorrow. Hope you enjoyed the window to the craziness I call my life...