5AM
My alarm goes off and most mornings I am out of bed pretty quickly. Sometimes I'll hit snooze until 5:20, but I know I'm off to a rough start if I'm not up and moving by 5:30 at the latest.
6AM
I've already made my breakfast and loaded everything I need into my car. I wake Vaught up, get him dressed, and have a bottle ready for him to drink on our way to daycare.
6:15AM
I'm sitting in the Starbucks line for my morning cappuccino or latte for hopefully no longer than five minutes.
6:25-6:30AM
Vaught is dropped off at daycare.
6:45AM
I get to school and sign in then head down to my classroom to get ready for the day. Usually I am already prepared, but this gives me more than enough time to set up my PowerPoint, hole punch, and lay out documents for my kids, and do any last-minute adjustments to my lesson.
Oh, and sometimes I take my daily selfie for SnapChat...
7:10AM
First bell rings and the kids file into the gym. Luckily, I'm not on duty until second term, so I get another twenty minutes to get my life together.
7:30AM
Second bell rings and students are dismissed from the gym. I have hallway duty and monitor as kids come into our building.
7:40-9:37AM
This is my first and second period. After second period, I walk my group of students (each teacher is assigned a group) to their activity period then come back for my planning time.
9:45-10:37AM
My planning period is just under an hour, but it seriously feels like twenty minutes. If I'm lucky, I get a few copies made for the next day, and I tweak my lesson a little. Most of my planning is done at home or after school. Don't think for a single second that teachers' jobs are over once that final bell rings.
10:37AM-3:13PM
Teaching, teaching, teaching. By three o'clock, my throat is raw, and I'm ready for a nap. I've tripped over fifteen backpacks in the middle of the floor. I've corrected a sixth grader who threw himself out of his seat (no reason, just because). I've handled friend drama and settled "he stole my favorite pencil" disputes, but my day isn't nearly over.
3:15PM until...
I usually stay at least an hour and work. I am most productive during this time in the early afternoon. If I'm working out before picking Vaught up, I leave by 4:15. If not, I'll stay until 5:15 or 5:30.
5-5:30PM
I pick Vaught up before 6PM (childcare center closes at 6) and head home to cook supper. Between that and other mom/wife duties, I try to play with Vaught and get household things done simultaneously. At first, I tried so hard to be Supermom, and I was so exhausted that I was sick at nighttime with nausea and a headache. It didn't take long for me to realize that I'm just going to have to do a couple of things each day instead of trying to keep our home spotless constantly. I realized that I can't put a five-star meal together every night either. I enjoy doing those things for our family, but the time I get to spend with Vaught and Eric at the end of the day is precious to me.
Vaught gets a bath and is in bed before seven, sometimes a little earlier depending on my afternoon. I'm so thankful that he sleeps the whole night through! He sleeps until I wake him up to leave in the morning.
Once he goes to bed, I usually have papers to grade and lesson plans to work on, so if you've been adding everything up along with me, it comes out to something close to a fifteen hour day for this mama!
Some may read this and think Bless your heart. I'm so glad that's not me! And I totally understand, but I love my job and enjoy what I do. I love the time I get to spend to myself in the afternoon. I love that time with Eric once Vaught's in bed. And my weekends are absolutely precious.
Teaching is not meant for everyone, and yes, it gets tough sometimes--mentally, physically, and emotionally for sure. But I love my job; I wouldn't trade this crazy, busy, fun-filled life for anything!
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