Alternate Universe

For my entire working life, my world has revolved around the beginning and ending of school. My 'year' begins when school begins. Starting a school year means the mad rush it takes to get everything ready for another batch of little ones. And ending a year means tying up all the little details like paperwork and programs. Most of those years the rush to begin starts in August and the wrap up happens in June, which leaves at least a month between ultra busy times. Three years ago when I began teaching at a year round school, the mad rush to begin and end happend with less than a week in between! Talk about an adreneline rush, a natural high! It was exhausting, yet fabulous. For a work-a-holic lovin' her job teacher, it was a love/hate relationship.

I haven't been back to work since the Wednesday I left for my 33 week check-up. That was 19 weeks ago. For the first time since I started teaching 11 years ago, I have missed ending one year and beginning another. If I were working this year, I would have already been back to school for 3 weeks and would be 3 weeks away from my first track out! I'm still checking my work email pretty regularly, mostly out of curiosity. Yet I still feel completely out of the loop, as I guess I'm supposed to be. That's what taking the year off means, right?

I can't help but wondering what my class would have been like if they were in fact mine. How would this group be different from last year, the one before that? I think I miss working, especially since there are days that I never get out of my pajamas! Somehow I thought it would be easier to disengage from work. Although it is nice not to have the pressure and stress of beginning a school year, I miss the rush . . . a little. Seriously, it feels like there's an alternate universe happening parallell to my life right now. Someone else is in my classroom, teaching my class, attending my meetings, stealing my high!