No Is Not a Four-Letter Word

I really need to keep reminding myself that no is not a four-letter word and that it’s OK to use it when people ask me to take multi-day subbing assignments. The four days I spent in first grade last week were a good reminder of why I only like single-day assignments.

Monday was absolutely chaotic the whole day and I was utterly exhausted by the end of it. The class I was in had had two or three different subs the week before and the kids were already out of control the minute school started. I discovered that the subs from the week before basically hadn’t taught anything. This was problematic because I was supposed to assess the kids on math that they hadn’t yet learned. So I scrambled for the first two days to teach all of the missing lessons.

I assessed the little darlings in math and writing, conducted a science experiment, settled “I’m not your friend anymore” disputes, etc. It was just like having my own class again. So in other words it was a total nightmare. Just when I was about to begin suffering symptoms of PTSD, the four days were up.

Now the teacher I subbed for loves me. The room mom gave me a thank you card and chocolates. The principal loves me. And the secretary told me she was going to put me on speed dial. You’d think I’d be elated. Instead I want to run for the hills. I actually just want to slide under the radar and not be noticed. Because then it’s easier to use my favorite not-four-letter word.

The whole point of subbing was to have time to write and to not be burdened by the stress of teaching. But once I’m in the same classroom for several days, school is all I can think about. I have issues. I know.

At the end of the week of subbing, I had to go to the orientation for the other district I’ll be working for. You’d think an orientation would involve learning about the job and/or the district. Instead I learned that the presenter is a menopausal single mom. I learned about every job she’s held in the district for the past 25 years. I learned that her daughter is in grad school and her son didn’t go to college. Oh, and I learned that you should show up for your job on time and that you shouldn’t bring anything valuable to school that isn’t attached to your body. And of course, I had to go get fingerprinted again. Someday soon, they might even inform me that they’ve hired me.

Needless to say, my writing career has been suffering that last few weeks. I’ve resolved to only sub two days a week. I figure this will give my life some structure and responsibility. And it will make my “free” time seem more precious.

Climbing has been going pretty well. Last week I actually made it to the gym three times. It’s been a long time since I climbed that much. I’m trying to build my strength and stamina for my birthday challenge this year. I’m still trying to work out the details, but I think it might involve going to three different gyms and climbing either 36 boulder problems at each of them or problems worth 36 points at each of them (so a VO would be worth 1 point, a V1 worth 2 points, etc.).

Before

After

What I’ve been reading: I finished reading East of Eden. It was terrific. Not only is it well written but it’s a tremendous story. I also finished An Abundance of Katherines, which I thought was pretty funny and entertaining. It’s probably the only fiction book I've ever read that contains footnotes. And because I’d read John Green’s other three novels, I decided to devour Paper Towns too. It was also quite good, in classic John Green style. Now I’m reading The Magician’s Assistant by Ann Patchett. I’m not quite sure where this book is headed yet, but it’s pretty good so far.