two day weekend - cruel and unusual

My days at school have been filled with insane amounts of repetition on my part (abc’s, 1-2-3’s) and their part (Miss! She hit me. Miss! Rubber!) With all of the holidays lately, it means I’ve only been doing 3- or 4-day work weeks. So when the 5-day weeks start, it’s going to feel abnormally long…and painful. I thought I was doing so well – being patient, caring, creative. And then the cramps and headaches started and it felt like the best solution might be to knock some small heads together. I didn’t. But I wanted to. So on Monday when I get to see them all again, I’m hoping that feeling disappears.

Adding to the mayhem is that the school has asked me to teach two classes for grade one. My first attempt was this past Friday. It’s oddly serene watching a classroom of 32 kids just disintegrate. Suddenly everyone asks to ‘go to toilet’, the worksheets end up on the floor. When I was six years old and a teacher told me to do something, I listened out of fear. I almost admire these kids for being anti-authoritative in their own way. But then another way to describe them is ‘brats’. I need some sort of shock n’ awe method.

The boyfriend and I are contemplating getting a dog. And for anyone who knows me, you’re jaw just dropped so feel free to close it. I don’t like pets but I like the boyfriend; he’s generally good at following through with what he says and so I trust him when he says he’ll be the one to wash the dog, train the dog, love the dog. I still want to help out with the training because I think a better behaved dog will be one that I can tolerate (and maybe enjoy?) so I’ve been reading up on training tips. And (not so) oddly enough, it sounds very similar to dealing with children. Perhaps these two aspects of my life will pleasantly intertwine. The children will stop digging holes in the yard and the dog will count to 20. Or something like that.