List of Changes
It’s been a little while. Okay, a long while. Fine, three months. “You have excuses, but I have my reasons” as the song goes. Most of the reasons I’ve neglected this blog have to do with the adjustments that came with the start of a new school year. I’d gotten so comfortable in my summer routine that fall hit me like a shock-wave, and took me longer than usual to find my footing. The switch seemed a bit more dramatic than usual because of all the changes involved. Here is a list of the many changes this school year brought with it.
1. A new principal
Our very excellent chief of operations at my school received a promotion at the end of last school year, and a new administrator started this fall. Our new principal is a woman, and she’s wonderful. She’s full of passion and great ideas and excitement and a fresh perspective. But as anyone knows, change is hard. Mrs. A’s administrative style is very much opposite to Dr. H’s leadership norms, and she has definitely “upset the apple cart” (in the best way possible) and all the teachers are scrambling a bit to get ourselves adjusted to her way of thinking and doing. The first few days of school were a bit more chaotic and stress-filled than usual, but of course it came out all right in the end. We’re still facing new hurdles and directional switched constantly, but hey, whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right? We wouldn’t want to be stuck in a rut. No danger of that now! 🙂
2. A new team member
For some reason the Social Studies position on our team is a bit like Defense Against the Dark Arts (for those of you who are not Potter fans, the professor who taught that course at Hogwarts never stayed more than a year). We’re on our third teacher in as many years. Mr. M is fresh out of college (JBU, so a point in his favor) and is definitely being thrown into the deep end. We’ve tried our best to get him up to speed, and he’s a fast learner (fortunately) but since we’re all a little off-balance these days it’s a bit like the blind leading the blind. He’s really doing a great job though, and it’s been a strange but fun twist to be the “voice of experience,” when I’m used to always being the youngest member of the team. It’s crazy, but doing the math leads me to the inevitable conclusion that this is actually my 10th year of teaching. How time has flown!
3. A new addition to the family
Nope, not just taking about the puppy (though she has brought her own set of challenges to my schedule). Everyone winked at us when we said we were getting a dog, commenting in an all-knowing way, “oh that’s the first step.” Sure enough. Baby Baran is officially on the way! Chris and I are expecting him or her to arrive somewhere around April 18th. It’s perfect timing really. I’m due just a week after our big state testing is over (all my teacher friends just shuddered) and, thanks to an earlier start to this school year, should be able to finish the last six weeks of school out on maternity leave, coasting gracefully into summer. For my mathematically minded readers who are counting back, yes, I did find out right around the beginning of school. The first day, actually. Hence my additional befuddlement and distraction at the start of the school year. This was also the main cause of my “dead air time” on this blog…I found it impossible to compose anything without referring to this monumental (ha!) life change. Chris and I agreed not to make it public knowledge or post it to facebook until after the first trimester was safely behind us, so I had to wait at least that long before writing about it. But as the twelve week milestone came and went, I still felt reluctant it pick up my pen (figuratively speaking of course). I felt like it had been too long. I didn’t know what to say. I was to exhausted and sick in the afternoons to do anything but lie on the couch and watch Buffy reruns and HGTV. But there’s no time like the present, and since I’m finally starting to feel better (knock on wood) I decided to tackle this task that I’ve put off for way too long. Most of you probably already know our big news, but for those who haven’t heard yet, I hope you didn’t mind reading about it here. Hey, it’s better than posting it directly to facebook, right? And now for the FAQs:
– yes, we are going to find out the baby’s gender, but I won’t be far enough along until right before Thanksgiving. Don’t worry, that will definitely go on facebook ASAP!
– No, we don’t have names picked out yet, though thanks to my years of teaching I have an extensive list of NO WAYs (I won’t post any, for fear of offending, but I definitely have had some bad experiences with students who will forever taint certain names)
– I haven’t decided yet if I will stay home with the baby or not. I’m leaning toward yes, but I don’t want to make the final decision just yet. Thankfully I have plenty of time to decide. Chris is super supportive either way, and I’m so thankful that I am able to make the decision and not be forced to go one way or the other.
– We haven’t started the nursery yet (waiting until we find out girl or boy) but we have definitely started cleaning out closets and shifting furniture around. We’re consolidating the office and guest room into one room…we’ll see how it goes. I’ll post pictures of course.
– No, I don’t have any belly pics yet. I’m at that awkward stage where my “normal” clothes don’t fit any more, but maternity still feels a bit like overkill. I look more like I’ve been hitting the Oreos to often than like I’m carrying a baby, but hopefully that will change soon and I’ll start to look pregnant instead of just like I’ve been going overboard at the all-you-can-eat buffet. There will be some pictures Monday however. Strangely enough, there are 5 of us at my school who are expecting this spring. One is due a month before me and one a month after, and the other three are due within a week of each other! Should be interesting to see who wins the final delivery race :). We’re taking the first “baby club” picture Monday, with monthly pics after that. Should be a fun way to document our “progress,” especially as each baby belly is replaced with a babe in arms!
I will try not to go so long before I post again. Now that the secret’s out, I think it will be easier for me to generate topics. Look for the upcoming posts: List of Baby Items I May or May Not Need, List of Names I Like But Chris Rejected (and vice versa), List of Foods I Can’t Seem to Stop Eating, and of course, List of Healthy Prenatal Habits I Should (but may not be) Doing
List Lady 