This week we had three snow days in a row. I'm struggling to think of a time when I've had that many weather-related days off in the past. We got absolutely dumped on. I think I heard the Twin Cities got about 15" in the span of two days. This third snow day we got off because the roads were still so bad and they wanted to allow time to clean up.
Well, I say "day off," but they were technically e-learning days. That just means I had to post an assignment or prompt on Google Classroom and then be available to students if they had any questions or were having trouble navigating the day. But it's definitely not a normal day of teaching, by any means. Not even close. About half of my students checked in online each day.
I got to the point where I was literally sitting in my house thinking, "When are we actually going to get back to school?" and I remembered the early days of the pandemic when we were constantly told, "We're going back next week. It's just two weeks away and then we'll be back." I mean, we knew we'd go back to school sooner rather than later this time because we were only away for snow reasons, but still. I found myself slipping back into some old habits. I did some catching up on grades. I did a lot of laundry. I did a lot of dishes. This time I played with my son and we worked on potty training, which wasn't a thing that was going on the first time. But then I got restless. I played video games for the first time in months. I watched a lot of "trash" TV (my words, not an actual category on Netflix). I didn't leave my house for five days straight (I went to the zoo on Friday and didn't go out again until Wednesday to shovel a way to my car, which I didn't end up needing for another day.I'm really glad that I like being home. For some people, home can be a miserable place or just a spot to lay your head at night-- nothing special. Home is where I thrive because so much of what I like to do is home-based. But sometimes that makes it hard for me to actually want to leave my house. This week I felt myself getting nervous about going back to school, which was interesting to me because this year is so much better than last year. I don't feel like I have the level of school-based anxiety that I did last year. But I still wasn't exactly looking forward to going back. When I get to stay home, I love the routine I get to have. I love my slow mornings and having time. I love seeing the house get gradually brighter as the sun comes up.
We only have one day of in-person school this week and I'm already mourning the loss of my slow mornings, though I did try and hang on to some of that today. I lit a candle and drank my coffee while adjusting my slides and plans for today. I still have my Christmas tree up and I have string lights in my front window-- they look so beautiful in the dark living room, they just make me happy. I like my job a lot, but I'm really glad that I love being home and creating a life for myself and my family there. I love that I have a source of joy outside of work.
Snow days are nice and winter break was truly soul-lifting. I'm ready to go back to school now and I hope I'm in a better place to inject more positivity into my school life.
