I’ve been cranky this week. My friends have noticed. My colleagues have noticed. I’m sure my husband has noticed, but is afraid to say anything. I’m on “task overload” and I get a little cranky when I don’t feel somewhat in control of my life.
One of the problems I’m facing is change. None of us like it. And this year I’m getting an overdose, especially at school. New administration, new staff members, new rules, new schedule, new class, new set of parents. Thank goodness I still have the same room! I’ve been hesitant about a few things, like starting school twenty minutes earlier, but I’m sure it will all work out and in a few weeks I’ll be calm again.
Another thing contributing to my crankiness is the heat and drought. I know I’m joined by more than half the country in saying “enough already!” My plants are dying, and the fires are starting again. There were two on Tuesday. I passed one on my way home from school. It burned some pasture and a barn. The one on the other side of town burned a lot of pasture and hay bales. At a time when people are going out of town to buy hay, it must be painful for a farmer to watch his burn.
The transition from my avocation to my vocation always makes me a little cranky. I just finished writing two articles. I’m making real progress on getting my novel critiqued and revised. I’m researching several events for my Caddo history files. I just finished revising a chapter of a book that will be re-released next month. (Don’t get too excited- I only wrote one chapter!) The problem is that I LOVE to write and I LOVE to teach, but I don’t do justice to either when I’m trying to do both at the same time. So in another week my writing will fade into the background and I’ll be Mrs. Maurer, teacher.
And then there is the whole physical adjustment to working again. That’s the change I really get cranky about. It takes my body a while to adjust to the cement floors, lack of sleep, dehydration, and irregular eating habits that go along with teaching. Standing all day on cement floors is not good for my back or knees or ankles and they protest wildly for the first few weeks. And the lack of sleep? Getting up at 4:45 is my goal this year. Last year I got up at 4:30, but I’m going to try to be more efficient this year. I won’t be walking in the a.m. either, because we are starting a walking program at school and Gary and I are also going to walk in the evenings. The dehydration and irregular eating are just part of the game. Just too busy most of the time to pay attention to what my body needs. And our kindergartners eat lunch at 10:45. That means I must eat at 10:45! Strange time to have lunch and makes for a very long afternoon.
So… I’m cranky. I’ll probably be cranky for at least a few more weeks. Get over it! I will. Promise.
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