After 2+ months off, I’m on my last day of “leave.” Monday, I return to work, making Sunday a school night, which I can’t really wrap my mind around right now. As such, I’m kind of taking stock of and thinking over this experience, and really everything as whole since Maddie was born a little less than 5 months ago. Going in, the one thing I knew for sure was that I didn’t know much of anything, and that was 100% true; however, I can say that there is one aspect of all of this that has surprised me the most. Continue reading “Some Dust In My Eye” →

Being a teacher doesn’t come with many “perks” with the exception of one…and it’s a big one: summers off. Having the summer off has been the ultimate “me” time, at least before having a child that is, and it’s glorious. However, there comes a point, usually in the first few days of August, where the reality that the summer is ending starts to creep in and it just starts weighing on then back of you mind. From this point on it’s just there, and it only gets stronger, burrowing deeper in. This is where I am now. Continue reading “Dread Creeps In” →

All in all I would say that Saturday is easily my favorite day of the week. Even though I legitimately enjoy my job, many of us are grasping for the weekend once we get to about lunchtime on Weds. In fact, a former coworker and still good friend and I used to have a bit where we would play the song “Working for the Weekend” to start off the day each day from Weds. through Friday – it only lasted a few weeks and students may have been traumatized. This said, as a teacher, Sunday’s are often ruined by the fact that there is always grading to be done. Remember that gnawing feeling that you had homework to do when you were a kid? Same feeling. Saturdays though, Saturdays are my day. Continue reading “Saturdays” →

26 days until I return to work. It’s funny, the emotional impact of the numbers on the countdown on this page have shifted in dramatic nature. At first, the concept of 75 days was an incredibly intimidating sum that I could barely wrap my mind around, let alone dealing with the first day in and of itself. I had no idea what to do with this journey I was about to embark on, and doing so for 75 days seemed insane. Continue reading “26 Days” →

I’ve now been off of work for a month. Crazy to think that it’s been that long. Crazier still than I still have even longer in front of me. Some musings that I’ve come to during this time… Continue reading “1 Month” →

The other day we had our first snow day of the year – a treasured event in my world. For most, after college snow days lose their luster, if they even continue to exist at all. As a teacher, snow days are just as exciting to me as they were in 3rd grade, possibly even moreso. At least they were? Continue reading “Snow Day?” →

December 27, 1:00pm. Since freshman year of college, Winter Break has been a time of recharging the batteries…as well as a fair amount of partying. After college, this didn’t change, rather it amplified – as a teacher,I still had winter break, but was now in a major city with much more disposable income. Continue reading “Winter Break” →

December 24, 11:00pm. In baseball, when a minor leaguer makes it to the major leagues, they call it getting called up to the show. The moment they’ve trained and worked their whole lives for, coming to fruition.

Today I get called up to the show Continue reading “Welcome to The Show” →

December 22, 2:40am. It’s 2:40am and I’m finally getting in bed. Tonight was rough. All in all, the baby was good and I loved spending this time with her, there’s just one major issue – Maddie does not like the bottle. Since birth, Madison has been purely breast fed, and we are fortunate that this came fairly easily to both baby and my wife. I would estimate she has taken maybe 10 bottles total to this point.Tonight she had to take 4. She was not happy about this. Think about it, would you be happy with this choice? You’re used to a boob in your face, now you get daddy with a plastic bottle? What the what? Continue reading “1 Down…” →