It’s 2022. Let’s hope for a better year than 2021. Last week, I missed the final blog of 2021. I didn’t even realize it was Wednesday until half way through the day. Apparently, I need the consistency of work to keep me focused. So, this morning, I am up early, listening to the blustery wind outside, realizing that some things haven’t changed since last year. I am wondering if the kayaks, which we store by our dock, have jumped the storage rack and have gone skittering across the neighbor’s snow covered hill like a runaway sled. For two years, that storage rack was adequate, but this year the winds are out of control. I’ll have to address that later today. I need to get bundled up and salt our crazy ski-hill of a driveway in about a half hour, so nobody slides into the relatively busy street below. I still work at the school and secretly wish for the administration to call a day off due to hazardous driving conditions (wind, ice, blowing snow), but they still won’t. 

One big thing has changed. The teacher I was covering for is returning. There is a part of me that won’t believe that until I see it. The school is sliding me over to a remediation position to help students that need extra help in math. My pay will drop significantly, but so does the workload. No grading, which is the bane of every teachers’ job. I expected to feel elation. I didn’t really want to teach this year. I was happy in the cafeteria, carrying around a thin layer of mashed potatoes on my skin. I knew what to expect there. Go in, work hard, go home. I could whip up 60 pounds of mashed potatoes with a whisk, no problem. Okay, they were instant, but they were still really tasty. And I didn’t think about work when I left work. It was glorious. 

I am nervous about this new job. I have no idea what to expect, or really how many hours I will work. I will miss my students. They somehow got into my head and my heart, and now I care about them. I will miss my fellow teachers. I know I will still be there working, but will the teacher camaraderie change? This darn job that I didn’t really want has taken hold of me. Of course, I won’t miss losing every Sunday to grading. I haven’t made Sunday plans for most of the school year. In typical fashion, I already filled this entire upcoming weekend, with the conference swim meet Saturday and dropping Tayden off at school Sunday. Tessa doesn’t return for a week, so I get to make a round trip to Indy for Tayden.

I don’t know how anybody else is faring with Covid, but our house had a minor outbreak over the holidays. Tessa, Trent, and Tessa’s boyfriend all got it. But that’s it, so I consider it a win. We are all vaccinated, so it was pretty minor. So, we go into 2022 with optimism for a great year! Stay strong and power on! Happy new year everyone!