BEDA 8- I Missed a Day!

I failed BEDA! BUT I am going to make it up! Honest! ONE day soon I'm going to post TWO blogs! I'm currently typing this on my brother's girlfriend's laptop and feeling horrible because I was doing SO well! I even managed to blog when I was out of town with NO internet service! Then things went to pot! However, things should be okay now.

I've spent this week (all two days of it) getting ready for school to start. The best thing about my current job is that I get to use office supplies, which means that I get to do all the fun back to school shopping! Yesterday my family went to the closest big town to us so that I could buy the supplies I still needed. My clients tend to lack the funds necessary to be prepared for school every day, so I try to have basic supplies on hand at all times so they are prepared for class. I also have a sick obsession with ink pens, so I had to stock up on my current favorites so that I am ready for massive note taking each day. After the school supply shopping for myself, Doda, and E we headed over to Best Buy any my mother fronted me the money to purchase an internet capable device. After a lot of consideration I decided that I should get a cheaper tablet now (since I have access to multiple desktops) and save to buy a quality laptop in the future. My dad seems to think there is hope that his oldest son can repair my laptop for little cost, which will be fantastic really. It is odd to be disconnected in a sense. Especially since it is not by choice. I finally got everything set up on the tablet* and it is (hopefully) ready to go.

I go back to work on Thursday, so you guys should prepare for boring work related blogs! I will do my best to provide quality entertainment so that you won't be bored to tears while reading. I'm certain I'll have exciting stories once school actually starts. I'm excited to go back and work with my clients and see the students at my school. Last week I was accosted by a student that was in the grade level I work with and she was EXTREMELY excited to see me. I adore the kids I interacted with last year, and I have missed them this summer. I look forward to another year of recommending books, laughing at silly things they say, and remind them that just because we are from a small Southern town we do NOT have to sound like idiots** when we speak. I enjoy interacting with tweens and teens each day and seeing the ways that I positively impact their lives.

*I think. Most likely I still need to download massive amounts of things and fiddle with the settings a bit longer.

**I seriously cannot count the number of times kids told me they didn't have to "talk right" because they're from the country. It's sad really that they have no interest in bettering themselves.

A Principal Is Your PAL

First of all, I don't know who came up with that saying, but let me tell you, none of my principals were my "pal." Maybe that's just me though. Today I went to my new school to meet the principal I will work with this year and it was an odd experience to say the least. First of all, the principal's office is a scary place. Today I knew I wasn't in trouble, but just asking to speak to the principal was enough to put butterflies in my stomach. Best of all, she was at lunch so I didn't even get to meet her.

I did have the chance to meet the guidance counselor. If there is one place that is more unnerving than the principal's office it HAS to be the guidance counselors office. Today I sat in the guidance counselor's office with BFF1 and it was completely creepy. From the poster that assures people "everyone dies, even you" to the multitude of ponies that I (thankfully) didn't notice, the place was odd. The entire school was super quiet and that was unnerving in and of itself. Personally, I hate going to schools when kids aren't there. I always feel like I'm on the set of a horror film!

The absolute worst part of the day was that EVERYONE wanted to know who my clients were going to be, and I had to come up with a professional way to tell them that I don't HAVE clients yet. Because that isn't terrifying AT ALL! Knowing that on Wednesday I will walk into that building and have two to five client and I have NO IDEA who they even are. That isn't stressful IN THE LEAST!

Luckily school starts on Wednesday and once it does I will calm down immensely, until then I am still in full on panic mode!

Super Saturday

Last night was the last Friday before school starts, and I spent it with three of my cousins. We hung out, ate junk food, went night time swimming, and enjoyed one last night of freedom! It will be awhile (probably Thanksgiving) before they all stay here again, and I'll miss them when they're gone.

During the school year I stay busy with work stuff, but I also still spend plenty of time running around after kids. I frequently have random children in the afternoon or evening, and I usually end up helping with homework. Which is always hilarious when I have to do math...because as much as I love pi, prime numbers, and long division...I pretty much suck at math. Then Doda, Jerry, and The Clone all play sports, so my auntie and I are always going to games. My auntie's youngest daughter coaches volleyball so we go to most of those games as well. Needless to say I stay pretty busy during the school year.

But it's lonely. Over the summer my house is full of noise and kids and laughing. Once school starts my family is dispersed and we don't really see each other unless it is at Family Dinner Night or at Saturday Morning Breakfast. Which, I know some people don't see their family often. Heck, some of you probably think I'm insane because I miss the all consuming noise that comes with an extra large family* like mine. And honestly, more often than not I have moments when I am just thinking "For the love of all that is good and holy, PLEASE just be quiet!" But a lot of times I just sit around and bask in the wonderful insanity that surrounds me most of the time.

So next week we all go back to school. We are excited and nervous and unsure of where we will stand. I will read through Doda and The Clone's reading lists with them. I will proof read multiple papers. I will read aloud with Erin. I will struggle through math homework. I will make T-Shirts that say embarrassing things like "Chelle Loves #42" and go to games and scream at the top of my lungs. Most importantly, I will enter a school building and introduce myself to four tweens/teens that I have never set eyes on before and convince them that I am on their side, that I will help them get through the school year, and that they can trust me with their most terrifying secrets as well as their hopes for a brighter future. The first few weeks I can promise you I will be longing for math homework.

*There are thirty members in what we consider our immediate family. This is my grandmother, her five children and their spouses, her grandchildren and their spouses, and her four great-grandchildren.