Being a Wife on Winter Break

Many people talk about the perks of working in a school system. They mention how many days off we get, how we get a summer, spring, and winter break, or how we have great hours to be home by 4:00. Of course neither this specific post nor this specific blog is designed to address the downsides of working in a school system - the low pay, the countless unpaid overtime hours, the lack of salary increases, raises, or bonuses, and the high necessity of the breaks so we don't hurt ourselves or someone's child - no really, try staying sane while trying to teach - or at least MANAGE - 22-28 students in one classroom where every child either cannot sit still, doesn't listen, fidgets endlessly, falls out of the chair, has parents that will blame you for everything, throws up on you, has lice jumping out of his/her hair, has an individualized education plan for any number of reasons, yells at you, rolls their eyes at you, talks back to you, is gifted and thinks he/she knows everything, needs you to remember to send him/her to the clinic for meds at any hour of the day, cannot get along with any classmates, falls asleep in class, or suffers from any number of undiagnosed conditions such as ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, ADHD, Learning Disabilities, Asthma, ADHD, Seizure Disorder, Mental Retardation, ADHD, bladder infections, sleep apnea, eating disorders, Deafness, ADHD, low vision, food allergies, irrital bowel syndrome, or any combination of the above listed problems. . . just try to get them to pass their district and state assessments while trying to stay sane without any summer, winter, spring, or Thanksgiving break!! But, as I said, I'm not going to go into defending my absolute need to have scheduled breaks to make it through the school year and how fair it really is. I'm just glad the state understands that I (as do my colleagues and students) need these times to recuperate and rejuvenate to be the best I can be at my job (and stay out of prison or the mental ward).

Needless to say, I'm on winter break right now. And, although it hasn't hit me that I have another week off after this one, I'm taking advantage of every minute trying to catch up with my personal life. I've been paying bills, running errands, buying groceries, doing laundry, cleaning the bathrooms, cooking meals, organizing finances, corresponding with friends, spending time with family, cleaning out my closets, watching a little TV here and there, and lounging around in pajamas. It's been busy, but very fun!

I'm still looking forward to seeing what the rest of winter break has in store for me. Believe it or not, I'm loving the cooking and cleaning. I feel so passionate about keeping this house in order and in having a nice warm meal for Sam when he gets home. What's better is that I enjoy this and Sam doesn't expect it from me - it's just something I can do while enjoying some time off of work. I like having the time, the energy, and the willingness to do these things. And, when I get the urge to nest - LOOK OUT - 'cause when I'm on a mission, nothing can stop me from cleaning and cooking anything I can! Here's to a fabulous winter break - with lots of organizing, cleaning, cooking, and relaxing!