5:00 a.m. Alarm clock sounds. Husband tries to do 20 push-ups by the time I turn off the alarm. This is not the land of "snooze." No no no. If I gave myself the option to think twice about getting up, it would not be happening. I try to not trip over a dog, cat, or human before reaching the alarm clock in the dark.
5:10 a.m.-6:30 a.m. Shower, yoga, lounge, eat breakfast. I like some quiet time in my morning. I like my day to be bookended by something that resembles human life so that I don't wake up working and go to bed working. In the morning I shower and drink some coffee on the couch while reading Tupelo's Daily Journal or Internet roughage. These days I usually check the weather to see if there's any chance of snow. Some of my co-workers have started calling me their meteorologist because they know if they catch me at the copier in the morning, I will be able to give them a report of today's predictions. I've also added about 15-minutes of yoga to my morning routine in the past week. Before I leave the house, Lloyd and I have breakfast together at the table.
6:35 a.m. - Leave the house and begin the north-ward trek. It's about 18 miles to Byhalia from Holly Springs. At the beginning of the year when I had a functioning CD player, I would usually sing along to some mix of Lady Gaga, Arcade Fire, and Neutral Milk Hotel. Channeling the maniacal diva and painful anthems of growing up were pep-up talks to myself in August. Now I listen to WEVL 89.9 out of Memphis.
6:55 a.m. - Arrive at school. Battle the copy machine and take my post in the cafeteria for duty. Make kids take off hoods and hats and try to elicit "Good morning"s from students in a world of nods and "What's up."
7:30 a.m. - Homeroom. Sustained silent reading time. Sometimes this is the best part of my day. A sea full of quietly reading sixth-graders: beautiful.
8:05 a.m. - First period. This is like my honors class. They are my editors and my reference point for the day. They help me correct mistakes and loopholes in my lesson. I can often gauge how the rest of the day will go based on what happens first period.
9:05 a.m. - Planning period! Time for lunch with Mr. Gioia and making amendments to my lesson if necessary. This hour is also known as pointless meetings time and subbing for other teachers.
10:05-1:05 I'll just lump third and fourth period together. I'm in the thick of things. This is the toughest time of my day. Kids are frenzied and hyped-up in the hour leading up to and the two hours after lunch. What ever happened to post-lunch sleepiness? For me, it's like each of my students grows another head and two more arms after lunch. Post-lunch farting also becomes a significant issue in fourth period. (Sixth grade, go figure).
1:10-3:00 Glory glory hallelujah! The homestretch of my day is fifth and sixth period. I get a little bit lighter in mood and crack some jokes with students at this time of day. My homestretch kids see a much weirder me than my morning and lunch kids.
3:00-3:30 Class is over, and babysitting begins. I hold second load bus students this semester. If kids are in their seats and the room is relatively quiet, we're good. I put on BBC's Life, and students become mesmerized by a screen.
I usually get home around 4:30 after assessing classroom damage from the day and packing up. My home afternoons consist of some variation of ice cream at Tyson's Drug Store on the square in Holly Springs, petting a cat and dog, speaking in strange voices, talking to Lloyd, and e-mailing/Facebooking. Around 5:30 it's time to start working again. I flush out my lesson for the next day, call parents, and grade. I take a dinner break, and then work ends at 9:00 or so. Then it's time to dance and jump around the house.
9:30 p.m. - I write for 10-minutes in a journal and then Lloyd and I say Compline, ending our day peacefully and with prayerful focus. Then I crash.
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