Ellen's First Day of School!

Hello Everybody!

First days back at school are always exciting. You see people whom you haven't seen since school was out. There is a sense of a newness, even if you've done the same job for many years. Ellen was anticipating the beginning of the year -- and all the craziness that surrounds registering children and assuring parents that all will be fine.

Wednesday evening she had her clothes all ironed and ready to go. The alarm clock was set and the coffee pot was fixed for "automatic on". There is nothing like having a pot of hot coffee all ready to pour as you sleepwalk to the kitchen in the morning. Sharon was going to go to school, too. When you've taught for 36 years before retiring, there is just something about getting ready for a new year that doesn't leave your soul.

The following scenario is how Thursday went:

Ellen woke up thirty minutes AFTER the alarm should have gone off.
She went to the kitchen to pour a cup of Snickerdoodle coffee. It was COLD! The timer was set for 4:30 PM instead of 4:30 AM! Forget about reading the paper before school-- it was straight to the shower. After the shower, the coffee got heated up in the microwave. She ate breakfast, got dressed, and was ready to go. It was time to get the name tag and be off to Sharon's house. SHE COULDN'T FIND HER NAME TAG! Oh, well, that would be a job for the weekend.

Sharon was waiting for Ellen to come. She still needs a little help in the morning to get dressed, but is doing remarkably well. We get that job done, Ellen is out the door, and Sharon will follow soon.

It was great to see the ladies in the office. We have a special relationship and can't imagine working without one another. After catching up with one another, it was time to get started in the office. Ramona, our head custodian, came in to tell me that the air conditioner was not working, but she had already called it in to be repaired. (The temperature was expected to reach 100 on Thursday, and there are no windows in Ellen's office.) Okay, so it is going to be a sweaty day...

Sharon arrived at school, and her first job was to figure out why the monitor for the computer would not turn on. She solved that problem, but then it would not let us connect to the Internet. UGH! All medical records for the school are on the computer now! Ada came in to see if she could figure it out, but in the end, she had to report it to TIS (technology) so they could send someone.

Someone called to speak to Ellen, and at that point we realized her phone was not working. Susan reported that to the powers that be.

We worked real hard all morning and got most of the walls decorated. By this time we were hot, sweaty and ready for lunch. After we ate, Sharon went home for a nap. Of course, it was nice and cool at home!!

Ellen spent the afternoon getting things straightened up and all ready for when registration begins on Monday.

What a day!! There is a saying that when a dress rehearsal goes bad, the main performance is usually outstanding. Here's hoping that it is an outstanding year! After that first day, it should be just about perfect!

Until next time. . . . .