Working Lady

There are two sounds I hate hearing early in the morning:

1. The ungodly loud shrieks and cries produced by our two-year-old neighbor between the hours of 4:00 am and 7:00 am (which happens far more often than I think it should...when do kids grow out of that?!), and...

2. The jarring ring of my cell phone well before my alarm clock is set to go off.

This morning my phone rang at 6:15. G was still asleep, so I knew it wasn't my alarm clock and I sprang out of bed to see who was calling. It was the company that coordinates my teaching placements. The woman I spoke with wanted to know if I could teach in a location about 30 minutes from our home. Class started at 7:15. I somehow managed to get myself put together and out the door pretty quickly. I was in the classroom by 7:15, ready to go.

I worked with special needs kids all day. The amount of time and effort poured into an individual student with special needs is impressive. After spending my entire day chasing kids around, helping upper elementary school aged kids with fundamental skills (counting, reading three letter words), and disciplining students for behavioral issues (no yelling!), I can say that I have a much better appreciation for what it means to be a special needs instructor. They shall forever have my respect!

I was offered a multi-week substitute position in a nearby area. I arranged to give it a trial run through the end of this week. If it goes well - and if I can accomplish my own work after the school day has ended - I'll probably agree to the placement. We'll see how it goes. I tend to be much more productive when I have a busy schedule, so it might actually be really good for me.