In college, my roommates and I would sometimes talk about our "Peaks and Pits" over dinner. 

Peaks: the positive parts of your day.
Pits: the negative parts of your day.

We would talk and laugh. A peak might be finishing a daunting paper or going on a date with a boy. A pit could be getting a daunting paper or going on a crappy date with a boy in our class. You get the picture.

Peaks and pits don't end in college. Duh.

Every day, we are presented with peaks and pits. Sometimes, the peaks are huge. Other days, the pits take over. Regardless, there are positives and negatives associated with every day we are on this Earth.

Today, October 20, 2014:
Peaks: One of my students totally understood a new concept and yelled down the hallway, "Great teaching today, Ms. Sienrukos!" ; Michelle submitted her project a week early and rocked it; I had a really good muffin for breakfast.
Pits: Suspicious credit card charges = credit card fraud = Lisa gets a new card; ticket on my way home for going through a yellow light (that turned red); chatty Kathys in period 9. Ugh.

Today was just another day. Some ups and some downs.

I tend to think that the important thing about these peaks and pits isn't that they happen. I think the important thing is how we react to them. "Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it." 

So sure, some "eh" things might happen to us. The more we fuss and complain and bug out, the more problems we create for ourself. Fussing and complaining and bugging out do not solve the problems. And some awesome things might happen. But nobody likes a bragger so we have to be modest. Whatever the scenario, think about the reaction.

Here's to days ahead with many more peaks than pits!

This week at school, I had my first really, really, really, really crappy day. For the first time in two and a half months of being a first-year teacher, I cried at my desk at the end of the day (which isn't even that bad, I don't think).  I'll save you the sad little details; dealt with loud students and frustrations.

I sat at my desk, alone, after all of my students left and thought to myself "What am I doing?" Why didn't I just pick a boring 9-5 job? What am I doing? I'm teaching. I didn't pick a boring 9-5 job because teaching is important. I am doing something every day, whether I realize it or not. I am helping these crazy little kids. Sometimes, bad days happen, but it doesn't mean a bad life (or a bad career choice). 

Remember when...
- I told my students I was going to be out the next day and they begged me to stay?
- Ash drew the sign that said "Math Can Be a Blast"?
- Joey scored a 96% on his math test after staying with me during lunch time tutoring?
- Andy scored a 71% and I cheered?
- Ang gave me a birthday gift that she saved up with her own allowance money?
- My Assistant Principal told me my colleagues were raving about me being a new staff member?
- Antoine says "Bye, have a great day!" at the end of every class period?
- Liza emailed me to see how my day was doing?
- Ethan offered to bring in multiplication charts for the whole class to use?
- Joanne's mom told me that originally her daughter didn't like me because I was actually going to make her work hard?
- Diane, Kate, and Alice found me during lunch to get my opinion on a poem they wrote?

It's moments like this that teachers need to hang on to. 

Teaching isn't an easy job. In fact, it's much much harder than I ever imagined it to be. Part of the reason I went into teaching was because I thought I'd have short days to be able to have a family and kids one day. Wrong-o. Teachers work hard during the day and stay late after the school day is over. We juggle one zillion things at once, while keeping our composure (somehow) for our students. I've worked harder in the last two and a half months than a full year of college.

So, Dear Teachers Everywhere,
We are important. We are doing something. We will have a bad day and we will have another bad one again soon. We try not to focus on the bad stuff, but sometimes it's hard not to. So, once in a while, take a moment or two to appreciate the little things that get lost in the craziness of every day. 

Love Always,
Lisa, a forever-optimistic teacher living through the chaotic life of her first year teaching

Without some days off here and there, teachers would lose their sanity. No doubt about it.

Yesterday was my first day off as a teacher due to Teachers' Convention, which I opted out of in hopes of regaining some strength and spending some much needed time becoming one with my couch. 

But what do all teachers do on their days off? When I was just a bitty student, I imagined they lived in their classrooms, so naturally they would spend the days dusting shelves and making worksheets, right? The first time I saw a teacher outside of school, my mind was blown. Well, on my day off, I exercise, make breakfast, catch up with Dancing With The Stars, talk to some very kind women from a car insurance company on the phone, and sit on the couch with my dog sipping coffee. 


My point? Teachers need lazy (yet, somewhat productive??) days like this once in a while to ensure their brains don't start leaking out of their ears and their patience goes "boom". In only two months of working, I've learned that becoming a teacher is one of the hardest careers out there. Imagine being the President of a company holding a meeting where one-third of your employees didn't do their research, one-third is not paying attention, one-sixth is rocking back and forth, practically falling over in their chairs, and finally the last sixth is paying really close attention raising their hands every second they get. Fewf. It's exhausting. 


So, this one goes out to all of the hard-working teachers. (Please, I'm exhausted and I don't even have any children of my own yet - HOW DO YOU DO IT?) Hoping everyone is enjoying some downtime before Monday returns.