One week until Christmas Break.

5 school days.

17 school days left in 2nd Quarter.

That’s 41 calendar days left of teaching at SRMS.

Because there’s 55 days until Baby Holdy is due. And I’m not coming back.

I can’t say it was a hard decision. Pretty much as soon as I found out I was pregnant (the week after last school year got out), I knew I probably wouldn’t teach the entire year. I just knew it. I didn’t make that hard & fast decision right away, obviously, because it would depend on The Beard’s job and our financial situation and what the district could give me for maternity leave and blah blah. But always on the back burner was the knowledge that I’d be gone come February. Commuting 90 minutes a day from Orem to teach a full day for the last 2 months of school with a newborn baby just really seems next to impossible.

The hard part was making sure that leaving at the end of 2nd Quarter would work and then finally pulling that trigger. I met with my administrators, department, district people, Utah Board of Education people, witch doctors and basically anyone who knew anything about pregnancy and teaching. I don’t really want to get into the emotions I’m feeling about leaving just yet. Especially since I’m sure they haven’t even REALLY hit me yet. That’ll be a post for January, I guess.

For today I just wanted to document a typical day in my life as a middle school teacher at SRMS, since those days are precious and limited now. Bon wrote a great and informative post about her days and I thought it was high time I did so myself. I’m sure I’ll look back at these one day and think “Man. That was another time in my life, wasn’t it??”

So here goes. My life.

5:25 am – First alarm goes off. Usually snoozed while Glen Coco rolls up across my neck & chest FORCING me to cuddle and stay in bed longer. He really does this and its the best/worst.

5:35 am ish – Finally succumb to the alarm and roll over to check all of my emails and the weather. I read scriptures, The Daily Skimm email, and Twitter. Basically just putting off getting up in the name of being “informed.”

5:45 am ish – Get up, get dressed, do hair & makeup and maybe dance a little to TSwift.

6:20 am – My “Ok Danica it’s time to stop fixing your liquid eyeliner and go” alarm goes off. Snap a pic of Glen Coco’s nose peeking from under the covers. Throw together lunch while my oatmeal is microwaving, load up the car.

6:30 am – Crank the seat warmers and leave my pitch black neighborhood, fantasizing about what it would feel like to still be fast asleep like all my neighbors. 🙁 Listen to Game of Thrones or HP audiobooks on my commute while I eat my oatmeal SAFELY and sometimes cuss out bad drivers & accidents. I take I-15 to Bangerter to the Mountain View Corridor and then 7800 even further west to my school.

7:10-20 am – Arrive at school, depending on traffic, weather, accidents, etc. Set up my whiteboards for the day, pick up copies, write instructions & plans on the board, enter grades, sit staring at my computer with ennui…

7:50 am – Class begins for the day. I teach a morning “pod” and an afternoon “pod.” Pods are sections of 3 classes that rotate through English, History and Science. We do a starter or watch CNN Student News if it’s “Newsday Tuesday.” Once or twice a week we take a short 4-6 question quiz on preceding material. We usually read something (textbook, article, letter, primary source, etc), watch a related youtube video, and make something (comic strip, twitter feed, skit, etc).

10:55 am – On Monday-Wednesday, my morning pod is over and I have my prep period. On Wednesdays I meet with my English and Science teacher to talk about kids, plan cross-curricular units and do any team/school tasks we need to do. Most days I use this time to run errands around the building, create lessons and submit copies.

11:46 am-12:16 pm – Lunch in the break room with my teacher buddies. I relish these lunch periods and always try to eat my lunch with my friends, even if I have tons of work and grading. It keeps me sane, I think, to have adult conversation during my teen-filled day.

12:21-2:50 pm – Monday-Wednesday my afternoon pod begins. Thursday and Friday we have Block Days, meaning we do like an A/B day schedule like a high school. Thursday we have periods 1-4 so I have my 80 minute long prep at the end of the day for planning/Netflix. Fridays we have teacher collaboration from 7:30-9:30 (planning, test writing, professional development, etc) and the kids show up for “Late Start” with school starting at 9:50 for them (we have periods 5-7 on Friday).

2:50-3:20 pm – Contract time that I’m required to be here. Kids come in to retake quizzes and redo assignments because their mom took their iPhone; I grade papers and prep tomorrow’s lesson. About once a week I have a meeting – faculty, team, committees.

3:20-4 pm – I try my hardest to get out at 3:20 when my contract time is over for my sanity but also because Glen Coco is kenneled during the day and needs to get out/cuddle me. Often you’ll see me pulling into the West Jordan Arctic Circle for some fries. Maybe a milkshake.

4-6 pm – Take Glen Coco out, then fall asleep when he comes back in and nuzzles into my neck on the couch (best!!!). Sometimes it’s Office and grading papers or working on Masters homework if I’m feeling particularly ambitious.

6-9pm – The Beard gets home and we cook dinner or meet up with the Holdaways. A few times a week we have the Findeis’, Carlsons, Oldhams or other friends over to hang which is the absolute best. We’re trying to do a little in Baby Holdy’s room every day, and I sometimes dedicate an hour or two to reading and posting blogs. Much of the time though is us just sitting on the couch watching Netflix and unraveling from the day.

9-10 pm – I put away laundry, shower, plan clothes and tasks for the next day and take Coco out. I try to be asleep by 10, but unfortunately sometimes that becomes 11 or 12 if The Beard comes with me and we end up debating Harry Potter vs. Lord of the Rings for the thousandth time.

These days fly by. Sometimes I feel like I’m barely keeping my head above water – not mentally, just physically. It’s weird when I think that a year ago my routine included 2 hours of basketball after school or an hour at the gym, a few hours a week at Young Women’s, and wayyy more time primping and shopping and doing funtivities.

I don’t know if next fall will find me in a classroom, or driving to work in the dark, or reading The Beard ridiculous student sentences as I grade papers. I suppose there’s a chance I’ll never find myself in those situations again. I’m only going to do this, for certain, 18 more times. 18! Even when I’m exhausted and (currently) sick and feel like I’m dying… it makes me want to resist taking every one of these precious seconds for granted.

Even if I had to erase “Your A BONOR!” from a desk today. :/