Silver Linings

The fact that today marks the completion of the thirteenth day of school, yet the completion of only my first blog, might be a sign of how the year is going.

The transition from Madison to FTG MS has been much tougher than I thought it would be. I imagined my third year of teaching being a breeze. You know, because I've "been there, done that, and literally bought the t-shirt." Apparently experience doesn't mean a whole lot when switching schools. I did not know that two schools could be more different. I don't necessarily mean that negatively either. It has just been a whirlwind trying to adjust to the different procedures. Little things, such as kids bringing their backpacks to class, which I thought was OBVIOUSLY a no-go, turned out to be actually encouraged. Even tardies are counted differently. Of course I knew things would be different, but having EVERYTHING be different was (and sometimes still is) very stressful.

I realize that part of what is making the transition so difficult is how much I love Madison. In the beginning I filtered everything through my Madison lense, and complained about how it was different and made no sense. I have surprised myself, however, with all of the times that I've eaten my words. For instance, I originally thought it was a bit stifling that we are supposed to submit our copies to be made by an employee in the copy room. Shouldn't I be able to make copies whenever I want?? This is America! :) As it turns out, I LOVE having my copies delivered to my room, and I LOVE not fighting with the copier in the 6th grade hall at 8:30 on Sunday evenings. We had some intense moments, that copier.

I still feel very much out of my element with many of the procedures and rules at our school, and many more things are required out of me that take extra time and effort outside of the school day, but I do see the light at the end of the tunnel. My first few weeks were pretty dark- especially considering the raging hormone issues I'm dealing with (Thanks, Kyle Jr.). Sometimes even little issues seem like THE END OF THE WORLD! Ha. 

Hormones aside, I'm officially determined to find the silver lining in every situation this year. For example:

Situation	Silver Lining
My commute is now 30 minutes versus 1 1/2 minutes.	I get to spend even MORE quality time rocking out to Tay Swift and improving my car karaoke skills.
Lesson plans should be turned in by Friday afternoon, versus not turning them in at all.	My weekends are now free to spend at Hobby Lobby obsessing over nursery decor.
Boys and girls are basically segregated in the halls and at lunch versus being allowed to mingle at will	My room is by the girls' lockers. No sweaty boy smell in my hall!
While teaching, I often receive several swift kicks from an ornery boy.	He resides in my belly and will be here soon! :)
There are so many things we  need to track for each student, that it became necessary to use an old school grade book.	I learned a new skill! Next, I'll learn how to play Snake on an old Nokia.
Wednesdays are shortened to 45-minute classes, which is a very challenging time-frame for me.	Because classes are shortened, staff meetings take place during school hours. No early meetings!
Lunch is at 10:40 versus 12:20.	I can literally eat anything, anywhere. Baby Combs is flexible. And hungry.

Here's to staying positive!

-Mrs. Combs

PS. I miss everyone at Madison! I may wear my yearbook out soaking up the memories. It was a great two years. :)