My job has exploded since the end of summer break. Covid is spreading like crazy through our school (and all the schools in the district) and hundreds of students are being forced to go home and quarantine for 10 days due to a close contact with someone who tested positive. Parents are angry. The phones ring off the hook. So many teachers and bus drivers and substitute teachers and other staff are out sick or quarantining themselves that everyone is run ragged. I don't have much energy left when I get home each day. And of course there's the minutiae of daily life that must be attended to, and my husband and pets needing attention. After all that, I'm falling into bed totally worn out most nights. Saturdays finally roll around and I sleep a lot and not much else. Sundays are family time since Gregg and I are off together on Sundays.
So many of you have become real friends over the years, and there are several more of you I wish I could get to know better. When time and energy are in short supply, though, reading and (especially) commenting on blogs seems to be one of the first things to go out the window. I feel bad about that. Please know that it's not you, it's me.
Here's hoping things calm down a bit soon and I won't leave work every day worn out and with my brain fried. (Sometimes I could swear I hear my office phone ringing faintly in the distance when I'm at home!) All I seem to want to do after work is sit on the couch with a glass of wine, have a simple supper, watch some good escapism tv or read a book, and get in bed early.
Since I don't have a great way to end this post I'll leave you with a video I took the other night when we were having some incredible looking heat lightning. Happy Saturday, friends, and I hope you're all doing well.
crazy lightening, Thanks for that , something i have never seen before. I would tell you to stay home, go back to ZOOM. Save your life! The variant is wicked, no need to remind, The kids will be OK eventually educationally speaking, not saying anything new here. Take good care of you, You are loved!
ReplyDeleteI wondered how your school was doing. Hope you can survive this mess. Take care of yourself and your family.
ReplyDeletecheers
Never apologize for not reading blogs. Or posting your own blogs. Ever. Take care of yourself. As Linda Sue said, you are loved. We are here. We are holding you close.
ReplyDeleteWith all that the schools are going through, you owe no one an apology for being worked too hard or over-tired or even just not in the mood.
ReplyDeleteI fear we are headed back to more lockdowns and shutdowns and infighting if people don't simply listen and do a little something to help us all: wear a mask and get a vaccine.
Stay safe.
The lightening video is excellent. I wish your job were more cooperating these days. Stay safe, and get your sleep on Saturdays!
ReplyDeleteChildren, sadly, are the greatest spreaders of all illness from the common cold to Covid. Let's hope they cope well with it, and return to school unscathed.
ReplyDeleteI love the lightning, I could watch it all night. We call it 'Sheet Lightning' over here.
You have no reason to apologize. I understand the feeling because this summer I have hardly done any blog posts and I feel guilty about that, yet it has not been in me to do them. You are currently totally overwhelmed with your job and for good reason! I can't imagine working in a school right now. Between Covid and all the opposing feelings about masks and vaccinations it must be awful! You have to take care of you, and your friends understand that. If you get too run down you risk yourself getting sick. We will all still be here whenever you feel like and are able to post.
ReplyDeleteI love the video! We get a lot of heat lightning here too in the summer. It is amazing to me because it is so different from storm lightning.
Please take care of yourself! xxx
Take care of yourself, Jennifer. Do not feel bad about blogging. It happens to all of us and we are still here.
ReplyDeletePlease do not worry about not feeling like blogging. We might miss you and hope that you are OK, but we will survive!! It sounds like a bit of a nightmare at school. I am wondering what will happen here when the schools go back in September. The majority of adults and young people here are at least once vaccinated,( most over 50s twice) though apparently the people now very ill in hospital are the younger ones who chose not to be vaccinated.
ReplyDeleteWe had a thunder storm in the middle of last night. Quite a rare thing here! The garden is happy to get the rain and luckily my dog is not bothered by loud noises! Look after yourself Jennifer, and enjoy your Sunday. x
Sounds like a crazy time at your school - schools here start back in early September and it will be the same I fear.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry about blogging....just take care of yourself
That video is wondrous. Thanks. As for being unavailable lately, you’ve got some nerve letting life come before blogging. I’ll let it pass. So sorry about the Covid nightmare. Hope things soon get better... for good.
ReplyDeleteMore important to sit quietly with your feet up, a nice meal and a glass of wine. We will be here for you when things return to normal. They will one day.
ReplyDeleteBless you Jennifer. We all think you are wonderful and a light x
ReplyDeleteLuckily for us, we're not in the thick of it at the moment but I've seen what an uphill struggle people I know have gone through to keep education running. I take my hat off to you all!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the explanation Jennifer. No need for apology. What a crazy start to your school year. Schools need reliable people at the frontline in times of crisis. Keep up the good work. Throughout the pandemic I have been keeping a close eye of the statistics. I note that in South Carolina there have been 1984 deaths per million people and in Britain it's 1927 deaths per million. In the USA the state worst affected is Rhode Island with 3012 deaths per million. South Carolina comes twentieth. Peaceful home life and getting a good night's sleep are both so important in these trying times. By the sound of it, it won't be too long before your school has to close down for a while.
ReplyDeleteMy apologies... It's New Jersey with 3012 deaths per million - not Rhode Island.
DeleteSorry you are having to deal with such an untenable situation. Sending good thoughts your way. Schools don't start here until August 31st, but I'm sure it will be just as chaotic here, although on the plus side there is a mask mandate, they are distancing the kids and the bus routes have been adjusted to limit the number of riders. Still, I don't think it will be easy given what is going on in schools like yours. Some other local school systems have already had to shut down. Education, as we knew it, may not return anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteTake care of yourself...feet up, a glass of wine and turning off your brain at the end of the work day seems eminently reasonable.
Sorry to hear that things have been so difficult for you. As everyone has said, take care of yourself and don't worry about the blog. Your health is most important.
ReplyDeleteWow! I hope your seatbelt is fastened since I suspect your bumpy flight will not be ending soon. Take care. This thing will only end when those who have chosen to pay the price for a maskless freedom all ante up.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I LOVE your heat lightning video, especially with all the night sounds -- very peaceful! I'm sorry things have been so crazy at work. I'm dreading what we're going to be facing when our students return in a week or so.
ReplyDeleteOh, and don't worry about reading blogs! This should be fun for you, not an obligation and a source of stress.
DeleteOh my gosh, Jennifer. DO NOT APOLOGIZE. You're in the middle of important stuff right now that demands your full attention. Children have to come first.
ReplyDeleteTut! I join the conga line of assurances blogging is a hobby not a job. You post when you can; we are waiting with Love.
ReplyDeleteI feel for you. I really do. I cannot even image the fiasco layered with angry, entitled parents. I am sure they don't pay you anywhere near enough.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you are running an exhausting marathon at your school, and you may be caught between the school and the parents. You need to take tender care of yourself, so no apology needed. Be well dear heart.
ReplyDeleteNo apologies necessary as far as the blogging goes. You are not alone there! It's getting crazy though, isn't it? Lightning, in all its fascinating forms is awe-inspiring... from a safe distance. Stay sane, and I hope things calm down some day for you and all around.
ReplyDeleteDear Jennifer, blogging should be the least worry in your monstrously busy life right now! It is supposed to be fun, not a burden; and when time does not allow for it, then it simply takes a backseat until things calm down.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to the idea of your boss to have others pick up your phone in a rota?
Jennifer, I always look forward to visiting you here.
ReplyDeletePeople are run ragged in the UK too because of chronic staff shortages in various sectors - health workers, teachers, lorry drivers, crop-pickers, abattoir workers, you name it. Partly because so many people are quarantining, partly because Brexit has deterred many foreign nationals from coming to the UK.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry about not commenting. There are only so many hours in the day and clearly you're exhausted by the demands of your job.
school starting isn't supposed to scare us to death
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