Mom's the Word

My mom rocks.

She is always willing to do anything to help, and reminds me frequently that I don't have to do it all myself though I take a sadistic pleasure trying to, time and again.

She is such a good listener and is always slow to judge - allowing me to think through each situation and come to a conclusion on my own.

She's been through so much in her life and keeps on smiling.

And she took Sydney all morning and most of the afternoon so I could become a recluse - shutting myself up in my trailer, listening to the wind ripple across the metallic tin roof, grading as though my life depended on it.

By the time I left my trailer this afternoon, 6 solid hours of grading later, I had 4 stacks of notebooks from 4 different classes on desks to be handed back Monday. I also have 2 separate online assignments downloaded and graded. The only things left for me are my freshmen formal essays from The Count of Monte Cristo, my freshmen's TCOMC unit tests, and my juniors' research papers. And when we got back from me treating her to lunner (the restaurant we wanted to patronize closed at 2:30 to set up for dinner, and didn't open again until 5, so we split the difference and went somewhere else having missed lunch...) she promptly sat down to grade the multiple-choice and matching part of the unit tests.

This means that I have the freshmen formal essays, the unit test essays, and research papers to grade, and I am all caught up! Hip Hip Hooray for Mom!

Now, the kicker is that as a teacher, by the time I get that finished, even if it were Monday, I'd have more to grade since my freshmen are already nearly done with the first two acts of Romeo and Juliet and they have assignments due as well as a quiz. But, that's why we get paid the big bucks. Come work week in August, I have a list of friends I say goodbye to for the next 9 months.

But this isn't about me, even if I am a new mother. And hey, this is my first official Mother's Day! My mom gave me the best gift ever - the chance to spend my first Mother's Day with Sydney without 5 stacks of guilt waiting my return to attention.

I love you, Mom. Happy Mother's Day!