It's That Time Again -

SOLs. The bane of all juniors' existence and the English teachers who instruct them. The writing SOL is next week and we've been working so hard to get ready for this, though who knows where we stand. I must say, though, that after last year's scheduling and snow debacle, I feel slightly more prepared for this year's round of testing.

But even more than the kick-off to Virginia's standardized testing schedule, the Writing SOLs are the ribbon-cutting to something even more debilitating - the spring rush of stress and ensuing 'woe-is-me' mentality that can sometimes accompany the feelings of overwhelming schedules, meetings, grading, testing coordinating, data collection, CYA-ing (if you don't know, ask), and the serious lack of breaks because the weekends move entirely too quickly to recuperate in addition to the rush of activities that occur at the end of the year on the weekends which shorten your breaks even further.

(I'm rather proud of that sentence - quite McCarthy-ish if I say so myself...I hope my seniors who view this appreciate that...)

Ultimately, the reason why I decided to blog this evening was to re-establish my attempt - pitiful as it may be at times - to continue through the next 3 months of school with a Panglossian attitude. I wrote an entry approximately a year ago that discussed this further, but for now, I simply want to reassert my desire to keep from bogging down my students, family, friends, and co-workers with my own concerns, worries, quandaries. This time of year is rough on every one I know. Ergo, I will not contribute to your load.

It would be nice if everyone could sincerely participate in this attempt, but we know that won't happen, so I will do my part. And if you really want to know what's going on in my life, you'll have to prove it for me to unload. For now, I am actually quite content - we had a beautiful rainy day (we're truly in need of precipitation) that cleared just as the sun set, sending pink and fluorescent orange streaks through the clouds. I'm sitting in my kitchen with the doors open and letting a crisp, clean breeze blow the germs out of our house - Steve and I are both recovering - and Sydney is sleeping soundly, healthy (never caught the cold). The house is (relatively) in order, dinner is planned for tomorrow, and I am at peace. What a wonderful place to be.