the Kitty Circus

My new job is...different, different in so many ways. I really don't teach anymore, and I miss that daily relationship with my class as a whole and with each individual student. I miss watching them grow and learn and develop their skills. I miss the space of a classroom, having all my teaching materials at my fingertips, able to access manipulatives and an entire library of books, but most of all I miss having a window. God, with no window, I can't see the the color of the sky or the clouds as they move across it. I can't see a tree or leaves dancing in the wind, and there is no chance of seeing a bird. Liz heard my whining and made a paper window and put it up on the inside of the door, as my office is basically a storage closet with no wall space. Oh, and by the way, my door actually has a sign above it that says Never Never Land.

What I do have is 149 students, 4 recreation leaders, 3 credentialed teachers, 2 instructional aides, and me. I have too many bosses to count, I call them legion. "What?" my friend Suzy posted on face book, "no pig in a poke?" At first I thought of myself as a circus ringmaster, but my principal said "No, you herd cats." And an old friend Jenise said "Remember when you were a kid and had a kitty circus? Your mom and I used to watch and laugh our butts off!" Herding cats, circus ringmaster, and once again I apparently have a Kitty Circus. And the volunteers have the shock and awe campaign well under way just in case the kids miss anything.

My friend Cindy wrote this and it was so inspiring that I put it on the bulletin board above my computer: After a few months, you will find that it is like conducting an orchestra. Try to make beautiful music every day, even though the members of the orchestra will come and go at will throughout your performance. End each day by reflecting on the huge impact you make for each child and his/her family because you are there.

She evidently has not heard me leading assembly and singing Yellow Submarine...