Part-Time

You would think that, with a work schedule that does not start until noon, I would have relaxing mornings.

I do not.

Instead, I am awake-ish at 5:30, moving sluggishly when the child is bouncing around at 6:00, and staggering through the morning routine with varying amounts of shambling, mainly predicated on how much caffeine I have been awake enough to gulp.

After the whole get-the-kid-to-school routine is complete, then I have about three and a half hours to relax.

Well, I commute, so three hours.

And I have to take a shower and get ready for work and make my lunch and pack my bag, which I have the luxury of not doing at the same time that I am trying to get the child out the door.

So…let’s make it two and a half hours. Two if it took longer than usual to get back to school and back home. Two whole hours to relax!

Except.

Except this is the time when I can make phone calls, schedule appointments, go to my appointments, take the kiddo to his appointments, and run really urgent errands.

And it is the time when I am not at work, therefore can do the work so I have work to do at work – or possibly finish the work from work that I could not get done at work. (You all are in education. You know exactly what I mean.)

So usually, I get the family/household stuff halfway done, the work stuff one quarter of the way done, and run out the door at the last minute, possibly wearing both of my shoes and having combed my hair and possibly accomplishing that in the car instead, feeling unaccomplished, overburdened, and very, very stressed out.

Today, though. Today I decided that enough was enough.

I took my son to school. I came home. I did not do extra work. (At least before school. After school is an entirely different thing.) I looked out the window at the beautiful sunshine. I thought I should appreciate a sunny morning. The daffodils nodded their heads at me. I fetched my knitting.

I sat in the living room and steadfastly did not think about work or laundry or endlessly overdue grading or appointments or anything else. I watched a murder mystery (Vera!) and I watched an episode of Abbott Elementary. I knit a whole bunch of my March Mystery Knitalong project. I put my feet up. I did not feel guilty. It was so pleasant outside that I did not even have to work at it. I had a lovely relaxing morning until 10:45, got ready for work, left at 11:30, and was at school until noon.

And you know what? The sky did not fall in. I was able to teach my classes. I was prepared for the important stuff, like we were having a fire drill during 8th grade lunch for some horrible reason and we had a new group of 8th graders who were on the “no-you-can’t-have-a-hall-pass-no-matter-how-much-you-beg-because-you-abuse-the-privilege-and-roam-the-halls-every-darn-day” list. My students got work done, I am seeing progress in their learning, and I was much calmer and more focused.

Maybe part-time work is not so bad!