September 7, 2023

I’ve been grumpy about work. This isn’t my usual curmudgeon self coming through, this is a real response to returning to work after the summer. This morning, I was thinking about why.

Let’s start with the cats. It always starts with the cats. There are now three of them. The lightning and thunder this morning, at 4:00 a.m., sent them into a bit of a frenzy. I was lucky enough to have been woken by my bladder around then, allowing me the opportunity to spend some time with them.

The sun rose behind clouds.

After a futile attempt to fall asleep on the couch for an hour, I got up after finishing today’s Wordle, the mini-crossword, and the easy sudoku on the NYT Games app. I made coffee. Luckily, there were enough grounds left in the coffee grinder, so I didn’t have to disturb Hannah’s sleep. The sunrise alarm started to light up in the bedroom. I did have to open the bedroom door to turn it off. I then had to close the door.

I fed the cats.

Around 7:30 a.m., I was ready to leave for work. My morning routine does take me a while to get through. While writing my morning pages, between about 5:45 a.m. and 6:30 a.m., I started to realise that the biggest shift that has happened in the last three days is the focus of my energies. Now, I’m no longer working for myself, toward my own goals, and in control of my next move. Now, I’m tasked with helping others achieve their goals.

In our staff meeting, one of the veteran teachers mentioned that she taught Drake…