First Day Pictures on the Third Day

It never ceases to amaze me how big those backpacks look on the first day of school. Thankfully, they don't look like this again until the last week of school when they bring it all home again.
Of course Max had to get in the mix and the kids only wanted to be serious for so long.
Aiden was pretty excited because big sis had informed him that second grade is absolutely the best one.
Dawson was totally thrilled to be sitting in the Kindergarten classroom. Max has asked me, “Where’s Dawson?” every morning this week.
Mackenzie was pretty excited too. After all, it is her last year of elementary school! It's much harder for me to think about her being in middle school next year than it is to send Dawson off to Kindergarten.
And Max, knock on wood, has made the transfer into a big bed beautifully.
Even he can pose for a picture!

As for me, well, I'm hanging in. I had forgotten how utterly exhausting the first week of teaching can be. I'm not sure how it's possible, but I woke up more tired than I went to bed.

I have been absolutely unable to wake up for my early runs, which means I'm going to attempt the 12 miler with the group on Saturday not having run at all since Sunday. Should be interesting.

I'm only 2 days in to my 4th grade stint so I'm not going to say too much about it right now. I'm trying to give it a fair shake. I'm meeting with another teacher at lunch today to try to figure out how I have yet to finish a lesson plan in the allotted time. Hopefully, this will help.

If I’m being totally honest(and I believe in honesty), I'm on the edge of tears wondering what I've gotten myself into, how I'm going to manage it all, and how I have a Master's Degree in Education and can't get the job done in the 4th grade.

The good part is that this is how I generally roll. I jump in, panic, sink to the bottom (and have a good cry), then push off with all my might and just start swimming. I tend to remember that I not only know how to swim but that I really love the water. That helps me tread when I need to, swim to the edge if necessary, and even climb up the high dive to take a plunge.

I'll get there. I know I will. But right now, just this minute, I'm still sitting on the bottom holding my breath and waiting for that flash of brilliance that gets me back to the surface.