Today is the last day of summer.  I end it with two black cats as residents.  I began it with a very sick Millie, who died on the second day of our vacation together.

I have taken a look at my schedule and rosters.  It all looks good.  There are some major changes in the building this year and there was a great amount of grumbling going on last year when the rumblings of changes started.  Me?  Well, when you've worked in so many districts under so many people, you just go with the flow.  I don't have to change how I teach my kids and the politics behind my teaching.  Those will not be affected.  A lot of what will be implemented is stuff I already do.

To be honest, I don't want to hear the rumours, bitching, and all the other things that came with associating with many of my co-workers.  The beauty of it is that I don't have to anymore.  The focus of a teacher should be the school, the community, and most of all, and the students.  My period 1 is Photo II.  That means I might have lots of the kids in early to work.  Hooray!  Time spent focusing on them will be time well spent and time away from negative influences.

I have so many things I do outside of work, things that cannot be neglected.  I was reminded of how nice it is volunteering when I was cleaning up the town's Civil War memorial.  A few people thanked me for the work as they walked by.  I also have three organizations I volunteer with and this Fall will require a great deal of work.  So there will be a slight change of focus.  And then there is the getting the new kids acclimated to living with hubby and me.  None of this extra work involves money in my coffers, and that has never been my point.  It feels good doing it, helping fix things that need fixing, and being appreciated.  It's not too much to ask.