5 o'clock in the morning

...that's what time our alarm is now set for and I find it very sad.

At least at this point in the year, the sun has already risen by that time. The sun helps me to remember that it isn't the middle of the night after all.

Today was very long and interesting--and yet, I do not feel that my sense of accomplishment (or lack thereof) matches my sense of exhaustion!

We were at school by 6:15 this morning. I decorated my "That's the Ticket!" bulletin board and cleaned up my mess before orientation started at 8am. By the time 11am rolled around, we had finished our first round of orientations, our first elementary meeting of the year, and a science scope and sequence meeting with other upper elementary teachers. Whoa.

After lunch, Adam and I drove into the city with one of the school's administrative assistants and the new teachers so that our work permits or residency permits (whichever it is) could be renewed for the coming year. A very necessary process, but it meant leaving school early.

Once we had finished waiting for the application process to be over, we hopped back into the school's van and started driving towards our apartment complex. Before going home, I stopped at Riverside to pick up a few things from their small convenience store--Riverside is great for purchasing imported foods, although it's expensive. Right now, there seems to be a shortage in the dairy department. I haven't been able to find very many dairy products (cheese, butter, cream, etc.)--so we'll just conserve what we still have until whatever shipment Shenyang is waiting for arrives.

What I really wanted to accomplish today, was to plan the first week of math, figure out my first week of language arts lessons/assessments, and finish painting the back of my bookshelf! I guess that will be left for tomorrow's work. Hopefully I will be more productive without the day being spliced in half with a visa trips.

I'm so sleepy right now! I splurged and bought some Starbucks mochas for the next two mornings. Hopefully, they will entice me to obey our annoying alarm clock in the morning. I'm excited for school to start. Happy to be working again. Nervous to try new things out. Anxious to get acquainted with my new students' learning styles....and DREADING feeling exhausted again. Teaching is an extremely tiring job! I dislike coming home, feeling dead on my feet, and realizing that I still have to make supper, wash the dishes, and stay up for a few more hours before I can justify going to sleep for the night. I dislike it entirely! But there is so much to be thankful for, so many blessings and joys that come from unexpected places. It's worth it.

~Julie