>Today, there was progress. Not big steps, but significant progress in small steps.

My stress-induced stomach ache was much better this morning. (I suppose the evening nap followed by nine straight hours of sleep helped.)
I waded through three large stacks of papers, graded them, and recorded them in my gradebook. I can see the computer mouse now, and the screen is next, I’m sure.
I ate lunch in the lounge and didn’t feel too guilty.
It was chaos in my class because of individual band lessons and the all-school bike rodeo. Most of the peer mediators who were volunteering to help out at the rodeo were in my class, too, so I think I had the entire class together for, oh, maybe ten minutes all day. I think (I hope!) I got all the work to all of the kids so they can get it all done and handed in tomorrow. (I hear you laughing — let me dream, okay?)
My class behaved and participated well in the bike rodeo when their turn came.
And last, but not least:
In honor of Ride your Bike to School Day, I did. I rode my bike to school. It is a small accomplishment, but I’m proud of myself. And as the Gershwin brothers once said, “No, no they can’t take that away from me!”

>If you mind, you’ll need to go elsewhere, because I’m going to vent anyway.
I am stressed. How stressed am I feeling? Let’s put it like in Internet joke style.
You might be a wee bit stressed at work if:

• The piles of papers on your desk are so tall you can’t see the computer monitor.
• Lunch gets shorter every day as you keep realizing you have too much work to justify taking a full lunch break.
• You get a stomach ache just thinking about how much needs to be done.
• You look in your purse to find medicine and realize you don’t know if the one lone tablet is Immodium or Dulcolax.

Yes, that was my day today. I started my day talking with a special education teacher about an incident I had the misfortune to witness yesterday, and ended with a cancelled prep time because the Spanish teacher was sick. In between, students were off the walls wild because — hey, it’s May! Let’s be done learning! Every day!!

You may be thinking, “Whine, whine, whine. So — stop whining and do something about it!”
Okay. I will. Here’s my plan.

1. I will make a to-do list. Having a list helps me relax because I don’t have to worry about forgetting to do something.
2. I will make a “Ta-Da!” list for those things I accomplish from the to-do list.
3. I will stop multi-tasking — sort of. I will only attempt one or two things at a time, not more, so that I can actually see progress.
4. I will allow people to help me when they offer. I’m packing up my classroom, and good friends have offered to bring their minivans and help me with the move. I will say yes.
5. I will prioritize. Report cards have to be ready to go sooner than the moving boxes, so I will work on the gradebook first. The side benefit of this will be dramatic reduction in the size of the paper piles (see above).

I will keep happy songs in my head, or at least relevant lyrics. “Where’s the fire, what’s the hurry about, you’d better slow it down before you burn it out…” or “you’ve got so much to do, and only so many hours in a day, hey” and “It’s all right, you can afford to lose a day or two, oo-oo.”

(Trivia fans, can you name the tune? It fits the way I feel, but it still helps me settle.)

>Musicians are fascinating people. When I judge a music festival, I enjoy the discussions, the give and take, the casual remarks exchanged with the other judges and the music teachers. For me, a former music teacher turned elementary teacher, it’s a chance to renew old friendships and refresh my inner musician. It’s a long day, a tiring day, but one full of pleasures, complex and simple.
Yesterday I was judging at one of the State level festivals. I woke at 5:15, showered, and hit the highway across central Wisconsin by six. With a 16-oz. hazelnut in my cup holder and a granola bar in my hand, I watched the road and the land of this beautiful home state of mine. The grasses were greener than green, a light wind was stirring the trees, and the small lakes and marshes looked peaceful as could be. I shared the road mainly with pick-up trucks pulling boat trailers to their favorite fishing holes.
Traffic and excitement picked up as I entered the college town that was my destination and joined the school buses full of kids and instrument cases converging on campus. This excitement, this positive energy, has become one of my favorite parts of any festival. These teenagers are the best of the best: the students who earned a starred rating at their district festival. They take pleasure in performing and listening to others all day. The mood, the crowd, the pure momentum spread like the Wave at Lambeau Field. (Sorry for the sports metaphor. It is Wisconsin, after all.)
The feelings and passions of the day lasted longer than any specific performance. The chats with students after they sang, the teachers who asked how my day is going, the parents who expressed their thanks for my spending a Saturday with their children. The enthusiastic teacher who, too hyped to sit and wait any longer, asked if she could play the piano in the room for a few minutes, then treated us to a fabulous medley of classic Gershwin tunes.
These are the pieces that accompanied me on the road home. I drove in relative quiet, no radio, and hummed a few of what we call “24 Italian hits” and the other vocal standards as I joined the buses and pick-up trucks returning to their own homes.
Then I collapsed on the LoveSac rocker with Amigo and watched the Hot Dog beat the Chorizo in the sausage race followed by the Brewers beating the Pirates. Simple pleasures, indeed.