Surviving Monday

Today was Monday. It went much better than I anticipated, considering the stress I felt yesterday. That's not to say it wasn't busy! Let me just give you a quick breakdown of the schedule--just in case you wonder what any given Monday could be like when you're finishing your 4th year of graduate school.

Sleep in until 8:45. Shower, get ready for work. Realize the wireless internet isn't working, reset router and get breakfast (poptart) in the toaster, head out the door (poptart in hand).
1. Observe at local HS (about 8 min from my house) for another student's dissertation from 9:45-10:55.
Travel to next school (10:55-11:10)
2. Observe 4th grade student who's struggling in reading & social behavior at PMtn school from 11:15-11:50.
Travel to next school (11:50-12:20)
3. Progress monitor 20ish first graders in pre-literacy skills (12:25-2:05) at RV school; don't have time to finish the last class or enter the data online b/c I am going to be late for another meeting.
Travel back to PMtn (2:05-2:40)
4. Attend behavior support meeting at PMtn for k-4 students (2:40-3:30). I'm late but get there for most of the meeting. I then need to check in with the counselor (3:40-3:50) and the principal (3:50-3:55).
5. Stop by grocery store to pick up soft drinks for friends who are learning to be data collectors for my dissertation.
6. Arrive home (4:10) and let dogs out. Order pizza for friends who are coming over to practice data collection. Jessica arrives early because she missed the last training (4:30) and others arrive at 5:00.
7. Practice data collection watching videos of small group reading instruction--super painful b/c I'm the teacher in the video from several summers ago! Eat pizza, practice data collection, and socialize a bit with friends (5:00-7:45).
8. Check/respond to work-related emails, update my calendar for the next two weeks, and watch videos of first-year students interviewing teachers for the intro to consultation class I'm helping teach and provide feedback for them, summarize feedback for my supervisor (8:00-10:45).
9. Update blog, catch local news, and hang out with hubby before crashing (10:45-11:30).

Phew. What a day. And that's just a sample. Each day is different, but many look something like this. That's what I love about what I do, though. I like the challenges and excitement that come with being involved in so many people's lives. I like being out and about and not stuck in an office somewhere. I like that if I need to keep a day open, and know far enough in advance, I can often do that. I like that I get to work with a ton of neat people. I love being in schools. But I'm tired tonight and ready to love my hubby. So, I'm out. I just want to say thanks for reading and supporting me. Thanks for your prayers that this all gets done over the next few months! I'll post some new pictures soon for fun.