Yesterday Was the Mondays of All Mondays, Making It the Mondayest Monday of All

Newsflash - I avoided my office on Sunday, but did go into work on Saturday, simply because the CWP administrative work, without an assistant, support, or a graduate student, means that I also get to play the role of support system to myself. It's okay. K-12 teachers know this too well. If you want something done, and you believe in it, you do whatever it takes to make it happen, no matter how many institutional obstacles stand in your way.

So I went into work over the weekend to file, organize, submit, edit, revise, address, label, and figure out the University's Workday system, and then I got everything ready so that if, and when, a graduate student assigned to the School of Education came in to earn hours, I was ready to ask for the support I needed. 

Long story short, as of 3 p.m. yesterday, I successfully got all the Workday materials through, mailed 100+ copies of POW! Power of Words, and prepped materials for the two course coming my way over the next two days. I came home last night and immediately got on top of it. That is, after I ran chili to Pam's and put winter love into our stomachs. 

Phew. It was hard for me to keep my eyes open and at 7 p.m. I was ready to throw in the towel and head to bed. 

We used to say of students in Kentucky, "They live in a magical-thinking world. They want it to be wondrous like it is in their heads, but they don't know the hard work that goes into making those visions a reality."

I can say I put in a rigorous weekend to counter the magical thinking in order to make it a reality. I'm more impressed with myself, however, because I did so given the systems required of us to get anything done on campus. Lord knows there are fewer and fewer on campus to help those of us who work as we do, but I know who they are and I'm thankful for them. They will be given gifts, trust me. 

So, here's to all my NWP colleagues across the country making miracles work wherever it is they direct. There's a book in all this, but I don't think anyone wants to read a scripture of frustration. They just want to know what was accomplished. 

I'm feeling accomplished.