Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Insomnia and Bubble Baths

The insomnia has set in.

I went to sleep at eleven last night and, after falling into a light slumber for about ten minutes, I remained in a state of constant awareness of my surroundings for the rest of the night...good if you're trying to become more enlightened during daylight hours, bad if you are starting to teach in two days and need all the rest you can get before meeting your students. Fudge-buckets.

So, while shopping at Target for more last-minute classroom items, I picked up a bottle of baby bubble bath with lavender in it. It's supposed to make cranky infants relax at bedtime and I'm hoping it has the same effect on me.

No matter how prepared we are for the kids, I would imagine that the first-week jitters get to all of us. The week before going back to school after a summer off is like having a huge jacked-up Incredible Hulk-sized version of the Sunday blues beat you over the head with a desk. I'm not complaining about my summers off. Heaven forbid! There are folks out there that want to tie teachers to flagpoles for all the time they get out of work. I'm just expressing my thoughts about the enormous amount of anxiety that comes with going back.

Here's my challenge: I need to ignore my inner perfectionist and just put the work and preparation aside and take some time out for me. The plan: Take a baby bubble bath and listen to jazz.

Here's to a good night's sleep...