Today, Dak (my husband) offered to take care of the few things going on at home so I could stay at school and grade essays. In terms of how quickly other teachers get things back, I am not especially behind, but since I have four classes with essays coming in every few weeks, I need to stay on top of my grading because otherwise, it becomes overwhelming.

So I’m writing from school tonight. It’s 8:45, but I feel relieved because I finished two full classes of essays so I only have one set of essays on my list still to grade. I decided to write from school because when I go home, I want to not do anything but get ready for bed, catch up on all the news I missed today, and go to sleep.

I don’t think most people realize that this is typical for teachers. I imagine people think we hit the road at 3:30 at the end of our contract hours and totally put school out of our minds until I the next day when the contract hours begin again. That’s so far from the truth, as all of us teachers know, but I think that’s what people believe. Even when I do have to leave at 4 (which is after contract hours anyway, but it’s the latest I ever leave unless there are problems), I take things with me. I’m thinking about how to help kids get the ideas from class and use them in their writing. When I am reading the news, I’m thinking about how it might relate to a lesson or an essay a kid might be writing in my class. I chose to write this blog in part because of my profession, because I teach the importance of writing to my kids and I believe in it. Being a teacher takes over my life.

I don’t know if that’s fair to my husband or family. I sometimes feel badly about that. Dak is pretty amazing – he does so much and puts up with so much that so many others would never put up with. I used the word “so” three times in that sentence. I tend to overuse intensifiers like that a lot in my writing. I have to proofread my emails to make sure I don’t overuse them. But in this case, it is so so SO appropriate. Because what Dak does is INTENSE: he takes care of all the things. I don’t really know how he does it. That’s literal. I don’t think I could do it. I wouldn’t know where to start.

It’s been a little over my five minutes now – more like 10 or so – and I should really get home and at least say hello to them all before we sleep. This entry started out about grading and it ended as a declaration of love and appreciation for my amazing husband.

Life is strange.