Musings from Middle School: First impressions

I'm now a little over a week into the new job, and I think this has become my new mantra.

Backing up a bit, after 6 years working with high school aged students, I've decided to try my hand at the middle school setting.   I had a long list of reasons where change would be good, and then an opportunity to try working in a different setting, and I decided to go for it.

So a few of my random first thoughts

• Middle School involves more tears....when the first one started to cry, I though OH MY, was my tone that rude?   And then today, we had one crying in the bathroom for no reason other than "she had a cold and a headache".  Ah, now I get it, puberty is a hot emotional mess, tears flow easier and faster in this age group.
• Missing Kids are searched for differently.   Day 1 I heard the radio call for Freddy.   Nope, hadn't seen Freddy.   Turns out, Freddy had gone to the bathroom, and wandered back to the wrong class...or something along those lines.    Freddy wasn't stoned-ditching class-passed out in the bathroom (3 top high school scenarios), he was just in the wrong class and too afraid to speak up.  
•  Use the right words.  My vocabulary is apparently too rich for some of these kids.   I had explained to one young lady "given how you injured your hand, it's highly unlikely you broke it".  "WHAT?  I BROKE IT?" (cue the tears).   Ok, let's try this again, AND let's call Mama (because clearly if I didn't make sure Mama heard the message, it would get twisted around as soon as Snowflake called mama.
• Innocence is not lost.  Poor little Joey was all upset (at least he wasn't crying).   When I asked why, he gave the over dramatic heavy sigh one word response "POO-BERTY".   Seems his voice had cracked and he had one lone pimple on his porcelain face.   Oh sweetie, it's gonna get so much worse before it gets better....but yeah, I held my tongue on that one and just let him be
• If you didn't chart it, you still might have done it.   In nursing, we've always been told to document our every action, "If you don't chart it, you didn't do it".  Well, that isn't always true either.... I called Suzie's mom to find out the plan for daily medication.  Mama Bear chuckled and said "same plan as when you called yesterday".  Yeah, I hadn't charted it, therefore, didn't remember which parents I had called.   

All in all, I'm excited for the change this new job will bring....oh sure, I too have felt a bit overwhelmed at being the new kid.   But overall, there is a good feeling to this new assignment and I'm eager to see what adventures are to be had.  

Right Now: July

Right Now

I am Listening:   to the silence of the early morning.   It's something I've been doing most summer mornings.   I wake up before anyone else, sip my coffee and then  join my walking buddy for an hour long stroll through the neighborhood.   No, we're not hunting pokemon, but we are trying our best to reach the 10k steps on the fitbit before the heat of the day sends us both back inside.

I am Loving:    that with my current work as a school nurse, I enjoy some extra time off during the summer.   It allows me to travel (see June reflections) and it allows me to just putter around the house (see July blog stuff...oh wait, I was so busy socializing and having fun that the poor blog gets forgotten).

So let's back up and see what lovely things were the July highlights...

• 31 July:   Let's see how this HMO's after hours "urgent care" works, as Thing 2 discovered dancing is not in his genetic make up, face planting on concrete at a music festival called Warp Tour.   One stitch and 40 minutes later, we're on our way to McDonalds for a a cold treat to reduce the swelling...at least that's the therapeutic story I'm sticking with!  
  
• 30 July:  the front yard got a make over....seems our HOA didn't find our dead tree and its' scraggly off-spring to be quite up to code.   While the front view is now a bit on the bare side, I have to admit, the overall curb appeal is greatly improved.
  
• 29 July-26 July-Oh who am I kidding let's just go with too numerous to count...
  

 My walking buddy and I visited our neighbor, who for years has been an inspiration to us both in terms of making time for exercise....S. would swim laps daily until her MS progressed to the point where this is no longer an option.    We enjoyed our visit, noting that the days may seem longer, but the years just fly by...always a treat to walk down memory lane with these ladies!

 Another non-traditional example of ladies night out....it was a true blessing to fill up a car load of neighborhood friends and join in the celebration of life for C's mom.   Here she is with her childhood friend, R.   Aren't those forever-friendships some of the best?  (more on that below)

 Nope, still another non-traditional example.   In fact, on first glance, it appears no ladies were involved, however, we were able to catch up with E and hear how his favorite ladies were doing (his mom and 3 grown up girls)

And finally, a more traditional example of getting together with the girls, and the token brave spouse to listen to the Sounds of Southlands....free summer concerts at our local outdoor mall.

This evening, coupled with some other non photographed events (lunches with friends, craft weekend with Mrs.M and her friends, even a Broadway play) reminded me just how much I love the freedom that comes with having summers "off".

I am needing...to find time to process more pictures.   Between the thousands of vacation photos, and the hundreds I took in the mountains, there is no shortage of great "year in review" pictures to share. 

  Speaking of time in the mountains, I will need to update the blog on that fun filled adventure.   For now, here's a little teaser of the beauty found right in my own back yard (ok, not my literal backyard, as that area is almost as bad as our front yard in terms of showing signs of neglect and abandonment.   Who has time for yard work when there are so  many other fun ways to experience summer).

I loaded up the SUV with 3 of my besties from middle school and we toured the picturesque areas of Colorado....from Red Rocks to wild flowers, we packed a lot of fun into one short weekend.  

I am Feeling...a mix of excitement and nervousness, as later today I start my new job at an area middle school.   Speaking of which, if I want to get my 10k steps in, I best finish this up and lace up those shoes....until next time....