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Blog Entry 2 of 2 Dorrie's Thoughts on Life

In my blog, I plan to write about what it means to be a working mom who loves her job as a local English teacher, but who struggles to find balance between family and career. I also plan to discuss my love of family (immediate, blended and extended), my Buffalo roots, my passion for exercising (i.e. running, yoga, weight lifting and dancing) and my favorite pasttimes of reading for pleasure, watching thought-provoking movies and sharing good conversation about weighty issues, such as the state of education, locally and nationally. Overall, I'd like to appeal to women and men who are searching for a completeness in their lives, as well as a way to understand their roles in our global society.

Blog Url: http://buffalo.yourhub.com/~ThisIsDorriesBlog

Spring me loose!

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Contributed by: Karla Manzella on 3/20/2007

I don't know about you, but this time of year I begin to feel like I'm in a bad movie where I'm trapped and suffocating, and it is snow, piles of snow, that it is my nemesis.

Yes, I'm talking about the need to be sprung loose from winter and to see green grass, sprouting flowers, open-toed shoes, and sun, sun, sun. I know I'm not alone in these thoughts either.

In my role as a high school English teacher, I deal with hundreds of teenagers daily. Not only do they outwardly express nearly every thought that pops into their brains, but they do so in a volume that rivals a sonic boom. Yesterday some of the comments (cleaned up here for publication purposes) included "Look, it's fricking snowing again!" "I hate this!" "I can't wait for break!" and "I feel like I'm going to scream!"

Well, as we know, teachers must at all time be role models and exhibit proper behavior, so I plastered a fake smile on my face and responded with "Take out your homework, please."

This then lead to my frustration, as only five students out of the entire class were prepared with their weekend assignments. Can you guess my next comment? Let's just say it echoed my students' original commentaries, and "I hate this" ranked among the top three.

It's difficult at this time of year to believe anything is going to change. Instead of going for long runs, I'm eating jelly beans and potato chips for dinner, while slathering on my dry skin lotion to appease my cracked and bleeding thumbs. I'm examining my white and lizard-like skin under the light, pretending it contains vitamin D rays, while sucking in my stomach and thinking of bathing suits.

I'm also explaining to my students that school is their job and if they were my employees, I'd fire them. Who can blame me? When the thermometer reads 26 degrees instead of the reverse, I can't be held accountable for a mometary lapse of craziness.

Sure, in terms of calendar dates, spring has arrived. Yet, I don't feel sprung. I feel trapped -- trapped under a weight of heavy, cold, dirty snow. Can anyone help? Can anyone show me the light? Wait, better yet, can anyone convince my students to do their homework?

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