There’s a first time for everything. Your first word. Losing your first tooth. Crashing your car for the first time. Taking time off for myself for yourself. It finally happened!
I’ve taken time off before: the death of my grandfather, surgery, and professional development; but never before had I done it for my own reasons. For six years, I’ve worked almost every single day in my teaching career. I love my students! Taking a day off for any reason is difficult. But to finally do it for myself was a first.
Teachers will often use the excuse: creating substitute plans is harder than taking the time off, so why bother? I understand that firsthand; after numerous conversations with teachers and phone calls, I realized I had one hour before the school closed to put together two days’ worth. It is challenging but can be worth it in the end. But I found a way to finish my plans in time. …My school requires us to have emergency plans so that could an option. If you have teammates or have befriended a colleague at your school, ask them for help.
You deserve it! You hear those words often in my blog posts. Well…more so they’re for me to visually see to remind me to practice what I preach. Whatever your job is, odds are it’s demanding and stressful. If your teacher, you can add underpaid to that list. But in all, everyone deserves a day (or two) to be free from the stressors of their job all the while their job is still going on. My team this year also has a rule that if you’re absent, you’re excluded from the group text chain. Recharge so you can be your best self!
To refuel… I went to Universal Studios for the first time. It was incredible! I loved it. The next day, I got the battery in my car replaced and had an Italian lunch. Saturday, I went to a Korean chicken restaurant to devour some honey barbeque chicken, followed by mass at a cathedral. Sunday, my childhood dream came true…experiencing the 64th running of the Daytona 500 live in the grandstands with 130,000 fans for the first time! The days were long, but worth every wait in line.
During those days, my insanely stressful week suddenly disappeared. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Fun and laughter took over as I soaked it the fun outside in the bright blue skies. You should use your personal days! I came back energized and ready to be my best self afterward. The most important part, I created memorizes that I’ll never forget!
