every day is better after yoga

and i'm so glad i have a challenging, fun class to go to each wednesday. it seems like by "hump day" i really need that pick-me-up that yoga provides.

this morning was quite difficult. for some reason, i was just exhausted when it was time to get up. i attribute it to three possibilities. 1. i haven't been as active this week as before, and as we all know, being more active gives you more energy - there's an oxymoron. 2. i woke up with a start at 5am for the second or third morning in a row. something happens in my sleep cycle, and i'm convinced that it's like 9am and i'm late for work. i bolt upright in bed and crank my neck around urgently to see the clock, just to find out that i have another hour to sleep. of course, this could be attributed to 3. last night i had a dream (nightmare given the topic) one... or possibly more, though it's a dream so i'm not totally clear... student, and an angry, heated conversation with said student's parent for somehow wronging their child in some way. never good in reality, never good during the day, definitely awful when occurring at night, in your dreams, when you're supposed to be serene and relaxed! anyway, suffice it to say that by the time i got in to work at 7:30 this morning, i was already somewhat perturbed.

though my second period class went rather well (it usually does), i had a meeting scheduled at 10:30 with the mentor coordinator for the school to go over her assessment of my "recent" - aka so long ago, i can't really even remember what i taught that day - observation. now, i must remind you all that i loathe observations. i mean, i detest them with a fire that burns deep within my soul. there is no basis for this intense hatred, as i have never before received a bad evaluation, nor do i lack confidence in myself as a teacher, so this hypersensitivity towards scrutiny doesn't make a whole lot of sense. nonetheless, i was certainly not looking forward to this meeting. after telling me that she was impressed, and the lesson went well, and the kids were engaged learners who felt comfortable in my classroom as a positive learning environment, she proceeded to make a list of "suggested improvements" about a half a mile long. this would be ok with me if they made sense, but the requests she made were a waste of time if you ask me (or any of my colleagues for that matter). so anyway, i was grumpy.

the end of the day came with yet another parent conference that i was not looking forward to. that went fine though, and around 4:30, i left work. i got home just as soon as paige was pulling onto my street. we chatted, changed, and headed to the gym. paige decided that after all my raving about the gym, and with one opening soon in knightdale, she might as well give this yoga class a try. we met megan there, and the three of us suffered/smiled/strained/stretched/sweated our way through class. it was great to do something for myself and to do something that's good for me at the same time. perhaps that's my fascination with this discipline. it gives you a chance to make your physical body better, to change your outlook, to rest and recuperate, and to take time out to do something just for you, all at the same time. paige had a great time too, and we capped off the night with a dinner at the rockford. pictured below, a sweaty twosome of sixth grade teachers.

and on a totally unrelated note, not only is my orchid still alive, but it bloomed again! i'm totally astounded. seriously.