SUMMER.

SUMMER VACATION HAS BEGUN.

We did it. We survived another year. I just finished my 19th year as a public school educator, and when I think about how much school has changed since the first time I walked into my very own classroom...I get whiplash. But one thing hasn't changed...the joy and necessity of SUMMER VACATION. Soon...I won't know what day of the week it is. That's how I know summer is really underway.

Yesterday I went down to the front office to sign my teacher evaluation paperwork. I got stuck on the date...I knew it was June, I knew it was Friday and I knew it was the 16th. For the life of me I couldn't remember what year it was! My principal laughed and said, "That's not usually the one people get stuck on." I laughed out loud and added the 2017 to my signature line. And today...I am sitting in Starbucks beginning the process of recovery from the best job on the planet.

People sometimes complain that teachers have the whole summer off. I get it. I love to rub it in the faces of my friends and family when I am not required to go anywhere or set an alarm. That is one of the benefits of teaching! But I know people that work out in the real world have no clue how absolutely necessary summer vacation is. It's OK. We know that you have no idea what it is like to wake up on the first day of summer and know you can go to the bathroom whenever you want to.

These are the simple pleasures of being a teacher. And the things I am celebrating today! I might just get up and go to the bathroom right now. Just because I can. I can sit down and eat lunch in a restaurant instead of running to the microwave during the 25 minutes the kids are not with me. I can slow my brain down. I can stay up late (although I probably won't), and sleep in every day (I definitely won't).

ATTENTION TEACHERS: It's time to be human again. It's time to slow down and stop stressing. You can read ANY book you want! You can even write your own! (That's what I plan to do...) I'm going to spend my summer making teacher stuff, blogging about teacher things, and hanging out with my teacher sisters. I never leave the world of teaching, but I will soak up the sunshine and fresh air and when September is upon us...I'll be ready once again.

HAVE A HAPPY AND PEACEFUL SUMMER, TEACHERS!!! And make a comment below and tell me what you plan to do this summer that you can't do during the school year!