Best Year?

What is it about August 1st that makes us crazy?  Even though I supposedly have three weeks of freedom left, as soon as August hits, all I can think about is how I left my classroom.

And even though my mind should still be here...

Suddenly, the back seat of my car looks like this:

Teachers Pay Teachers is having a sale today and tomorrow and the online code for checkout is BESTYEAR.  Don't we tend to think that every year is going to be the best year?  The year I finally keep my desk cleaned off, the year I'll finally use the perfect classroom behavior system, the year I'll stay caught up on grading...   August 1st has me making all those resolutions in my head today.  

In reality, we can't possibly predict the challenges a whole school year will bring.  If ten years in the classroom has taught me anything, it's that.  The year you think will be the easiest sometimes turns out to be the hardest and you can bet the year that has you intimidated and scrambling from day one will teach you the most.  Just like in real life, all we can do is take it one day at a time. 

Last school year, I had big plans.  I changed jobs (same grade but AIG), took all the classes to become AIG certified online, started the year with a new principal, assistant principal and curriculum coordinator AND had plans to launch this blog and have my best TPT year yet. It became evident right away that AIG did not mean easier (it's just differently hard), grad school classes are no joke (even if they're online), and a school can appear to be the same but feel completely different when the office staff completely turns over (not bad different, just different).  Blogging and TPT took a back seat, as in that annoying little pop up back seat in the back of my SUV that hardly counts.  But this year is going to be GOOD different (I hope).  

Thanks for your patience as this blog has been way too quiet for its first few months and I hope you're ready to join me for a great school year.  I really am hoping it will be the "best" one, at least YET.  I'm making those August 1st teacher resolutions today and at the top of my list is this blog.  I'm ready to share it all with you: the good, the bad, the funny, the not-so-funny, the beautiful moments and the disastrous ones.  They'll be coming at us so fast we won't know what hit us before we know it!  But for now, enjoy these last few days of summer, even if your car is a little bogged down like mine.  That classroom can wait-- thinking about it counts for now!