According to the graph of a first year teacher's life, I am in the disillusionment stage. During the last 2 months, I would definitely say the workload aspect of that stage applied. When I told my students that I don't have time to watch TV to help them comprehend why I don't own a TV, they were shocked. They simply could not fathom how it could be possible to not have time to watch TV. Somehow watching TV is low on my list of priorities when working out, playing piano, baking, and sleeping more than 5 hours each night have already been virtually eliminated from my schedule.
Fortunately, I absolutely love teaching, so the endless cycle of work is completely worth it! :) Anytime I'm talking to someone, I think I tell a minimum of three funny school-related stories. Plus I get excited about lesson planning/activities I create for my students. Excitement about tomorrow: new graffiti wall about reading, new vocabulary and spelling center games, and Deal or No Deal science review game. Having a short week to plan for has enabled me to rejuvenate this weekend with some relaxation and some future preparation (It makes me unbelievably happy to be able to work ahead rather than just work to keep up!). I can only imagine how rejuvenated I will be after 5 days off for Thanksgiving...and I'm not even supposed to reach the rejuvenation stage until after Christmas break!!
