The Day I Just Had to Laugh at At

4:34 Am: Power shuts off and I wake up with a start because it got too quiet all the sudden.

4:38 AM: Adam finds the flash light and checks on things while I don a couple of more layers.

6:30 AM: I bathe by flashlight opting for not washing my hair and going to school with dripping hair in 20 degree weather.

7:18 AM: Adam opens the garage door by hand and I head to school passing all the other houses without power.

7:50 AM : I answer my cell phone its Adam. He says the power is back on. I tell him I needed to go there appears to be a lot of ice in the teacher parking lot at school which is weird since it hasn't rained in several days.

7:51 AM: Upon further investigation I discover water is pouring out the front doors of the school.

7:53 AM: I try to keep myself and Baby from landing face first in the skating rink that is the front entrances to the building.

7:54 AM : I am helped into the building and told that a pipe burst and set of the sprinklers in one of the English classrooms. They ran all night and consequently one third of the school was under two inched of receding water including my room.

8:03: I had a teacher help me unplug my computer (that was on while the power strip was under water!) and tried to salvage things that had been on the ground.

8:10 : I drag my stuff to the library to set up camp for meetings and maybe to use the computers to print class roosters and syllabus. But they don't have heat. Because apparently when the fire alarm goes off it automatically shuts down heat in the big/main areas. Brrrr. It is cold with wet feet.

8:20: Mrs. Cassity (Principal) announces the faculty meeting is postponed. I venture out of the library to find my friends Kerri and Laren to see how their rooms fared. Not well.

8:32: The three of us decide to help in the office. We help Mrs. Cassity, the bookkeeper and our beloved secretary clear their floors and salvage files and paperwork.

9:00: We are making our way back to the library for the meetings. Mrs. Cassity pulls us aside. She says she has something she wanted to tell us before she tells everyone else because we are leaders and more than just her employees. She is accepting a promotion in the County System. She will be overseeing curriculum development.

9:02: My mind tries to process what I have just been told while standing in two inches of water in Kerri's room with my jeans rolled up four inches. All I feel is joy for her. She is free. So much stress relieved for her and her family. Sometimes last Spring I'd look at her and see just as much pain and sorrow as I felt over the struggle at BHS. I know the fight against state mandates, changing policies, increasing discipline issues took a toll on her. This year had been so much better but still... I was happy for her.

9:03: Selfish thoughts enter my brain. What about me. Who will finish what we started this fall? Will my new boss let me put family first? Will my new boss let me cry in their office when I want to quit? Will my new boss value my creativity and overlook my weakness while offering encouragement? Will my new boss be as understanding? Will my new boss have God as their number one priority?

9:15: The softball coach brought me socks (I wasn't wearing any and my feet were all wet) and a hand warmer.

9:20: I cried as Mrs. Cassity made her announcement to the faculty. But not as much as Kerri.

9:35: Kerri puts more socks on.

10:01: It was hard to stay out of the way of the massive clean up crew who was busy sucking up all the water. We had all been told, "School will start tomorrow!"

10:43: I set up camp in the what came to be called the Business Tech Shelter. It was warm. It had no water. And I could use a computer without fear of being electrocuted. The office staff and several teachers also came to the shelter.

11:30: Our awesome lunchroom staff made us a yummy lunch to celebrate the start of school and overcoming out flood. Baby loved the fried chicken, biscuits, cookies, mashed potatoes and green beans!

12:35: We remembered that 150 cooperating teachers were supposedly coming to Bryant at 2 for a meeting about hosting UA interns this semester. Probably not a good idea. Meeting moved to Eastwood.

2:45 pm: While in the Eastwood lunch room (Baby does not like the way middle schools smell) at the intern meeting we (Kerri, Laren, and I) get a text message that we can wear jeans tomorrow and an Alabama sweatshirt or t-shirt. Everyone laughs at me. I think I should get to wear ans Auburn shirt.

3:05 pm: We decided to check back in with the folks in the Business Tech Shelter to see the progress made on clean up and wish Mrs. Cassity a safe trip to Pasedena. I argue about my Auburn shirt. But really I plan on wearing a dress. I don't have much a classroom presence. So I need to dress professionally the first couple of days with my new kids. We discuss the latest weather developments.... looks like at best an early dismissal. We say our goodbyes and head out.

3:18 pm: We had not yet made it to the end of the hallway when we get called back. We were told we wouldn't be wearing t-shirts after all. Kerri grumbles. I shrug. And then... "because we won't be coming to school tomorrow!" And like a little kid I screamed and jumped in the air, visions of playing in the snow with Noah and BB in my head.

4:30 pm: Back at my house I settle into the couch, Noah on my lap to watch Diego. Happy that this crazy up and down day has come to a close and feeling like I really earned my snow day in the few hours spent at school.