Thursday, January 5, 2012

The Return

January 5, 2012
So, this 3rd day of classes after winter break found me right back at Annandale High.  It was strange walking through the main doors of the school shortly after 9 this morning.  I felt undressed without my FCPS badge to identify me by name and status.  The stick-on visitor’s tag I was obliged to wear was a sorry substitute.  And then I missed the familiar jingle of keys that always accompanied me as I strode through the halls.  I dropped off the freshly-baked cookies in our ESOL workroom and I’m pleased to report that I only ate one cookie last night before I packed them away.  (That one was a sample for quality control purposes.)

It’s fun being back at school when you don’t have to be there and you can leave whenever you want!  The anticipated meeting with the group I co-sponsor didn’t materialize, but there’s another meeting scheduled for next Monday (thus providing an excuse to come back next week).  I dipped in and out of several classrooms, exchanging new year’s wishes with former colleagues.  Most of my time was spent with my long-term sub, going over lesson plans for the coming months.  Fortunately, she seems to have everything under control.  The daily lunch moment with my department passed much too quickly.  How I appreciate the extra time I have now to eat a leisurely midday meal. 

Elliott has been occupied all day with the plumbing repair.  He is in the process of replacing some corroded pipes under the bathroom sink.  I’m amazed that he would even attempt to do this, but he has always been Mr. Do-It-Yourself.  When I got back from my eye doctor’s appointment at 4, he asked me to take him up to Ace Hardware to get a “sink pop-up assembly.” 

I had a cup of coffee (the real thing) at 2 so I was still feeling super-charged when I returned from the hardware store.  I didn’t feel like going to the gym that late, but there was just enough time for a brisk walk in the woods before the sun went down.  For dinner tonight, I made tempeh using a recipe in Veganomicon, a vegan cookbook.  To make it more interesting, I sautéed mushrooms and onions along with the marinated tempeh.  Elliott was a little dubious – no, make that extremely dubious – when I told him what I was planning to serve.  However, he ate everything on his plate without any negative comments, so I rewarded him with the remaining cookies. 

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