Next week I am having my gallbladder removed. I will be out of school for three days and then the Easter break begins. The surgery was strategically planned so that I would miss the least amount of days of school since I was already out six weeks with a total knee replacement. I am anxious to have the surgery so that I won’t have to worry about having another excruciating attack because a random gallstone decided to stand in front of the bile duct. (TMI?)

Today, however, I have anxiety. I am trying to get three days’ worth of plans together for my sub and not leave everything for Friday afternoon. Planning isn’t usually stress-inducing for me because the plans are in my head, and if they don’t all get onto the paper exactly right, I still know what I should be doing. When a sub is coming in though, everything does need to be on the page because for as great as our subs are, they can’t read my mind!

The plans are written and will be reviewed tomorrow before printing. Handouts need to be copied, and assignments need to be uploaded to Google Classroom. Directions have been given for every schedule change next week and any computer tab that needs to be open. It’s not really lesson planning that is most stressful, but it is all of the little routine things that I do each day that I worry about. You know – taking attendance, lunch orders, visitors to the class (next week there are two scheduled), teacher duties – I am sure I am forgetting something.

It is times like these that I wish I had a job where I could just call out sick and not have to worry about anything but feeling better. That being said, I couldn’t imagine being anything but a teacher.