Always be prepared?

Summer vacation is quickly coming to an end and even though I still have a few more days to relax I am finding it extremely difficult to do just that. I have to continually remind myself that while there are 91 pages of and Intern Handbook staring at me, I am still on vacation. This isn't like any vacation I have had before. We were given three glorious weeks to truely enjoy the sunshine and the season so I took full advantage of my time off with a trip to California. I was partly successful at unwinding and letting my mind escape while there, but now I can't help but to imagine how the beginning of the school year will unfold. I am overwhelmingly excited and anxious to meet the students and to really get to know the school but all the while I am still so nervous! I want to be prepared and I want to be ready so that is truely where my mind has been these last couple of weeks.

One might choke at the thought of a ninety-page handbook full of information just as I was but at the same time I can't help but question, "Is it really only ninety pages?" While I patiently waited for each page to shoot out of the printer, I began wondering how a ninety-page handbook could feel so overly extensive yet so very small all at the same time. Was this handbook going to prepare me as well as I had hoped it would? I quickly attempted the efforts of reassuring myself with words like, what we are unprepared for isn't always a bad thing. It is impossible to be prepared for everything and as I continue with my efforts to stay positive, I can't help but to find myself more excited at the challenge that being unprepared will bring. In my particular case, I don't feel that any one person can be fully prepared for the first day of school, and that too is just fine. I know one of the most important things I need to learn is to how to handle and deal with the unplanned. Remember now, I am trying to stay positive!

Next week, I will begin my September experience. I will meet with my Master teacher again, learn all about the new math curriculum, begin classes, and start fully engaging myself in school. Bring it on!