A journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step

1-4-06 What a day! I had intended to ride again at 5 AM, but I ended up spending time on the phone late at night encouraging and being encouraged by a fellow NS member. She has been discouraged lately, but has begun a new start and our conversation was so upbeat. When I got off the phone, I still had to get my meals packed for today and I didn't get in bed again until after midnight. When the alarm went off at 5 AM, I got up, took my morning meds, then started to go to my bike and thought, it would probably be wiser to reset the alarm and get some more sleep, so I did. It was the best decision! When I got up at 6 AM, I showered grabbed my food and things, talked briefly to my 2 older sons, and went to work. At 9:10, I got a call from the secretary saying she needed me to cover a kindergarten class for a teacher, B----a, who needed to leave. I told her I had a group of students and wanted to know when. She said the teacher wasn't feeling well and had requested she find her a sub. I said I could send my students back to their regular classes, but she asked when my group would end. I told her 20 minutes. She told me to finish the group then cover B---a's class. So I did. Then a sub, B----e, showed up and took over kindergarten, so I went and got more of my own students. When lunchtime rolled around, I was working on some paperwork, but I thought, "I better stop and eat my lunch." I eat with two teachers who teach next to me. We were in D----e's room, when her phone rang. The secretary was looking for me to cover A---e's 2nd grade class after lunch recess when A---e would be leaving for a meeting, as they had pulled her planned sub to teach B---a's. I said, "Well, I would rather do 2nd grade than kindergarten since I know the 2nd grade students." So before they came in from recess, I went down to check out the lesson plans. Her room is a long way down the hall from mine and in the opposite direction to the bathroom. Then I went to the 1st grade rooms I would be missing in the afternoon to let the teachers know. I had all my students turn in their folders, so if I had any spare time, I could check in their books, read comments from parents, put smilies and stickers on the ones who had their homework done, and check them out a different book. I dropped all the folders off at my room and walked the long hall to the recess door and bathrooms to supervise and pick up A---e's class. Then I walked them to her classroom (back down the long, long hall). As soon as we were in the door and had coats hung up, I had them get their math workbooks and supply boxes out and line up at the door. (The 3 second grades trade students for math, science, and social studies.) I then walked my group down the long hallway to C-------e's room, then picked up K----a's group for my room (well actually A---e's room). I taught Social Studies to that group on my feet the entire time with the only interruptions of any note being, M---s lost a tooth and I hunted everywhere for a small ziplock bag and never found one so I taped it to an apple-shaped notepad and another student's Social Studies notebook coming complete apart which I did put back together by having two students go down to my classroom and get my book binder. We just barely got the assignments finished when it was time to change groups. So I gathered this bunch together (we only had 2 supply boxes spill all over the floor as we started out the door and we had to pick them up) and headed to C-------es's room, then picked up C-------e's group from K----a's room and took them to my room (well actually A---e's room). I taught Social Studies to that group on my feet the entire time with the only interruption of any note being R----r's beaded necklace coming apart and him wanting it put back together which I did not do (I told him to put it in his box) and A----r suddenly standing up and announcing that she had to go and get ready to leave as her mom was taking her to a doctor's appointment and it was time to go and the students saying that she had to wait for the office to call for her (which they did within 1 minute of her announcement). We got our assignments done except for 2 students who did not have a Social Studies workbook as they had left them at home when it was time to change groups. So I gathered this bunch together only I made sure all the supply boxes were securely closed before they were allowed to line up. Then A---e's original class returned and I had to get them ready with their art supply boxes making sure all the supply boxes were securely closed before leaving the room and walked them down the long, long hallway past the restrooms, past the office, down another long hallway through the middle school, around another corner into the junior high part of the building to the art teacher S-------e's room, losing 4 girls along the way who had stopped off at the bathroom. They showed up momentarily informing me that their teacher was "back", so I told S-------e I guess A---e will be picking them up then and I can get back to my own students. But on my way around the corner, down the long hallway through the middle school, as I started past the office I saw A---e and she told me her meeting was not over they had just taken a quick bathroom break, but she thought she would get done with the meeting about 30 minutes before school let out. So I went past my classroom and part way down the long, long hallway to one of the 1st grade rooms and picked up the only Reading Recovery student I hadn't gotten in the morning and did a shortened 1-1 lesson with him. Then took him back just in time to walk back part way down the long, long hallway past the restrooms, past the office, down another long hallway through the middle school, around another corner into the junior high part of the building to the art teacher S-------e's room just in time to pick up A---e's class. Again I carefully made sure all the supply boxes were securely closed before leaving the room and making my way with the class around the corner, down the long hallway through the middle school, past the office, past the restrooms, past my classroom and down the long, long hallway to A---e's room where we all got out our Social Studies workbook, turned to page 17 and ... A---e came back! Hurray! I quickly told her a brief synopsis of what we had done and scurried off to my own classroom to check in their books, read comments from parents, put smilies and stickers on the ones who had their homework done, and check them out a different book. They were lined up in the hallway by the time I had the folders, but I got them all handed out as they were walking out! Hurray! Then I went back into my room to get ready for tomorrow. Who should come by, but 4 teachers who were walking the hallways for exercise because "Missy, you have inspired us all to get in better shape! Come and walk with us!" So I decided to walk with them for the 1st time ever! We were walking and walking and walking and I told them I couldn't keep up with them. They are all taller than I am and I was walking as fast as I could. I'm 5'1" tall. We walked part way down the long, long hallway past the restrooms, past the office, down another long, long hallway around a corner, down a long hallway through the high school, around a corner down another long, long hallway through the junior high school, around another corner, down a long hallway through the middle school, around a corner, past the office, past the restrooms, past my classroom and down the long, long, long hallway past A---e's room, past the 3rd grade rooms, past the 4th grade rooms to the double class doors that lead out to the farm and the river. We touched the doors and then did it all over again. And then we did it all over AGAIN! And then we did it all over AGAIN! EXCEPT before I went past my door that time to head down the long, long, long hallway to the farm, I said "I've got to drop out! My toes on my right foot are numb and I can't walk any more." I know I got my exercise in today, but I didn't do any of my bike riding and I didn't do any of my 2 Mile Walk Diet! I was 100% on my food and 100% on my water and I am tired. A single step... Just start with that single step... You never know how far you will go!
Missy