Oh, So THIS is What a Jinx Is

You're not going to believe it, folks, but today I'm actually going back to work.  Who'd have thunked it?  Want to know the best part?  Only the teachers are going in today... the kids get another day off.

WHAT?? You ask?

Oh yes.  At 4PM yesterday afternoon, at the "usual" time we get to hear whether or not there's another snow day in our future, we did indeed get the phone call and saw the Facebook announcement.  There was just one catch.  An added feature.

Due to hazardous road conditions on the back roads, there will be NO SCHOOL Friday, February 7th for students.  HOWEVER, all staff are to report to their buildings from 8AM-3:30PM to make up one of the contract days teachers are required to make up in the event of snow days.

You see, in Missouri after 10 days of snow, the state forgives the schools from making up any additional snow days.  In fact, it's more like after 14 snow days the state forgives any after that.  We just don't have to make up any more than 10 after those initial 14 have accrued.  

And I know, yes I was the one to rant and rave about the importance of making up missed snow days.. BUT

1.  I don't make the state laws

and 

2.  We have taken away the breaks that would normally occur between January and May, and added on a week at the end of school.  

Our school just doesn't have the "traditional" spring break to mess with... so we don't really have any more days to take away.  And the state understands, I suppose, that it's not really beneficial to keep tacking on the time at the end.  Especially when there's a month worth of summer school that comes in to play.

Anywho, the students don't have to make up the time, but the teachers?  Yeah, they are contracted for 180 days.  Contracted as in PAID for.  So, they have to actually work the 180 days regardless of how much the state forgives the students.  And, it goes to show that teachers aren't paid to sit at home and do nothing on snow days.  We have to make that time up if we want to be paid.

So, I have to admit I was very shocked when I saw the announcement.  Speechless, in fact. The kids were going to get another day at home, but the teachers had to report for duty.  A one day work week.  Weird.  But, after some serious thought... understandable.

But, you want to know the funny thing?

I totally jinxed myself with the whole ordeal.

You see, on Wednesday, when school was cancelled again for Thursday, I just KNEW that there wouldn't be any school on Friday.  With temps barely making it in to the teens yesterday, and the wind chill factor hovering around zero if not below, I just KNEW that there wouldn't be enough improvement to the road conditions for us to go back today.

So, I figured why not have a really late night and enjoy a Netflix marathon?  What would it hurt?  I stay up most of the night watching on of my favorite shows, I sleep for a few hours the following morning, and have plenty of time over the weekend to catch up on the lost sleep.

But, I was blindsided. Something happened that I just wasn't expecting or I'd ever heard of happening before.  Sure, the kids get another day off... but not teachers.

Awesome.

So, I stay up until after 4AM on Thursday morning, get a few hours of sleep, not wake up until 10AM and then find out I still have to work the next day.

And that, friends, is what I believe is the true definition of a jinx.

Now, am I complaining that we have to go in today?  No.  In fact, I think it will be very beneficial for the teachers to get together and hash out the "game plan" for making up for lost time.  I think it will be great to get a few hours working in my classroom.  I think it's pretty much every teacher's dream to get a day (that's paid for) to work in their classrooms and with their teams.  

Most teacher-only days are spent in workshops or meetings or a combination of the two.  To know that there is no scheduled workshops or day long meetings means that it's an impromptu day to get some work done that I normally have to do on my own time, after hours.  How could I complain about that?

Complaining about such would undoubtably result in another jinx:  Finding out that we do, indeed, have to spend the day in a meeting.  Don't want to chance that!

So, while my kids are still nestled snuggly and warmly in their beds, I'm up, drinking coffee, and mentally preparing myself for a one day work week.  Hey, it's Friday!! I still get the weekend off, so who has to worry about lack of sleep today? 

And for the record, I was still awake at 2AM this morning.  Partly because it was really hard for me to think about sleep when I hadn't woken up until 10AM that morning, and partly because Jelly decided it would be great fun to wake up at 11PM after being asleep for several hours.

You see, she's been sick for the past couple of days.  Monday night, she had a pretty nasty fever and developed a cough and stuffy nose.  I considered taking her to the doctor on Wednesday being that she had seemed to get worse on Tuesday.  Well, due to the weather (I'm assuming), my doctor's office didn't answer the phone on Wednesday when I tried calling... and by yesterday she was feeling MUCH better.  In fact, she was up playing most of the day, and I think that really wore her out after being in bed for two days.  She ended up falling asleep around 4PM yesterday afternoon.  I would have woken her up, but she was sleeping without being woken up by coughing, and I figured she needed her rest.

Well, when she woke up at 11PM last night, she appeared to be almost cured... and didn't want to go back to sleep.  Her cough is minimal, her stuffy nose is just about gone, and she had plenty of energy pent up when I was considering going to bed for the night.

I sat up with her for a few hours, trying to coaxing her in to trying to go back to sleep with no luck.  So, finally, at 2AM I managed to talk her in to going to bed with me and watching TV while I went to sleep.  And that she did.  I have no idea how long she stayed up watching TV because I fell asleep.  

If felt like I had only been asleep a little while when my alarm went off at 5:30.  Oh wait.  I had only been asleep for a little while.

NO worries, though.  Like I said, it's Friday.  I'll get through today and have a nice early night tonight.

Right now, though, I need to get ready for work.  I want to leave early so I have plenty of time to take it nice and easy on the roads.  I have absolutely no idea if they are going to be a tad icy or what they look like because I haven't left the house since Monday.

Oh well... duty calls.

Have a great Friday!!