I am already enjoying the fact that this weekend is a long one. Because I work for a school district, I get both Friday and Monday off. Having four relaxing days before returning to the grind will be awesome. Don't get me wrong, I love my job. A lot. Yet, it is one of the most exhausting aspects of my life. I always have to roll my eyes when someone says, "Oh, you sub for elementary? It must be nice...you get to choose which days you work, and you get regular vacations...plus you get to play with kids all day!" Well, let's set some things straight. While I could, in theory, pick which days I work, I have to keep in mind that if I take a day off, I also don't get paid for that day off. Plus, if I keep on turning down jobs on days that I don't feel like working, I have a feeling that I would stop getting as many calls as I have been getting in the past. As for vacations, true, I get vacation time, but as mentioned before, I don't get paid for that time...and since the district is year-round, I have random 3-week periods of no pay. This is not to say that I am not grateful for time off. I think it is vital to my survival to have time away from the kids :) but when the paycheck comes after one of those vacations, I always groan when I look at the dimished number. Finally..."playing" with the kids. I can't believe that there are people out there that believe that subbing is just babysitting. Every day that I work, I go in, look for the lesson plans (which in most cases are there...if they are missing, I have to try to plan for the entire day on my own) and start preparing for the day. I teach every single subject, every day. I deal with children that think that just because I am a sub, they don't have to treat me with respect. I wipe noses, tie shoes, break up scuffles, settle end-of-the-world tragedies (usually dealing with getting one's name moved from "happy" to "sad", meaning no sticker at the end of the day, oh, the horror!), amongst a miriad of other things. Sorry about the rant, but I felt like I needed to put it out there. Also, my rant does not mean that all the days are bad. By far, the good days outweigh the bad. Days when I get attacked at knee-level by 5-year-olds because they want to give me hugs. Days when a child will all of a sudden "get" a conept. To see their faces light up with understanding is just awesome. Days when I wonder why I am doing all of this and children come up to me saying, "Hi Mrs. Darr! Are you teaching my class today?!" It makes it all worth it! But, back to the long weekend. Paul and I are attending a conference for the Libertarian Party of California. I know it seems odd that we are registered Libertarians as well as being active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but there are not really that many conflicts between the two. Plus, our LP friends know and love us well enough to repect the differences that do exist. I am looking forward to hanging out this weekend, it should be a blast!