I'm alive....I swear

So it has been quite some time since I have written on this thing, but I have had a rather good excuse. I am now a teacher in the American public school systems (aka Paperwork Central). Let's just say that as teachers, we spend more time filing and writing paperwork than we do actually teaching. Doesn't sound quite right, does it? However, that is the nature of the beast. My day begins at 6:15 every morning, frantically trying to get ready so that I can leave the house before 7--just so I can make it to school, which starts at 8? Oh no...8:45! I have to be up and out the door nearly 2 hours before my work day "officially" begins. I am then at school until at least 4:15, although on many days, I have been staying until 5-6pm. You would think that my work would be over after TEN hours, but oh no...I still have grading that I must do at home! I used to think that teachers went to school for their allotted 6 hours and then went home to enjoy the rest of their day. I was more wrong than I can believe. All of you out there that ARE teachers, I feel your pain. Those of you out there with children who have teachers, thank them for what they do. It's a crazy crazy job, but I guess someone has to do it.