A tale of 13 hour days and Shadow's (mis)adventure

“All great changes are preceded by chaos.” -Deepak Chopra

There has been no shortage of chaos in our lives lately!

Last week, our staff along with three other schools', gathered in Stebbins for a week of 13 hour inservice trainings. The staff not housed here in Stebbins got the pleasure of sleeping on cots in our classrooms all week.....a total of around 70 extra people living and working in our tiny school. This could have been an incredibly stressful and trying time, but it didn't quite turn out that way. 

Because our days were so long and we hosted so many people, the district provided plenty of food for us. 

Just for reference, here was our crazy schedule:

Breakfast 7-8am

Session 1: 8-noon

Lunch: noon-1pm

Session2: 1pm-5pm

Dinner: 5-6pm

Session 3: 6-9pm

All other things being equal, it's a pretty intense schedule. I can't imagine being away from home and family and sleeping on a cot on top of that. I was very thankful to have my own home and husband to come home to (though he was also often in trainings with me). Even so, I had no shortage of personal drama to deal with. Shadow escaped out of a window sometime on Monday. He's done this before, but this village is full of stray dogs and other dangers- there is a reason the only cats in the village belong to teachers and stay indoors. The first night I was pretty scared, but kept it pretty much together. By Wednesday, I was a hot mess. I managed to keep focused during actual trainings- there was plenty to keep me occupied- but coming home to a cold, silent home with untouched food and water bowls after a long, intense day was heartbreaking. Mike was incredibly sweet and supportive throughout the whole thing, as were my co-workers and admin staff. I was floored by how much they cared about me and a cat they'd never even seen. Everyone had words of support and gave me space and time to freak out when I needed to. My principal's wife was especially wonderful. She helped me spread the word to the village, make "Lost Cat" posters, hugged me when I cried and tried to cheer me up with cat stories of her own. The principal and facilities staff even ripped a panel off a building and crawled under to look for Shadow after a group of kids told us they had seen him. He wasn't down there at the time, but it was such a lovely gesture. 

Thursday morning, our friend Erick called us during breakfast. I went out to the loading dock behind the school to chat. Not five minutes in, Shadow appeared at the corner of a shed, meowing and looking a little ragged. He was completely fine, if a little dusty and hungry. I grabbed him and carried him home through the school. Most of my co-workers and other staff members from other schools who knew what was going on cheered and congratulated us on my way out. It was a sweet moment. 

Ever since, Shadow has been super-affectionate and happy. It is so wonderful to have him back. 

The rest of the day (and even now) I felt I could take on anything because my home was complete again. 

Whenever something like this happens, I look for the lesson I can take from it. What is it that life is trying to teach me? I learned that I can handle a large amount of emotional and mental stress with Mike's support, but that I really need both him and my kitty to feel strong and happy.  I also learned that I absolutely picked the right place to start my career. This group of people is irreverent, supportive, outgoing, super-smart and passionate about education. I have a lot to learn, but luckily I'm surrounded by some wonderful teachers :) It's going to be a fantastic year. 

And now, Shadow and Mike have a chat: