Roller-coastering

Wow, some days are just like glass: placid, or at least expected, with a regular rhythm and up-and-down. And some days you're tugged all over the place in a roller-coaster of curves and hills.

The end of the semester is upon us. The instructional dean's office has decided they need documentation that they have "helped" all the adjuncts, and even though I've been there ten years, they came and "observed" my class ("we have to treat you like a first-year adjunct because we don't have this paperwork..."). Oh joy. So stress is running high, because basically, telling a ten-year veteran that you are going to treat her "like a first-year" is really, really suspicious. And of course, it was the worst lecture I gave all semester.

I'm running around trying to get papers graded. Why do I even assign papers? Oh, to help them learn to write. Right. Sounds like a great idea until you are in the thick of it, and realizing they can't write a coherent sentence, much less a paper. And you can only "teach them to write" if they give you a draft.

I decided to check my enrollments for summer and fall, to find my summer online 102 is doing really badly (I have to have at least 16 students for it to be a go; I have 3) and I have no info for fall at all- odd, since they are currently registering for both summer and fall. So I pull up the class schedule- and discover the only live class I was offered isn't there. There are several classes that I have no idea whom our new department head has gotten to teach, since she hasn't asked me, and she made noises of not offering classes to one of the other adjuncts who doesn't turn up for things like meetings. That's neither here nor there; if she's cancelled my class, it would sure be nice if she at least emailed me to let me know, right?

I got back to mom's office to find I had screwed up the book we're publishing, and had to re-do the cover.

Andy has been in constantly motion for three days. He made circuits in my mom's house, bouncing on pillows yesterday. Today he got very sensitive to anything that didn't go his way. He was pretty good for Grandma, and through a nice lunch with Grandma. Then we had to chase Joey's bus down because we got out slightly late. That put everybody off. Having to run off to school to talk with Joey's teacher didn't improve things.

We had a nice chat at school about the upcoming ESY and second grade and what kinds of goals we think he might need and how he is doing now in inclusion. We have the most awesome case manager on the planet.

Then I came home to two melty boys. Grandma needed to be taken home, and the boys were offered the ride, but Andy was so tired and out-of-sorts he started waling on his brother, and had to be left at home with JoeyAndyDad.

Now everyone is in bed. I have no idea what my income will be in the fall. I have no idea what moods anyone will be in tomorrow. Ever just want to go hide under the bed for a few days?