This post is part of the weekly Slice of Life challenge from Two Writing Teachers. Check them out!
Find a teacher. Maybe in the hallway at school. Or waiting for the copier. Or in the checkout line at the grocery store. Or somewhere online.Ask that teacher right now how they’re doing. My guess is you’ll get any of the following:
“I’m here.”
“I’m pluggin’.”
“Yyyyeahhh….”
“Another day closer to Friday.”
“I’m vertical, so that’s a thing.”
I know, because I’ve probably said all of those things. Truth is, it’s only a month into school and many of us are tired.
Bone tired. Worn out. Worn down. Plain old used UP.
So I thought for my post today I’d have some fun with different and creative ways that we can say how we’re really doing.
Teacher friends, the next time someone asks how you’re feeling, go ahead and give one of these a spin!
I’m feeling like…
-What the cat dragged in…dragged in
-A hot water heater held together with scraps of duct tape
-The toothbrush whose colored bristles faded two weeks ago
-The nerdles of cheese stuck to the plate from the microwave
-A pencil nub
-A dry-erase marker that’s been left open
-The crumbs at the bottom of the Chips Ahoy bag
-An iPhone running Waze with 2% battery
-The pebble that’s neither coming out of your shoe NOR your sock
-A pair of scratched-up Wayfarers with one lens popped out
-The business end of a cat toy
-A wad of Hubba Bubba fossilized on the underside of a table at Denny’s
-A scoop of rocky road dropped on a hot sidewalk
-A Cheerio dug out of a car seat
-A fork that got stuck in the disposal
-A twice-steeped English Breakfast tea bag
-That shopping cart with three sticky wheels and a handi-wipe stuck in the grate
-A newspaper (remember those?) left out in the rain and backed over three times
-Expired mayonnaise
-One of those peanut-butter taffies stuck to the bottom of the Halloween trick-or-treat pumpkin
-Those last four shreds of toilet paper stuck to the end of the roll
-A pack of M&M’s with the green ones picked out
DISCLAIMER: Yes, I am super tired and exhausted. So are my colleagues. But I’m also energized and enthused by my students, who bring me joy and wonder without bounds. Just like my colleagues.
But making this list was fun. A LOT of fun. So, like whatever tasty beverage you prefer, please take this list with a grain of salt. =))
And you? What would you add to this list? Have a little fun. Entertain us!
Soapbox: The Way I see Things 
I love this post so much! Funny and so true! My favorite is the shopping cart one. Thanks for making me laugh this am!
You’re so very welcome. I was quite entertained with the writing itself!
These are fun!
Thanks! I had fun writing them. =)
Wow! I will have to keep this list handy! 🙂 Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
Teachers have such a tough year underway – and you have really nailed what it feels like! I loved them all, especially the soggy newspaper and “-The business end of a cat toy” hahaha
>-The business end of a cat toy<
Ewwwwww!! 🙂 I'll admit, I'm bone tired, and after almost two months of. school, there's not to change that in, but that's quite visual representation you've recreated there! 🙂
Those initial responses are EXACTLY what teachers are saying these days. And – your creativity never fails you! Such energy and vibrance even in the hilarious analogies for describing one’s current state of depletion. I am hard-pressed to pick a favorite from them – love the wit behind “the business end of a cat toy” and the clarity of the cart with sticky wheels: why. must. it. be. so. HARD.(!!!) The students are energizing me as well. They amaze me with their observations; they know so much more than we tend to expect, as they reveal in discussions. Thank you for always being a ray of light in the often-murky grayness of things, Lainie.
Love these and even though I am retired there are still days I feel the bone weariness. I feel like the dregs left in a coffee cup when all of the energizing coffee has been consumed.