O/T Summer blues?

[hounddogs]

This is a topic I'm hoping others who live on the school schedule can relate to.

I work in a high school in a district that is losing students (and in Arniefornia, that means revenue)for a variety of reasons. Each of the four years I've worked there many jobs have been cut. In my case, I seldom know before August if I still have my job for the upcoming school year. I also wear a variety of hats on campus, and my workday is very stressful. But, I love teenagers and overall like my job.

My problem is I've gotten into this pattern of a summer let-down. I get depressed and don't know what to do with myself. I usually work half days at summer school, but don't find it stimulating. I force myself to workout, but have no energy for the zillion things I could be doing. I just want to sleep all the time. I spend too much time online or in front of the TV or reading trivial crap. My son just finished his second year at college, and although he's only 75 miles away, he's not coming home for the summer. I'm proud of him, but I miss him. Empty nest stuff is still happening.

I know I'm being a big baby, but I'm just wondering if this happens to any other school employees, and if so how have you managed to cope? Thanks.

--Ann

 

[Alexis52]

Boy, do I understand! I go through the same thing every year. This year, my dad passed away two weeks before school ended and I had spent over a month (off and on) on the East Coast caring for him. I had TONS of stuff to catch up on and pretty much finished it before the last day of school (for me). And I knew it was coming - the letdown. I teach pre-kindergarten for at-risk kids. They're a needy bunch to say the least! I tried to plan various projects to start when school ended. I've been successful so far, taking things slowly but still accomplishing SOMETHING!

I'll offer you my "bigger picture" advice. Telling you that you should make a list, blah, blah, isn't really the point. So this is what I think. We spend 180 or so days being needed. Needed badly. Needed constantly. Needed more than we can give, at times. We are the masters of multi-tasking. We are masters at problem solving. We are masters of communication. We are masters of time management and we are very aware of the clock. Our days are constantly hectic and somehow gratifying. And then...BOOM! It all stops. No one calls your name (you're used to hearing 5 voices in unison, right?). No one has problems, no one has requests.

No one needs you.

That's the feeling I get. We don't have to do a darn thing! We don't even have to shower if we don't want to. And I test all those options for a few weeks. We do it, because we can.

So after a couple weeks of being a slug, I vow to do a few projects, mostly cuz I'm darn sick of myself being a slug! Some things get done, and some don't. When there are only a few weeks left before school starts again, I become frantic and think of all these things I didn't do and SHOULD have. Yeah, yeah, so what? As I get older, I'm losing the ability to make myself feel guilty :7 . We do what we do.

Think about how much you need to care for yourself right now. Now's your time to be good to you. No one else may need you, but you. If that's vegging, then that's good! Does it look like I waste most of my day? Yup. Do I? Nope. I read, garden, do lunch, organize (that's my BIG thing every summer. What a joke!), exercise, whatever floats my boat for the day. This is the time of year that I NEED ME so I can continue being a superb teacher come August.

And by the way, send me an email . I'm just sittin and chillin! Alexis