Overheard at Work, vol. LV

I realized this week that there are three kinds of busy days at my job.

1. The day that is packed to the minute with meetings. Example, Arrive at work at 11:00 AM, meeting at 11: 30, meeting at 12:30, interview at 2 PM, homework help at 3:30, onboarding at 4:30, run program at 5:30, leave at 7 PM.

2. The day that is busy because there are 300 kids in the building and I run all over the place all day.

3. The day that is unexpectedly busy, so that every time I sit down, I am called to tend to a kid or a coverage issue or a delivery or an emergency.

And even though this week was only 4 days long, it feels like about 4 in the morning and that it should be Saturday.

This fall is kicking my ass.

On Wednesday, during homework help, I sat down at a table of 3rd and 4th graders, who immediately asked me, "Who are you voting for?" I didn't really feel comfortable telling them, since I wasn't sure what their parents were stuffing down their throats, but I was encouraged when one of them yelled, "OBAMA!" and another very seriously said, "I'm voting for Romney 0%." Finally, one very sagely announced, "Romney doesn't like immigrants, so he doesn't like our families."

"Look! It slides."--my coworker, trying desperately to prove that her phone is "hip."

"I'm probably gonna marry a poet,"--11 year old, as we went from discussing attending her first dance to discovering boys to marriage.

"Hi Brandon!...Hi...whatever your name is."--8-year-old greeting my coworker with the wrong name but then really thinking about it and giving up.

"My future beard starts right here!"--13 year old, announcing his serious facial hair plans.