Substitute Teaching
I’m subbing at the High School today. One of the differences between “subbing” and “working”, is not having a pattern. For me, every “sub day” is a Monday. My retirement normal day is a 6:30 wakeup “call” from Keelie, our black Australian Shepherd mix. Then it’s a casual morning of feeding five dogs, doing the “chores”, then settling down right here in front of the computer with an endless cup of coffee for whatever idea I need to get on “paper”.
But “sub days” are different. The alarm changes; instead of a lick and a paw, it’s the more traditional claxon alarm from the IPhone at 5:30. There are still dogs to feed, but this early it requires some rousing. Buddy, our oldest, doesn’t really like to come out from under the bed until the sun is up, and Lou and CeCe, our youngest rescues, are happier cozied up by the fireplace. So getting them all to eat takes some persuasion. After that it’s high speed chores, including filling the thermos with enough coffee to caffeinate the day, getting the “brown bag” lunch together, and warming up the Jeep, all to arrive at school by 7:00.
Snow Days
For a thirty-six year teaching career, “snow days” carried the same joy that they did as a thirteen year student. “Snow Days” were days of endless possibilities, from sleeping to sledding, to rehearsing what retirement might look like. There was nothing better, really, than waking up to the message – snow day!! Even when I was working out at school early in the morning, already up and moving and often running out in the drifts before the call was made, “snow day” meant go find breakfast and “chill” for the day.
But as a “sub”, snow day means no pay. So while it’s still nice to get an extra hour or so of sleep, in my life I can have a “snow day” anytime I want, so, as the song goes, “The thrill is gone”.
Recalculating
What has always been a dilemma for me, ever since I began as a professional educator, is the dreaded “two-hour delay”. First of all, usually the “two-hour delay” announcement is late in the game, after the claxon alarm and the dog feedings. The first two cups of coffee are “on board” and it’s too late to head back to bed. Even if I did, the dogs are already rolling, there’s no “go back to bed” for them.
And there’s the “time disfunction” that a two-hour delay requires. So let’s see: the plan is start the Jeep by 6:40, make lunch and drink one more cup of coffee by 6:50, then pack up and go, getting to school by 7:00. Now all that’s altered, 6:40 becomes 8:40 and the rest, and I’m all dressed up with nowhere to go. I keep recalculating the equations in my head, making sure I don’t somehow show up too early, or worse yet, too late.
And why am I writing about all this? It was 6:40 when my friend John, the teacher I’m subbing for today, texted. So here I am, with the five dogs wondering why we’re up so early, sitting at the kitchen table, all dressed up – recalculating my schedule in my head one more time. Today is a two-hour delay.
Wedding Vows
How disruptive are two hour delays? When Jenn and I first got together, we were both still working. I went to work early, and we only had one bathroom at the time anyway, so she stayed in bed until I was out of the way. She timed her morning based on me. The first time I had a two-hour delay, the call was made early enough that I just went back to bed. Since I didn’t get up, she didn’t get moving, even though HER job didn’t “do” delays. She ended up rushing to work late, and it was definitely all my fault.
It was such a big deal in our lives that it made it into our wedding vows. I promised her not to close my eyes when she was driving. She promised me not to be angry if I forgot to tell her I was on a two-hour delay. Then we both lived “happily ever after”.
So “back in the day” we had a “telephone tree” to let everyone know about school closing or delays. Even from the earliest days, my name was near the top of the list. So I had to make sure the “tree” remained intact, and get through to the next down the list so everyone was warned. But now, there’s an “app” that supposed to text out school closings and delays. Since I’m subbing, I signed up for it, but that hasn’t made a difference. I still haven’t received a notification. Last week I checked the school website, saw nothing, and arrived at school to an empty parking lot and ice covered sidewalks. So I’m checking back frequently now.
Guess I’m Working
It’s now 8:00 am. That calculates to 6:00 am on the regular schedule. Daylight has arrived, though the snow is falling so saying the sun’s up is a matter of faith, not observation. Buddy has made his morning appearance, but Jenn, who spent most of the night watching cameras for lost dogs, is still sleeping.
Channel Ten’s phone app still has a two-hour delay, so I’d better stop writing and get back into “work mode”. But you never know here in Licking County how the roads are holding up. There’s always still a chance for a last minute “Snow Day”.
I wouldn’t argue about it.
