Well, I made it through Open House last week. It was Thursday night (after Pajama Day all day -- so cruel to be cozy and relaxed all day and then get all gussied up for a night of talking to parents) -- THREE HOURS of talking about classes. I managed not to sound like I was high on speed (as has happened in previous open houses) and I had already called all my parents (well, most of them) to let them know about adoption possibility, so that was good.
Two things stood out in the night:
- I got to my classroom at 6 (doesn't start until 6:45 but parking is a beast and the quiet time settles my nerves beforehand) and noticed a hot electrical smell right in front of my desk. I went to find the science teacher down the hall, and he smelled it but it didn't seem too strong. Fast forward a half hour after I run some errands around and stop in with my partner teacher, and the smell is STRONGER THAN EVER and wafting out into the hall, sulphur-heavy and parent-repelling. I had to find the principal and make sure I wasn't about to shut down Open House with an electrical fire in my room. Turns out it was the fan in the SmartBoard projector which had fritzed and overheated, but the room was so stinky and people in the hall were complaining. Good times.
- I had a father come to my 9th period Resource Room, and I had spoken to the mother but wasn't sure if the message was relayed about the adoption, so I brought it up. I said "it isn't a real baby yet" which seemed to throw off the moms in my room (I clarified "by that I mean it's a purely hypothetical baby, ha ha," which I'm not sure helped my case). Then the father offered me A KITTEN -- they have 8 at home apparently. The looks on the moms' faces were hilarious, and I managed not to let any snark come out when I said, "Oh, that's nice -- I have two cats already and I'm pretty sure I want a human baby, but thanks." Okay, maybe a tiny bit of snark. But COME ON.
I didn't run into anyone like in years past who wanted an update on my ENTIRE STORY because I worked with him at another building and sure, talking about my complete inability to as of yet achieve parenthood right before presenting to parents is a GREAT idea, right? It was a responsive group of parents, it was a pretty full group of parents, and it was a pretty decent night. I was thrilled that most of the parents were still older than me (at least by a couple of years). All things considered, it was as good a parent night as I've ever had.
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That sounds like quite a night. Definitely not fair to have to get dressed up after a day of comfy pjs. Yikes about the fan - what a random sort of "are you kidding me?!" moment to have on parent's night. And a kitten?! Oh boy. I think you did awesome with only that little tiny bit of snark.
ReplyDeleteGlad that overall despite the challenges things went pretty well.
It was a whirlwind! So it turned out to be the bulb, not the fan... so far so good for my room not smelling like the bowels of hell. ;) And the kitten..oy. I'm going to chalk that one up to a clueless guy thing.
DeletemeOW!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you've got this behind you, at least for another semester. Scary about the electrical stink. I hope all that was a prelude to a relaxing weekend!
I don't have to do Open House night for another year! And depending on when Mystery Baby comes, maybe I'll get to skip it entirely. :) One can only hope. And yeah, very low-key weekend to follow...thanks goodness. There is nothing quite like leaving school at 9:30ish and realizing you have to be back in less than 10 hours.
DeleteGood for you! I don't think you sound at all like a weirdo. It always bugged me when people suggests pets as a panacea for infertility.
ReplyDeleteRight? Someone today told me that she got a puppy after several miscarriages and that helped and then she got pregnant and had her children...and while that's great that it was a coping mechanism and helped on that front, I seriously doubt the puppy was the reproductive silver bullet. Maybe she was able to relax when the puppy came, ha HA ha ha. :) Pets are not the same thing! Although my cat does let me hold him like a baby for about 20 seconds, and that is comforting until I see my crazy self in the mirror and put. the cat. down. :)
DeleteIt's insanely cruel that Pajama Day wasn't extended into Open House. Seriously, that should have been extended for everyone's benefit.
ReplyDeleteBut you survived, especially after the kitten comment (head smacking over here). That deserves a big reward. Hopefully a new Smartboard is part of that.
RIght? Wouldn't it be awesome to do Open House in pajamas? To require that EVERYONE wear them? :) New lightbulb in the SmartBoard projector seems to be keeping the stank at bay. And the kitten has now crossed over to cracking me up rather than making me frustrated, because REALLY?
DeleteI can imagine what sort of strange things I'd come out with that would discombobulate the moms, I always get carried away with nerves on these occasions, I think you did really well with "it isn't a real baby yet / it's a hypothetical baby"! As for the offer of the kitten: controlling the snark must have taken iron reserves of willpower! Good god, that dad - I wonder if his other half gave him a hard time for that later, or whether she too thought it was a civilised thing to suggest - I'm hoping she whacked him around the head with her handbag for it.
ReplyDeleteOh, the other moms belonged to other children -- his wife wasn't there. I think the other moms were just flabbergasted. Maybe one of them whacked him in the handbag in the hall after? And thank you -- I think the real vs hypothetical thing made perfect sense to me. Throws people off though. I even made a joke (after the kitten comment) about my cats enjoying the nursery until the baby materializes... Ah, humor.
DeleteI'll take a kitten and a human baby!
ReplyDeleteYikes! The idea of doing a parent open house hurts my brain on many levels (have I mentioned before that we're homeschoolers - LOL). Glad to hear it went as well as could be expected, even with the nasty fire smell.
ReplyDelete