Crappy Day with a Silver Lining

Well, today wasn't the greatest. My students had their first quiz and many of them spent a lot of class complaining about the quiz, whispering to each other during the quiz, shouting at me from across the room, using their phone, etc. Mind you, this is only 2-4 students per class period but it is exhausting to deal with. It's especially irksome because they get to use their notes on the quiz! We even did a quick review of a couple of things before the quiz so that everyone had something to help them even if they left their notes at home or never wrote any notes.

Other things that put me in a bad mood: morning hall duty, cramps, hormones, and taking the dog to the vet. For hall duty I had to keep going down the stairs  to tell students to not sit on the stairs. One of my friends hung out with me while I had duty so it wasn't too bad today.

As for the vet, it's for our super-cute but not super-friendly dog, Freyja.

Look at that pretty girl! I think she might be giving me her annoyed look but that's ok.

Freyja has had some trouble with her hips for a couple of years. We have heard so many different things but it seems like most vets thought it was probably hip dysplasia. We have been giving her some supplements and everything was going ok; She was sometimes stiff but could walk it off. In the past 2 or 3 weeks she was suddenly stiff all the time and sometimes yelped when she had to stand up. So, we took her to the vet and this vet said it is arthritis in her hips and legs as well as hip dysplasia. At the very least we now have anti-inflammatory meds that should help with the pain. We will see how well those work and we might have to go back in a week or two to discuss other options. Although we did not get awful news, it is stressful and I really hate seeing my "puppy" in pain. (Side note: I can't believe our little pup is 8.5 years old and we've had her for 7! Where does the time go?!)

Let's get to the silver lining.

In the past, I have eaten lunch alone. This school year I have been eating lunch with a few of my friends in the math department. Today I was tempted to skip (I only had about 10 minutes left in lunch after doing some basic documentation of the poor student behavior) but I decided to go say hi. They helped lift my mood so much! (Thanks Brianna, Lacy, and Will!) Lacy even gave me some candy. :D

Also, I have an awesome weekend to look forward to. Tomorrow Matthew, myself, and a couple of friends are taking a super quick trip to Austin and I've been promised that we will stop for boba tea. I haven't had boba tea in over a year! Saturday is Matthew's birthday and I get to bake him a cake. (I really love baking!) Sunday is our party for everyone who volunteered at Bell County Comic Con. Finally, Monday we will be hanging out with a couple of our friends (Hi Jo and Liz!) and playing board games.

A helpful tip to keep you from getting in a negative rut: start each day by writing down three things for which you are grateful. It will help you start your day on the right foot, even if the day ends up kind of blah like mine. Make sure to look at the list when you feel down. It might help put things into perspective.

-Clare G. S.