When Substitute Teaching is Paradise.

So THIS is what having a normal job feels like. I've got a sweet set-up teaching Spanish all week at a prep school.

• I have the same schedule every day, and it's a golden one.
  
• 8:45-11:30am, lunch, 1:15-3:00pm
• I see the same kids every day, and they respect me.
• They don't goof off, and today someone in the hall called out, "hey look! It's Ms. [insert my name here]! They asked if I would be back tomorrow.
  
• The teachers know and like me.
• One of the Spanish teachers said "Oh, so you're subbing for Ms. Garcia? We've heard such wonderful things about you from the substitute coordinator!"
• It's easy to get to work.
• A CTA bus picks me up 25 yds from my front door and drops me off in front of the school. Until Doomsday, that is.
  
• I know where the bathrooms, refrigerators, and teacher's lounges are.
• Hey, this stuff is important.
• There are about 100 restaurants in a 2 block radius of the school.
• For when I don't have breakfast/lunch. Also important, given some of the areas where I've taught.

OK, OK, so it might not be a "normal" job in any sense of the word... it's way better. And it is most definitely not how I imagined my stint in CPS to be. But just being in one stable environment for 2 days in a row has made a world of difference. I'm not tired and stressed out like usual, because I know what to expect. And I still have two more days of the same. Then, back to the real world...

Hasta luego...