School Has Begun

So August came and so did the first day of school! I started my 8th year of teaching this past week and it felt really great to be back in the classroom. I was able to get in my room and start putting everything together August 1st and 2nd. It was a whirlwind two days and my first official day back was on the 3rd. It was really great to see the whole staff come back together...they do start to feel like extended family.

We always have announcements and updates those first few days back. This year we have two teacher pregnant...one due in September and the other due in March. However, we also dealt with some really difficult news too. Our librarian's husband was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer this summer. They have two young kiddos, one of whom started Kindergarten at our school this year. He is trying to get into any experimental treatment program he can find and our librarian is so brave. She is holding things together so well and is keeping a great outlook on things. We also were told that one of our 3rd grade teachers is out for a few weeks because she was diagnosed with breast cancer this summer and had some surgery. She is doing well and getting her strength back more and more each day. She will continue to have radiation treatment, but the docs were happy with the results of the surgery. And finally we were told that our 8th grade science teacher was diagnosed with cervical cancer. She had surgery the Friday before school started and was back at school on the first day. She too is doing well and will continue with radiation therapy for a few weeks. I work with some truly amazing people and while it was tough news for us all to hear, it has also been very heartwarming to see us come together as a staff in support of one another.

We had Meet the Teacher Night the Thursday before school started and it was a wonderful night. I got to meet almost all my kiddos and I have such a sweet group. I was also very honored this year to find out that I was requested by parents and that they have heard some great things about me in the community. From years past and some other parents I've dealt with...I was beginning to think that maybe this wasn't the place for me to be. Hearing that news changed my mind and I know that where I am is a perfect fit. I have four teacher's kids and three siblings and I have about 8 parent helpers (the most out of all my years of teaching!)! It was also a blast to see so many of my past kiddos! My first group that I taught at Rancho are now 5th graders...OMG! Some of them did come by to say hi to me! That was a true high-light! :) The night was long but exciting and I was pumped for the first day of school! :)

The first week was great and went off without a hitch...well I had a few mini-heart attacks...keep reading! I only have 21 students, which is amazing for us considering that we usually are between 26 and 29 kiddos. I'm sure our numbers will rise, but for now it's nice to have a smaller class than usual. I have 13 boys and I've already called my brother John and told him that they are reminding me of him and his friends when he was in elementary school. They are not bad by any means, they just have HUGE personalities and they are learning that they can try and push the boundaries, but Mrs. Syler will always win! :) All my kiddos are really sweet this year and have a great passion for learning. I have quite the spread of readers (one kiddo could read 1 word to me and one kiddo read 126 words in a minute!). So I am excited to see where the year leads and how they are going to grow. I forgot how little and needy they are this first week and how they still call me teacher! They also are so honest...it just cracks me up!

One of my little boys told the office manager that he had Mrs. Syler for his teacher. She said, "Oh she's great. You'll love her!" And he said, "Yep, I got the big one!" LOL!! I was at recess duty with my co-worker Amy and I introduced her to one of my students. I said, "Come meet Mrs. Tropea, she's really a cool teacher!" And the little girl replied, "Oh you're the teacher that my mom really wanted me to have!" You have to have some thick skin with these guys..they hold back nothing! As for the mini-heart attacks...one came after we finished math the first day. I do a fun activity with M&M's and they eat them after the lesson. One little boy raises his hand and says, "Oh I can't eat these I'm allergic to them." I rushed over and was like, "Are you even supposed to touch them? How do you feel? Are you OK? I'm so sorry!" Luckily he was just fine and he could touch them but just can't eat chocolate...what a shame. The second worry was the first day at lunch. I walk into the cafeteria and over to my table and realize that I'm missing a kid, the kid that is the son of a principal from another school in my district! I see his lone lunch box in our tub, grab it and start looking for him everywhere. I check all over the cafeteria, the office, the nurse's office and panic is starting to set in. I run back over to the cafeteria and there he is crying with another teacher. He hadn't heard the whistle for 1st grade to line up and he came into the cafeteria late. He was more upset because he thought someone stole his lunch! OMG! I feel like their parents and my heart goes crazy when I think they are hurt or upset or lost! But with only two minor incidents, the first week was great! :) I am hopeful that this year is going to be a special one.

Before I finish...here's an update on the IVF stuff. I heard back from my primary doctor right before school started that my blood work came back fine and I didn't have to get the second MMR shot! Whew...hurtle averted! My thyroid is normal and so is my prolactin level so things are back on. I had an ultrasound and blood work taken last Saturday at the fertility office. They are fitting me in wherever they can and it looks like the actual two procedures will take place the last week of September. Of course I have to be in every other day the week before for ultrasounds and blood work as well as a few other times to go over medicine...they are actually going to teach me how to do the shots! OUCH! I've heard that my backside and stomach will look all bruised from all the shots I have to take. I was more than a little overwhelmed with all the needles and meds when they arrived at the house. But this is what we are doing, so it's time for me to just deal with it and do what needs to be done.

I'm feeling a little stressed with some things. The first is missing so much time from work. I'm OK with it, but it still stresses me out because I care about my kiddos and I want to make sure that they are taken care of while I have to be absent. I'm going to be able to use FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) so that my absences don't count against my school (we are only allowed so many absences a staff per semester!) and I have more than enough PTO (Paid Time Off) to cover the days I have to take since FMLA is unpaid. Basically FMLA only guarantees that my job is still there when I come back to work. I'm working with the Benefits department at the District Office so hopefully they won't get too annoyed with me and ALL my questions!

The second reason I'm stressing is because I'm feeling a little alone with all this. The first thing Jay said to me when I told him the dates was that his boss is already taking the last week in September off for her vacation and he is unsure if he can take any time. I reminded him that really nothing moves forward with any eggs they take from me if he doesn't do his part. I would love to be able to tell him that my first procedure will be Tuesday or Thursday morning when he doesn't go in until noon. However, it's all dependent on how my body responds to the meds and when my eggs are ready to be taken out. He understands and told his boss as much, but he's trying not to make waves right now since the company just laid off about 20 people. We would be totally lost without his benefits so I understand his feelings too. It just stinks because I wanted him to be there when I wake up and to be with me at home while I'm recovering. He has become my rock and I'm worried how I will hold up without his immediate support. The other person that may not be able to be there is my mother. She was originally going to come in July and then when I told her the new dates she informed me that she has a mandatory training the last Tuesday of September that she must attend. I can't say that the procedure is going to be on that day, but I have this feeling it will be because neither her nor Jay can be with me. I'm sure she will come up for the other part of the week and it will be nice to have her close then, but again I'm just afraid how I'm going to hold up without her or Jay beside me through this journey. Jay reminded me that his mother is more than willing to be there and take me home, which I truly appreciate. Linda is a great woman and I love her dearly. It's just not the same as having my husband or my own mother there with me. And also, wherever Linda goes, my sister-in-law Jennifer goes too. Not that I don't love Jennifer too, but she requires time and attention and I'm feeling more and more like I'm going to have to just watch out for myself during recovery, which is difficult with my personality of just taking care of things myself and not depending on someone else. With these procedures (the retrieval and implantation) I have to take it easy and there are some required days of bed rest. That scares me...having to sit and do nothing, when that is sooo not my personality. I'm probably sounding like a whining baby right now, but these are the fears I'm having. I'm sure that things will be fine, but I won't know until that last week of September approaches. And I'm also constantly reminding myself that I have some great friends who have volunteered to help out if they are needed. That means the world to me and I feel so blessed to have some amazing friends! :)

So anyway, we are continuing with our journey and life goes on. Thanks for the sweet comments about our beautiful dog Azure. Going back to school really helped to get my mind off of him, but I still look over to the corner where his bed was when I walk in the house every day, like I did when he was here. Jay and I are going to see how things go with IVF and we'll revisit the idea of getting a new dog come January 2012. Thanks for reading friends and I'll be sure to keep you all up to date with how things are progressing! :)