Recalled to life

More than two months have passed since last I graced these pages with fresh new words, and within those two months my entire life has changed. I could have written volume upon volume of reflections on my departure from Garfield, my move down to Huntington Beach, my attempts at adjusting to a new school, a new grade, a whole new life... and yet I've been silent.

There are times, like right now, when I sit here in my fancy new apartment with the far too loud ceiling fan and the just wide enough doorways and the never too cool, never too hot breeze whispering into my front window and out the back and I ask myself, "What have I gotten myself into?"

The transition has not been smooth, professionally. I've gone from being a highly respected member of the Garfield teaching staff with a strong reputation throughout the school where I really felt confident and successful to a brand new school where I'm an unproven commodity and I'm supposed to be the leader of a team of teachers who all know more than I do about how Aspire runs the show and I have F.S. throwing his backpack across the floor and writing on desks with a dry erase marker and threatening me with, "You BETTER NOT call my mom!" as he slams the door in his hasty retreat. I've got way more work, way more responsibility, and way less time, and I have five boys in the same class who respect me just about as much as they respect their own turds (I don't think I've ever written the word "turd" before).

That's not to say I'm regretting my move. Far from it, I know this was the right decision. I need to regain my Mr. Evans swagger.