It Was Bound To Happen Eventually...

What a mysterious sounding title, eh? Well, this post has to do with a few things: my dog, my undiagnosed-but-I-swear-I-have-some-form-of-it OCD, and a journey to the center of the Earth. Yep, it's pretty random.

For those of you who don't know me very well, I am a WORK-a-holic. I am a "do-er." I get things done. I can't relax until my papers are graded, my house is clean, and I've crossed my "T's" and dotted my "I's." It is both a blessing and a curse. Sometimes my husband has to literally force me to sit on the couch to relax and take a deep breath...but I can't help it. It is in my nature to plan, organize, and follow-through.

Maybe my bubble should say, "I'm a perfectionist!"

Last week I had planned to take my students on our annual "Journey to the Center of the Earth." More on that adventure here. I had planned to go on our adventure on Friday. What better way to end a week, right?
Well, despite my perfectly planned, er, um, plans, life got in the way. On Wednesday night we noticed our beloved dog, Lucy (more on how she came into our lives here), had a hot spot on her back. Her fur had fallen out, and her skin was very red. I quickly called the vet, who said to bring her in right away and they would take a look to see if she needed to have an "actual appointment" or if the spot would go away on its own. When I look her in, the vet told me it was a hot spot, which can be caused by allergies. She told me Lucy would be fine, as long as she didn't scratch or bite at her hot spot. I took her home, and the hubs and I were grateful that it was nothing serious. Then...the scratching started...and never...ever...stopped. Lucy was scratching so much throughout the night that it kept me awake. I knew I was going to have to take her back in to see the vet on Thursday afternoon, and that meant postponing our journey to the center of the earth. I cried on the way to school, thinking about how disappointed my kiddos were going to be. They had been looking forward to this "trip" all week. I couldn't bear to tell them that I just wouldn't have time after school to decorate the school (and this decorating usually takes HOURS). I felt like a horrible teacher. I felt like a horrible "dog" mommy. It was an all-around bad way to begin the morning. However, this kind of thing was bound to happen eventually in my Mary Poppins-esque world where everything is "practically perfect in every way." At some point, something has to give, and even though my kids always come first, this time, they just couldn't.

When my kids finished their warm up question on Thursday morning, I told them I needed to talk to them. They could tell I was upset before I even opened my mouth. I told them about Lucy and how worried I was about her, and then I started to cry as I told them that their journey would have to be delayed for another week. I told them that I felt awful for having to postpone our day of fun, but that it was very important for me to take care of Lucy. You know what happened? My kids surrounded me with words of encouragement and hugs. They told me that it was okay. One kiddo told me that "I work really hard and it's more important to make sure your family is okay first Mrs. Tackett." Another kiddo told me that "There are more important things than taking us on our journey on Friday" and asked me if I needed/wanted any help setting up for our newly scheduled journey on October 16th. I couldn't help but start crying again. Here I was, feeling like the most awful teacher on the planet for switching plans up on my kiddos, and they were the ones making me realize that there are more important things than sticking to a strict schedule. One little girl even said, "When you have kids, things like this will happen a lot more Mrs. Tackett. Don't be so hard on yourself." Wow. An  eleven year old seemed to "get it" more than me. I truly have amazing kids.

The rest of the day went a lot better. News travels by word of mouth quickly at the middle school level, and throughout the day many of my kids popped in to give me a hug, drop off a picture they drew for Lucy or I, or just to say, "I'm thinking of you Mrs. Tackett."

After school I took Lucy back to the vet, where they prescribed her some predisone to help keep her inflammation down and to stop her scratching. She is already doing so much better and will be just fine.

I guess I wanted to share this story with all of you because as teachers, we feel like we need to be in control of everything all of the time. I know I feel constant pressure to be perfect, stick to the plan, and know everything. Life has a funny way of throwing us a curve ball every once in a while, and even though I thought my kids would think I was the winner of the "Worst Teacher Ever" award for delaying our day of fun, I found that my kids were more concerned with the real important issue, my dog's health, than whether or not we went to the center of the Earth on Friday. It's important to give yourself a break, be honest, and have faith in your kids. After all, my kids taught me more lessons that day than I ever dreamed possible.