Ideally, every Sunday should begin with a chill state of mind.
Because, Sunday.
One can hang around without a care in the world and while away time doing completely unimportant things.
But a lot of us feel differently.
Because, Monday.
The countdown to intense suffering kick-starts again. Existential crisis creeps in again. Life seems pointless again.
So, the holiday mood pretty much goes down the drain.
The following memes are funny reflections of our innermost fears regarding the horrible transition from Sunday to Monday.
We drag on till the inevitable moment of doom – midnight or nine/ten for those who go to bed early. Then, we hug our pillows and send a quiet prayer to the heavens before falling asleep, only to welcome a living nightmare the next morning.
Unfortunately, not much can be done about the situation. Unless one decides to give up on worldly pleasures, quit, move away and/or enter early retirement.
This same anxiety that we have is the same exact anxiety that some of our students who enter our schools had before going on winter break. While we are anxious and full of the SMonday dread, they are anxiously excited to come back to school…the safe place for those students whom home lives produce high anxiety, stress, and in most cases trauma.
While the holiday break was a welcome time for many of us to catch up on sleep, eat, and enjoy family and friends. The same can not be said for many of our students and their families, and even some of our fellow colleagues for that matter. It may have been a time of anxiety, stress, and or grief/sadness due to memories of loved ones who may have passed away.
Case in point, I ordered food through a delivery service. I came out to grab my food. I’m surprised to see it’s a student and her mother from school, out making deliveries. The mother stated, her daughter was with her that evening because she couldn’t afford childcare and didn’t have anyone to look after her. She had gotten approval from the company she works for to have her daughter come to work. The mother took on making deliveries initially as an extra job for the holiday season to purchase gifts. The young lady said she enjoyed helping her mother, because it gave her something to do and she got to go to different places. She also mentioned how she was excited to be coming back to school on Monday.
In that moment, I realized how truly blessed I am to have had an opportunity to have had a relaxing break with my family and friends. However, at the same time it made me snap out of that SMonday back to school dread. It brought me back to my true reality, I need to put on my big girl boss panties and get my mind right to get back to school business come Monday. Get back to focusing on my why in making a difference and being that champion for our youth. The truth is they need to have a warm and inviting experience when they come in on Monday. Am I still going to have anxiety? Of course. However it will be a making a difference type of anxiety, instead my own selfish wants of having to return to work because I’m not ready and want more time off.
As we get closer to Monday and the SMonday dread starts to kick in try to remember….
Remember in the famous words of the late Rita Pierson: “Every child deserves a champion.” Be that champion for our students as they return to our schools, not just on this Monday after break, but each day. Have a great first week back and go get em! #bethatchampion
PS: This blog post was inspired by the numerous funny teacher memes posted on various social media accounts. Thank you for allowing me to utilize your memes to create this post. In addition this post was inspired by the mom and her daughter, who gave me a reality check to inspire me to gradually start to come out of the SMonday dread. Thank you! 🙂
PSS: Need more inspiration? Check out Rita Pierson’s Ted Talk Video on Every Kid Needs a Champion below! Enjoy! 🙂
Aspire to Inspire! Make Thinking Visible 