Slice of Life Story Day 24 Routines and Rituals of the Working Week

Our lives are often punctuated by routines and rituals…
Every Thursday morning our alarm goes off at 5.20 am, a time well before sparrow’s fart (a quaint Aussie expression) and in the gloomy darkness Vicki and I commence the longest working day of our week. We aim to be on the road by 6.30 am. We drive from our home on the coast, 60 km south of the city, to schools on the western side of Melbourne. We join the morning commute and negotiate our way through the heart of the city and beyond. The Thursday trip takes between 75 and 120 minutes. We mostly take one car and attend separate schools within the same school network. At the conclusion of the working day we don’t drive home. Instead we regularly stay close to the city so that on Friday morning it only requires a short drive for each of us to work at two different schools. This routine enables us to support four schools over two days. On Friday we drive home. –A trip that usually takes about two  and a half hours. Everyone is trying to leave the city at the same time it seems.

Today is different though. We need to take two cars unfortunately. Public transport is not an option, and so we duplicate the travel trek. Not environmentally desirable I’m afraid.  At the end of the school day Vicki will present a professional learning workshop for teachers within our work network. The workshop, one of a series, will run for two hours commencing at 4.00pm for teachers of Prep (preparatory) Grade students ( In America- kindergarten. In some places –reception). Vicki’s day will end at 6,30 pm when she gets back to our rental apartment. It’s a long day given the early start.

Thursdays and Fridays are heavy haulage days in our week. What makes these days so worthwhile is the reception we receive in our respective schools. The work is both challenging and rewarding. Once you arrive, you forget about the early start and the frustration of the traffic. The smiling faces of students and their warm greetings make the demands of our early start all worthwhile. No pain, no gain.


Comments

  1. Kevin Hodgson24 March 2011 at 20:56

    I am going to have to use that "sparrow's fart" term with my boys here at home (I will refrain from the classroom). It's sure to be a hit ...
    :)
    Kevin

    ReplyDelete
  2. Deb Day25 March 2011 at 00:02

    Haha--I just shared the sparrow's fart expression with friends and we are all laughing. I'm sure I will hear it used in the next few days

    ReplyDelete
  3. Linda B25 March 2011 at 00:16

    I liked hearing about the days. Sometimes I call them 'deep breath' days, in which I know I have to take a deep breath in order to start, then the day itself takes care of itself. You said it all; when you enter, the effort of getting there falls away & the welcome takes over.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous25 March 2011 at 01:46

    It's nice that you get to travel those long hauls with someone. I too enjoyed the sparrow's fart. Ha ha!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Amanda Villagómez25 March 2011 at 03:37

    I am glad that you are able to typically travel with someone and that there is something great to look forward to at the end of the commute. Like others, I also loved the sparrow's fart line. I always love to hear expressions from different regions.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sprice25 March 2011 at 11:44

    This is a treat to read someone from another country's writing and your phrases. I'm glad i don't have to get up that early. For 7 years I had to substitute teach before I got my fulltime teaching job and I would get the call anywhere from 6 am to 6:30 and have to be at a school within a half hour to an hour so I had my clothes laid out on the bed in another room ready to go so if I was called i would be ready at a moment's notice. Now I pinch myself almost eveyr day because I only have to drive 3 miles to the school I teach at in a small town nearby. I feel for you but so glad the you can travel together most of the time. Thank you for sharing! Happy slicing! :)

    ReplyDelete

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