Dear Monday Teacher,
I read a quote today that said, “When life gives you a Monday, dip it in glitter and sparkle all day.”
I had to Google who said the quote. In case you are curious, it was Ella Woodward. I didn’t recognize the name, but that’s probably because I don’t follow the food brand, Deliciously Ella. I’m also not British, nor do I read food magazines. Come to think of it, I’m also not a huge fan of glitter, especially on Mondays.
For a teacher, glitter on a Monday means you’ll probably still have a few iridescent flakes in the part of your hair come Friday morning no matter how many times you wash it.
If I could have a cup of lactose-free coffee with Ella, I would tell her I’m all about optimism, but I also think it’s important to acknowledge that it’s much easier to talk sparkle when you’re icing a pink cake in a cute outfit on national television than when you’re checking a scalp for head lice, tying a shoe for the 500th time, reviewing sight words with nonreaders, or reminding kids to pull up their masks.
It’s not that we don’t want to sparkle. We do, but Mondays are hard. They demand tasks of us that we are not yet prepared to tackle like setting the alarm, packing a lunch, wearing pants with a zipper, talking to people, and other nonsense.
Oh teachers will dip their Monday in something alright, but I’m not sure what they’re dipping it in will glitter.
And I think that’s okay, maybe.
After all, teachers are doing the very best they can this year. We all are, and maybe the best gift we can give ourselves is the gift of being just fine with being “not-so sparkly.”
Besides, right now does anyone truly have the energy to sparkle behind a mask smeared with lipstick?
-CDB