Back to School?

I got my welcome back to school letter a few days ago and that's when the "oh crap, summer is almost over" hits. I have one week of my summer left. I've been giving myself some pep-talks to get ready for my transition back to work. I kind of feel like I'm going through a very slow break up. I'm going to miss a lot of things about summer vacation:

*Sleeping in until 7:30. and staying in my pajamas until I feel the need to get dressed.

*Wearing dresses. Not very practical for a teacher of 3-5 year olds. Sitting in those little chairs while straddling another little chair behind a student to do some hand over hand cutting is not very "dress friendly". Not to mention the millions of runny noses, paint fingers, and flying markers that I don't particularly want on my "non-teacher clothes".

*My morning coffee and blog/pinterest time. I'm getting rather used to reading the blogs I follow and checking out new pins each morning as I drink my coffee. When school starts, I am usually drinking my coffee in the car on the way to work because I hit the snooze button too many times. I'm going to have to try to get up a little earlier. We'll see how long that lasts.

*Lunch dates with the hubs. Not an option during the school year. :(

*Actually being able to go to the bathroom when I need to. If you're a teacher, you know that finding a time to pee is rare and needs to be incorporated into your lesson plans.

*Reading like a crazy person. No more three books in a week for me.

*Outside, or daylight in general. For the majority of the school year I leave when it's dark out and return when it's dark out.

*Playing and cuddling with my little loves (dogs) all day. Back to school time is probably the hardest on them. They get used to doing as they please all day and not being in their kennel for hours. They better get all their chipmunk chasing in this next week.

*Wearing heels. Man I miss wearing heels during the school year. But, I can't really run after kids in heels and not to mention they turn me into a giant when put next to my students. I'm not all about scaring the kids.

*Crafting. I have done so many crafts and house projects this summer and I hardly have time to do that during the school year because craft/home projects usually turn into school projects/paperwork time.  Good thing I got a head start on my Christmas presents already!

I will miss all of those things, but what is going to suck the most is that 3, yes 3, of my friends from work are not returning with me this year, which makes it very hard to want to go back. However, I am excited to get back to a schedule and have a new caseload of sweet faces to challenge me and make me a better teacher. I even made this Welcome Back sign to frame for the counter (or put on the wall...I haven't decided yet). So I may not have friends when I return, but at least I'll have a cute sign...that will make it all better right??