Ok so if you knew me better, you would know this is my motto! As an itinerant teacher I know I have freedom and could abuse this freedom. I don’t park and stay in one place all day like a typical classroom teacher. I love this part of my job….for the most part. Freezing weather egh…kinda ruins it, but I still appreciate the good days! So, when I travel from school to school I drive by lots of stores and places that I might want to wander in, stop & shop, or do one of my many mommy errands, but do I? NOPE. I live by this phrase. If I can’t drive through it, I do not do it! I don’t park and get out. Typically drive thrus are limited and designed to be efficient.
Places I Drive Thru
- The bank
- Coffee places
- Fast food….sometimes I need fries
- Mailboxes
Short list. I figure if it doesn’t have a drive thru feature it isn’t for me to do in between schools. I consider that to be an abuse of the glorious freedom I have with the basic makeup of my job.
I have thought about the car wash…greatly. I would love to drive through and make my black beauty look all sparkly and pretty, but I don’t. I am a worrier. What if the line is long and I get trapped between slow pokes or the conveyor breaks and I get stuck….that would be super awesome to explain to a teacher why I’m late. So no go. I drive it dirty and wash it after hours just like everyone else.
Are their other places that have a drive thru???
Now, I think of all my classroom teachers who are in their buildings all day-no fresh, hot refills of their favorite coffee (sad face). If I’m friends with a teacher I will happily drive thru if a friend is in need! We get by with a little help. Sometimes I feel like I need a bat signal, like a coffee cup in the sky.
What I don’t do is flaunt my fresh cup. I don’t parade in with a fresh cup- 5 minutes late. Of course if I am going to be late…which happens due to life happening….I never get something. The clock is ticking and I drive by with a longing look…..see you later my hot or icy friend.
What I have seen and experienced in my decade plus of driving from school to school is that all teachers have bad days, all teachers feel the itch of being in their room all day and all teachers sometimes envy our freedom, so walking in late on one of these off days with hot, fresh tea or coffee is not doing me any favors. I once walked in on time and felt the aggravation of my caffeinated presence. I also have gone through the drive through, with time to spare, picked up my tea and then gotten stuck behind Slowpoke Joe. Yep, now I’m late, now that innocent drive thru experience has become a dilemma. Do I go in with hot beverage? Do I just leave it in my cup holder? I leave it. It will still taste good later. Besides, tea is typically atomic hot, so it will be Goldilocks ready after my session is completed. My loss is really my gain here-making the classroom teacher annoyed is not on my to do list.
Maybe you feel differently and that’s okay. Like I said I worry. Heaven forbid someone see me on their day off and I look like I am leisurely pushing a red cart or trying on shoes. I would be mortified. And I know there cancellations and unforeseen gaps in a days schedule, but I stay in a school to do work. There is always work and I feel like if my classroom friends are working, then I am not getting a pedicure, no matter how desperate my piggies are. I know my momsibilities keep me busy after school, so it is a never ending balancing act with school responsibilities and home. No matter how tempting the schedule gap is or how long the daily to do list is I keep my tush in my seat and drive on to my next session.
What do you do? How do you manage this?
The Listening Ladybug 