FRIDAY 55
Will anyone say hello to me?
Will anyone help me if I get lost?
What if I need help with my work?
Will anyone want to sit with me at lunch?
Will they think I am weird?
Make no mistake,
even if you're 44 years old
the first day at a new school
is nerve-wracking.
DA COUNT
After a day of training right before the holiday and another day of training right after, I reported to my own school today for the first time. I forced myself to go have lunch in the faculty lounge even though it would have been easier and more comfortable for me to be a reclusive library aide. It felt awkward but I got through it and one lady came over as I ate my salad and said, "I'm here to ruin your diet," as she offered me some homemade fudge. I accepted gratefully. The secretaries seemed annoyed to have to deal with me at all. The custodian was a very nice man. I share the library at this school with two classrooms and an itinerant teacher, but there is no librarian except for nine weeks sometime later in the year.
It was strange to just be turned loose in the library with no real direction other than, "Here it is, take the first four days to do what you need to get ready." I was grateful for a principal who was generous about time to see the lay of the land and sort out the backlog of things that have been piling up since October when they lost the person I am replacing. All things considered it was a good day.
In four days I get to repeat the process at the other school library I will staff. We'll see how it goes over there.
