One down, seventeen to go

Well, I'm not sure if I wanted to be upset about the first week of school or not coming in to it.  I was discouraged about my schedule, discouraged about being pregnant and still throwing up pretty often, discouraged about having to get my lazy butt out of bed before 10 every morning...  Basically, things weren't going my way and I was pretty determined to be upset about it.

And it has completely surprised me how glad I am to be here and how much I love all my students.  It's like all my classes were hand-picked to be absolutely delightful, with great mixes of kids and personalities, and plenty of good-natured students to make me laugh.  In fact, they make me laugh hysterically. 

I hear no end to the questions about the pregnancy, the baby, my Nate, and I don't mind a bit.  So far I've heard that I'm tiny to be this pregnant as well as that I really look pregnant.  I've also been offered food on a consistent basis, and every kid selling fundraiser candy seems to make it to my door (and yes, that means I've been eating an obscene amount of gummy bears because I'm not good at saying no).  Nate and I are apparently a beautiful couple who take pretty pictures and look startlingly young, although one of my classes thinks we look like brother and sister, and that we have the same nose.  Oh, and I had to flash a picture of Nate to prove that he was, indeed, white, because my 2nd period has apparently never met a white Jackson. 

Then there are the kids who want to know if my stomach hurts very often, and how my doctor's appointments have been going (?).  Some love the name Milo and others just look at me and say, "Like the movie Milo and Otis?"  And others want to know when I'll be bringing him up to see them and why I need to take time off after he comes. 

Here's my favorite, though.  One of my students asked me if I thought 29 was a little bit old to just be having kids because I'll be really old when they're teenagers.  Hah!  Apparently since he has a friend who was 16 when he became a dad, Nate and I are pushing it at 31 and 29 (respectively). 

Ahhh to be inside the teenage mind again, just for a day.  It would probably explain a lot of the looks and comments I notice throughout the year, that's for sure.  Truth be told, though, I LOVE it.  And I've had an awesome first week back.