The Dream

The start of a new school year means many things. Shopping carts fill up with notebooks, pencils, art supplies and locker organizers. Clothing racks get a workout as new duds for school are perused and purchased. Squirmy toes are stuffed into shoes abandoned since last spring. Calendars fill up with tighter schedules. Swimming suits are given a final dip before being tucked into the bottom drawer. Frantic vacations are taken as the clock winds down.

Teachers also hop on the bus of increased activity. Posters are released from dark drawers and given wall space. Lesson plans are forged and polished. Books are counted and organized. Supplies are inventoried and distributed. Meetings portend the back to school frenzy. A sense of urgency wells up in the souls of all involved.

School cannot begin, however, until teachers experience The Dream. The Dream takes on many variations but the theme is always the same. I AM NOT READY! A typical dream scenario for me is a classroom full of restless, edgy students waiting for my arrival. The clock mercilessly creeps its way to the official start time of the day. I run at heart pounding speeds through a labyrinth of hallways like a rat in a maze. Each door I open leads me into the classroom of another teacher. I can't catch my breath but...I. do. not. give. up. Panic besets me as I round another corner only to see the principal. The mind games set in. Perhaps he is on his way to my room because he has been alerted to my tardiness. Maybe I should just catch up to him and confess my inadequacies once and for all. Run, check a door, run, check a door. The insanity takes its toll. Thoughts of a job loss take over. All the hallways start to look the same. It is no use. I am toast. My legs give out and I slip to the floor in an agonizing nod to a complete surrender. And then I notice the final assault. I forgot to put on my skirt.

Of course, I wake up at this point in the dream with my heart beating at fearful speeds. My mind takes a quick assessment of the situation. Is there a room full of students waiting for me? Not yet. Do I have lesson plans ready to go? Getting close. Is my classroom organized for the first day? Almost. Are my supplies purchased and organized? Yes. Do I know what I am going to wear on the first day? The skirt is ready.

I have learned a few things in my 27 years of teaching. The opening bell on the first day of school will happen whether I feel prepared or not. The butterflies in my stomach will take flight with the butterflies my students are experiencing. There will always be one more lesson plan to write and one more copy to be made. The computer will go all glitchy on me just when I need it most.

And the coffee will always be on so I can chase the dreams and cobwebs out of my head.