Day In The Life

I did a Day In The Life a couple of years ago when I was at my old school (AKA Hell) and when I looked back on it, it was kind of depressing. At least to me. Mostly because I disliked being there so much.

So, I decided to do an updated version since I’m in a happier place (like physically in the building I work in as well as mentally/emotionally) and wanted to show that off a bit.

For those who are new around here/unaware; I am a full-time high school counselor at a public high school in a neighboring county. Because of what I do, there are a lot of specifics about my students/school that I can’t share due to potential HIPAA/FERPA violations (and I have a career goal to never be sued), but there is a lot that I can.

And if I’m being honest, I’m pretty damn proud of what I do, despite being in a profession that isn’t that highly regarded anymore. And if I can bring positive awareness to it, I will. So, welcome to a typical day in the life of this high school counselor…well…”typical”…because most days there isn’t a “typical”.

I am someone who enjoys routines, though, so most of my mornings before I leave the house are pretty typical and habitual, which I like.

While I don’t have to be in school, technically, until 8am, I wake up at 5am everyday (partially because it’s a habit and partially because it’s when Devon wakes up). But since I have time, I usually hang out in bed for a few minutes before getting my day started.

Then I get up, shower, do skincare, put my clothes on and make my bed. Literally in that order. Also, Devon laughs at me so much for making our bed every morning. Anyone else’s husband also think it’s weird that it happens?

Then I do my hair and makeup and get myself all together before heading downstairs. I used to be so rushed in doing this before that I just made myself look semi-human (read: not like I just woke up). But now I actually take this time as a bit of self-care before I head to work in the morning.

I pretty much always have music on in the morning. It really helps relax me and get me ready for the day ahead. I love my Ultimate Mix playlist on Spotify and it’s typically what I put on before I leave the house.

When I finally come downstairs, I get my lunch together, feed my cat (who has usually been stalking my bedroom door waiting for me to come out), take my vitamins and either work on a blog post if I need to, read emails, or just get ready to head out the door.

This morning I was annoyed because it was super cold and I forgot that I needed to get gas. Like to the point that I probably wasn’t going to make it to work without stopping at the gas station. (Though, considering what happened later that day, stopping in the morning wound up being a good idea).

I made it into work around 7:30am, which is normal for me. While faculty don’t have to be in until 8am, I like coming in early to check emails and get myself situated for the day before the kids start to bombard my office. (Also ignore my still bare wall, I haven’t done anything with it yet).

And bombard they do…as evidenced by the fact that three hours later, this is now the state of my desk and I haven’t had the chance to do ANYTHING with it…and likely won’t until the end of the day.

Around midday, we get the notification that all after school activities are cancelled due to impending snow. I gotta be honest…I didn’t know it was supposed to snow…like at all…so this caught me completely off guard.

But, it can only throw me off guard for about two seconds because this time of the day is lunch and (since we have 2 hours – 4 periods – worth of lunch, it’s pretty much nonstop in our office for those two hours. I try to get some food in me while kids are in my office eating their lunch because I realize that I have yet to eat anything today and it’s already well after 12:00pm. I also now have to reschedule the parent meeting I was supposed to have after school, so we can add that to the list of things I need to get to sooner rather than later (that list is always long)

Once lunch ends, we have a bit of a lull in our department as students are in their last period classes. That’s usually the time of the day that I finally get to address the voicemails (that red light that plagues me all day)…

And that massive pile of stuff that’s accumulated all day is finally at least…organized. I even finally get a moment or two to just sit and reflect or…something…

But, finally, as it’s time to dismiss for the day…it’s just started snowing. Because, why wouldn’t it? I wasn’t lucky enough to work in a county that dismissed early, so I get to drive home in…this…

And it’s just as much fun as one would think. I really hate driving in snow.

It took my almost an hour and a half to get home (when it normally takes me about 25 minutes). Me being me, I immediately put pajamas and my robe on because I don’t understand people who sit around in outdoor clothes at home. It doesn’t make sense to me.

But, since I’m finally home and didn’t have to have a meeting, I finally get to finishing my blog post for that day while it continues to snow outside (and I secretly hope for a two hour delay – which happened – the next day so I can sleep in).

Once my blog work is finished, Devon has made dinner. This is a rare treat during the week. Normally we both just kind of fend for ourselves for dinner. But this night he decided to make his paella (that he won’t tell me how he makes) which is delicious. Neither of us is really into seafood, so it’s just beef and chorizo in terms of meat, but it’s a definite favorite for me.

After dinner, we head down to the basement, watch some TV and chill out for a bit. I play Solitaire on my phone (don’t judge, it’s mindless enjoyment that I like at the end of the day).

Then we head up to bed. Devon is mad because his county hasn’t delayed and won’t decide to until 5am the next morning (spoiler: they delayed) because it’s what they do. So, we collectively read and wind down before we head to sleep at the late hour of….8:45pm.