Is it just me, or did life just speed up? Welcome to the end of the school year.

I have no idea what life is like outside of an educational setting, so my idea of time is somewhat shaped by my contract. For me, New Year's Day is really the first day of school; it doesn't matter what the date is, my school life starts then. October means Halloween and scary stories (well, not too scary) for the primary students. Conferences, Thanksgiving, and the build-up to Christmas - that's November and December. The traditional New Year's Day means winter break is almost over, and it's back to business. Bring on the tissues and hand sanitizer - it's cough and cold season as we come get back to learning and share germs like crazy. January and February have a couple of 3-day weekends built in, plus the thrill of a possible snow day or two, and then it's March - the doldrums of the year. March lasts forever, and seems like a couple of months until Spring Break, which always comes as a huge relief. I often wonder if I'm going to make it to the first week of April. School is okay in April, but the BIG TEST begins to loom, and I fear I won't be able to get all of the math in that the kids need to have for the test. You would think that once the test is over, life would settle down, but no, that is not the case. Instead, time simultaneously slows down AND picks up, if that is possible. Life becomes a series of checklists. 5 Interviews as part of the interview team, check. Really long presentation before the school board, check. Retirement parties, check. More Interviews for the vacant positions that just came up, check. Bug kids to return library books, check. Listen to the disbelief and denials of overdue books, check. Literacy Night, check. Dance recital of a graduating senior, check. MAP test, check. Title I Parent Night, check. Start and hopefully finish library inventory, check. Finals, check. Turn in textbooks, check. Attend graduation, check. Complete room inventory after I find the orange folder I might not have turned in last year, check. Grades due, check. Go crazy, check, check, check. Yes, the end of the school seems as though it will never arrive, and when it does finally get close, I always realize I need more time! That's school life, I guess...