A Day in the Life

6:30 – Wake up

8:00 – Daven Shachrit with the GMSG

8:30 – Teach Jewish history in the GMSG

10:15 – Pre-K 4 comes to the office to invite me to their Shabbat Party on Friday.  In keeping with the Parsha, they are inviting guests to their “tent”; complete comments on report cards for high school classes

11:30 – meet with Office Staff

12:00 – Teach  AP US Gov

1:00 – Grab some sloppy Joes from the hot lunch line; ( Sandra looks at my purple hat and purple dickey and asks me if I know it is purple day in pre-k 3);chow down while visitors roam in and out of my office, apologizing for interrupting my lunch ( no problem – I don’t like eating alone!!)

1:30 – Return tray to the kitchen, encounter Barbara Kutner on the way – make an appointment to visit the pre-k 3 room dressed in purple; return to office to attack emails; office in an uproar – Where is the banner from last year’s tournament?  Ahh Erica to the rescue!! Check on ads – for house on Conwell, for high school open house.

1:50 – Samantha stops by to remind me to visit the pre-k ( good thing, I was so absorbed in the emails I didn’t look at the clock!) I, in purple, was given the royal treatment by the pre-k.  I visited their “tent “and was provided with hospitality –a bag of SkoobyDo  cookies that got the pre-k 3 students drooling, and got to share their circle time ( them on the floor, me on a chair); Chany drops off paintings made by high school students to judge for their Renaissance Fair – I can only say “wow!!”.

3:30 – Meeting with a parent – First remark – “Don’t worry Mrs. Kutliroff, everything is fine.  My son loves this school.  Conversation about possible joint programs with other Jewish children in the city during Chanukah – following up on the good vibes of the “Shabbos Project” and thinking about ways to expand on the concept and include more members of the community.

4:30 – Try to sneak out to vote; caught up in the hallway to discuss recent issues that have presented themselves over the course of the day.

5:15 – Vote at Shady Grove elementary school

6:00 – Prepare dinner ( easy – we still have leftovers from Shabbat); catch up on the day with Jerry

8:00 – Attend meeting of Alumni Committee

9:30 – Think about newsletter article for this week – read through relevant section in Rabbi Shlomo Riskin’s memoir , LISTENINGtoGOD, finish cleaning up from dinner; final view for the day of family Whatsap – Is Gavi really going to be on “X Factor Israel?” Check on election results – Yup, I knew it – a Republican sweep!!

10:45 – Settle in bed with A Murder in Lemberg, the latest selection for the Jewish Book Club at Baron Hirsch; can’t really fall asleep – muse about the day – What a wonderful life I have; I feel blessed!!