This post is sponsored by Promax. All opinions are my own.
This busy teacher and coach needs more fuel than an apple and school lunch.
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5:00 a.m.—After seven (yes, seven) alarms remind me I could be running late, I’m up. Breakfast is a banana, tea, maybe cashews, and something carb-y left over from any one of the “breakfast treats” I picked up for Saturday morning, even though it’s a Tuesday.
I love leftovers. Especially breakfast treats.
6:30(ish) a.m.—29-mile car ride to work. Morning radio, apple, and a bite of a Promax protein bar. Just a bite, though, because I know I’ll want another in an hour or so. I like to indulge with a little bit of chocolate and peanut butter in the morning. I can justify it because it’s high in protein—20 grams to be exact. Plus the ride seems shorter this way.
7:15-7:55 AM—There I am, grading papers, making copies, meeting with teachers and students, and mentally preparing for the long haul before the day officially begins when my homeroom students move on to first period (and I start teaching on through to lunch). I’ve been teaching for years and I still measure out my energy in classes. Do I have enough gum and water for the day? Is there enough time between bells to get ready for the next class? I set my mind on a certain time and push on until then.
I have to stay fresh as a teacher because my student-athletes are learning the material for the first time, even though I’ve taught it twenty-seven times over. Between classes, I might eat a tangerine and another bite of the protein bar. Lunch is hours away.
10:30 a.m.—Ah, the magic period before lunch. I’m a professional, so that means that when the time comes, I won’t trample the students as I zip over to the teacher’s lounge to heat up my lunch and return to the classroom. During class, the students eye the clock as if it will go faster because it’s being watched, and I try not to.
Like I said, I’m a professional.
11:21 AM—Ah, lunch. My 25-minute haven where I can make phone calls, check email, and avoid students and other teachers who will eventually wander into my room and start up a conversation with, “Sorry to bother you on your lunch, but…”
It will be hours until I have my afternoon snack before soccer practice… and then hours before dinner, so I’m ready to refuel. It’s also been a while since breakfast, so I eat and run on my own—while the students do the same one stairwell and a hallway away.
11:54 a.m.—Lunch is done. I eye my small list of snacks for later when I’ll have a prep period or after school. This includes a few saved chips or veggies, and of course that Promax protein bar that I’ll take one more bite out of before last period.
Before my next crop of students comes in, I fill up my water bottle and grab a stick of gum (who says “stick of gum” anymore?)—since I talk all day, I need both. Teaching students after lunch can be difficult because all their blood escapes their brains and goes to the stomach. But we’re in this together, and we push on toward that long-sought goal of the last bell.
2:30 p.m.—I’ve done it. I’ve taught another day. Now, I get ready to coach soccer and then pick up my kids at piano afterwards.
On the soccer field, I try to keep up with the boys (which no 37-year-old should do) and, between whistles and shouts, I gauge myself so I’m not running out of energy before the day is done.
At least we’re not playing an away game, where I’m hours from seeing my kids or the dinner table. And no, I don’t have any extra protein bars for the student-athletes, but they need them more than I do. What was life like when your metabolism was sky-high?
5:30 p.m.—I scarf the last of my Chocolate Peanut Crunch and an apple from the morning as I drive back home to the wife and kids. After soccer season, I might switch to Lower Sugar or Carb Sense protein bars just because, at my age, I need the extra protein without the extra pounds from sugar and carbs. You know how it is.
6:15(ish)p.m.—Home.
Nothing is as good as that moment when the kids’ homework is done, their bags and coats are put away, and we can all relax and breathe before dinner. This is that sweet spot of moments where seeing the wife and kids after a long day is nothing but enjoyable (although my own “homework” of grading essays and quizzes awaits for when the kids are asleep).
If only dinner and post-dinner time with them would last as long as the longest parts of the day. But time is relative—–I think we learned that in science class.
And as far as energy goes, I’m out of “classes” and ready for rest.
We do this all over again, tomorrow, right?
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Photos: Jeremy McKeen