As some of you know, I graduated last spring from BYU with a B.S. degree in Communication Disorders. Since then I have been working as a Speech Language Pathologist Assistant (SLPA) or Speech Therapist for short, at a K-6th grade elementary school here in Utah. It has been such a challenging new adventure that I have grown to love. However, never in my wildest dreams did I expect to have to take that adventure online for the last 2.5 months of my first year as “the speech teacher” – here is a realistic day in my life during this crazy time:

8:15am: Alarm goes off – dreadful…I am not a morning person.

I roll out of bed, literally giving myself no time to get ready for the day. 

Typical morning routine: brush my teeth & hair, throw on a sweatshirt, and take my thyroid meds…that’s about it.

I promptly take my spot on the couch, surrounded by a notebook & a pen, a binder of materials, my laptop, and a blanket.

9:00am: I start my first session of the day – all of my sessions take place over a video chat platform of some kind so that I can actually see my students – so fun and often times, hilarious.

9:00am-2:00pm: Sessions with my adorable kids (about 9-10 half hour sessions, back to back – I have about 40 sessions a week).

Any time in between sessions is either spent documenting the previous session or preparing for the next one – gathering materials, emailing or texting parents reminders or homework assignments & scrolling Pinterest or Epic Books looking for a fun activity, a new game to play, or an easy book to read.

2:00pm: My sessions are complete & I finally throw something together for lunch – a sandwich, cereal, or leftovers.

I relax a little bit during this time. I’m pretty burnt out after teaching and chatting with my students for 5 straight hours (sending prayers for the other SLTs and SLPs, like my aunt, who are doing even more). I listen to a podcast or watch YouTube videos while I send emails and document or gather more materials.

4:00-5:00pm: As lazy as it sounds, I make sure our apartment is clean and then I crawl back in bed to read a book, listen to a podcast, or keep watching YouTube videos, or on a rare occasion, take a nap. 

5:00pm: Sean is done with work! We cook dinner together or order something on DoorDash…

6:00pm: We sit down to decompress for the night – we play Golf Battle on our phones while watching Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives on Food Network. Sometimes we will watch a new movie or binge watch a series on Netflix. We cuddle on the couch and just chill – occasionally we’ll go for a walk or take a drive. Every 2 weeks we’ll go to the grocery store or pick up cookies. Some nights we FaceTime our families or play games together.

*We honestly do this until we are ready for bed…

10:00pm: We crawl from the couch to our bed, read our scriptures, pray together, scroll through Instagram, and chat for a little bit before we struggle to fall asleep.

*Has this weird time messed with anyone else’s sleep schedule? We have the hardest time falling asleep these days…terrible.

But that’s it…then we start over the next day with pretty much the same routine!

It’s a fun challenge to think of new things to do to keep ourselves entertained. We have recently discovered an amazing trail and park behind our apartment – very exciting!

Despite how strange this experience has been and how much our schedules and typical routines have been turned upside down, I am so unbelievably grateful for this time. Overall, I feel more relaxed and centered. I think in the past year, due to all of the changes that have taken place, I slowly turned into a more high strung, stressed out person than I would like to admit and I’m sure my husband would agree. 

After the past couple of months of quarantine, I feel a bit better. Sean and I have grown closer (we honestly don’t have a choice, we live in a tiny apartment and are together 24/7). Of course we have arguments (like any couple) but we talk it out and get over it. We are also just sillier with each other, I think we might both be going a bit crazy, but it’s fun!

I have also learned so much more about how to do my job – I never expected to have to adapt in this way during my first year. I faced a steep learning curve at the beginning of the year and then once we went online, I had to jump a few more hurdles to make teletherapy functional and efficient for myself and my students. I would be lying if I said it wasn’t a very exhausting challenge. But, is it terrible to say that I am actually enjoying myself?

Of course I miss my friends & going out to eat or strolling through HomeGoods. But I also remember months ago, crying as I walked out the door to go to work because all I wanted was for Sean and I to just stay home together all day, and guess what, that dream, oddly enough, came true. Obviously not in the way I had ever wanted or expected, but despite it all, I am grateful. 

I miss my students and getting to see them and hug them everyday, but more than anything (and I am sure any educator can relate) I pray for their happiness and well being during this time that they don’t quite understand. Some of my kids and their families are having a tremendously difficult time, online schooling is overwhelming, and my heart breaks for them. On the other hand, some of my kids are thriving, they enjoy being home, and showing me their pets instead of practicing their /R/ words…I love it.

We only have a couple of weeks left until Summer – I think we all desperately need a break, but I hope that next school year, when we are (hopefully) back together again in my cute speech room, that we can look back on this time with grateful hearts and that it will remind us to slow down and cherish the time we get to spend together. A few of my kids might even finally learn how to say Mrs. McGetrick – but for now, being “the speech teacher” on a Zoom call is just fine.