Backhanded Insult?

Dear Neighbors:

Since the school year began on August first, I have been completely overwhelmed. It's been difficult to plan lessons, get all of my grading done, and deal with all of the special needs of my increasingly needy class. As you may know, the act of teaching is the smallest part of a teacher's job. I've been forced to adopt the accepted theory that the person who yells the loudest will get what he or she needs first. Everyone, of course, believes that his or her requests should be handled with priority and that everyone else's concerns can wait. 

And that's just work. 

It's no wonder that I was perturbed today when, as I was copying a parent newsletter to be sent home in my students' Friday work folders, a co-worker observed my newsletter and snarkily commented, "For someone who is so overwhelmed, you must have a lot of time on your hands." What is the point of such an observation, I had to wonder? Why say something so incredibly rude? I replied that it is my goal this year to maintain better contact with the parents and to do a better job of keeping them informed of classroom and school news. I would rather send home the information once than answer twenty-something e-mails to that effect. 

Still, I couldn't help but feel flustered that a co-worker to whom I have always been polite would say something so incredibly childish. Creating a four-page newsletter takes me no more than twenty minutes. I'm a fast, experienced typist and the new Microsoft Word newsletter template makes it incredibly simple to create an impressive-looking newsletter in no time at all. 

Still, though.

It seems that every time I go out of my way to do anything, someone has to throw a "you have too much time on your hands" comment. My hypersensitive side despondently concludes that the other person:

• thinks that I have no life, so I fill my empty time with worthless pursuits;
• is criticizing me for not managing my time well and assuming that I will do something fun and creative before I will take care of my responsibilities; or,
• is trying to send a not-so-subtle, rude message that if I have a moment to myself, there's something I should be doing and I'm too stupid to figure out what it is (what is it, by the way?).

All I know is that I will probably avoid this person in the future. It won't be easy, but every time I look at her, the only thing on my mind will be her thoughtlessly rude comment.

And it wasn't a great week to begin with. It didn't help that earlier in the day, another co-worker asked me if I would be joining the on campus weight loss group. So now I'm a time-wasting heifer,  apparently. I explained to her that no, I wouldn't be joining because I have no interest in dedicating time to losing weight. I'm perfectly happy with my body the way it is (which is true). She backpedaled and expelled a load of verbal diarrhea about how she's been eating like a pig and needs to get it under control, etc. All the while, I couldn't help but wonder if, to everyone else, I look like a blimp. 

I suddenly remember why I enjoyed being antisocial. I think I'll try it again. 

Currently anti-other-people,

D