It was at least good to be back among my colleagues. It's nice to work in a profession that has so many people dedicated to making the world a better place. We don't always agree on how to do it, but everyone at least wants to make our students' lives better.
While I partially blame these "spring" conferences for confusing our local weather [February rain], I always look forward to getting to meet with parents (and, hopefully, their students) to air out any possible issues and to talk about ways we can move forward. Many of the parents I see have students who are doing fine (if not extraordinarily well), and although it might not seem like they would be the ones we need to see, the fact that they come is itself one of the reasons why their students do well. Meanwhile, I still saw a surprising number of parents (considering that it was limited spring conferences) whose students could use the extra encouragement and help in being more successful.
I still felt a bit off--I seem to be dealing with that "COVID brain" symptom that I've heard a few friends complain about--but, strange as it might have felt, it was good to be back.