SOLSC #29 Report card race of time

I am posting every day during March as part of the annual "Slice of Life" Challenge for Two Writing Teachers.  Check out their website for lots more reflections on teaching.

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Another blur of a week concludes...report cards were due yesterday. For these, I write a personalized narrative for each child, focusing on their social-emotional and academic learning (actually - the nomenclature at our school is four "I's" - Intellect, Imagination, Inquiry, and Integrity). They are not a fast write, but one that each teacher puts a lot of thought into. We also don't have a "form" or set template for these - and we work very hard to make the report cards from each classroom look 'aesthetically' alike. Yesterday afternoon, the "pedal hit the metal," and Melissa and I raced against time to -

- incorporate our Principal's edits for each individual report card,
- "cut and paste" the school's letter head, the trimester summary, and the Art teacher's blurb for each individual report card,
- download the attendance data and add it into each individual report card,
- adjust the font [Book Antiqua, size 12] for each individual report card,
- double-check the final layout before printing,
- add the report cards to Dropbox,
- send them to the printer ... whoops, they all skewed at once - where? to what printer?
- run in different directions to check the printers on different floors of our school,
- retrieve the pre-addressed stamped envelopes
- visually scan, once more, for obvious errors -  name spellings, missing attendance,
- whoops, there are a few discrepancies - Melissa gets to work on correcting these and printing out a revised report card...

I sat at the table, racing against time, and proceeded to
- fold each report card,
- match child's name on report card to address label and stuff these
- seal the envelope,
- repeat: match child's name on report card to address label and stuff these; seal the envelope,
- repeat: match child's name on report card to address label and stuff these; seal the envelope,
- repeat: match child's name on report card to address label and stuff these; seal the envelope,

Oh, no.
All of a sudden, I am holding a child's report card, but the envelope it requires is already sealed.
Oh, no.
Whose report card is in the sealed envelope?

Deep breath.
Pause.
Continue more tentatively...not sealing any more envelopes...I match the remaining report cards to envelopes.
All report cards processed, I had 3 empty envelopes and one child's report that matches an already sealed envelope.

I tentatively, cautiously, frustratingly,
open the already sealed envelope for the one child's report that is outstanding.
Voila - it has a child's report for an empty envelope.

Why are there 2 empty envelopes?

Hurriedly, desperately, madly,
Melissa and I begin squishing all the sealed envelopes - are any thicker than the others? Did I stuff two reports into one envelope?

Oh, my.
Who knows?

Finally, time running out,
we reprint the two reports to fill the remaining envelopes.

Then, we turned them in.
Making our deadline - yes, report cards completed by end of day.

Perhaps a couple of families will read their child's report plus that of another?
It is highly possible.
What have I done?
I made a real mess of things, that's what!

But, let's not be so negative -
maybe I just came up with a clever way for families to get to know each other better?