First Week

We have completed a full week with students.
It has felt like we are doing marathon teaching with so many classes, advisory and planning periods. But ironically it feels like we have already been in school for weeks.

I am drained at the end of the day.
My feet ache from standing most of the day.
And my creativity is mushed....squashed....
And being a junior class sponsor means working the concession stand at the games....talk about work.....the fast food industry......a good reason for these kids to get an education so they do not have to do this sort of work for the rest of their lives.

The other day one of the older women at church commented that my job is fun. People often think that teaching art is fun and there are times in the day that it is. I guess if you like to listen to the tragic love stories of the young and wasted (I mean restless) watch football jokes (oops, I mean jocks) strut like roosters in the hen yard, see cheerleaders bounce their way into the rooms, hear the drummers parade down the hallways on football Fridays while you are trying to impress precious knowledge into the minds of a room full of wiggling teens and lead room fulls of kids to discover how to "make things pretty" in 45 minutes or less every day several times a day then sure, teaching art is fun.

But really for me.....I do like it. I love the drum roll down the hallway, especially knowing my own nephew is taking part in it. I cringe when the kids cry on my shoulder about their "loves" but understand that they believe this is the most important time of their lives and that the years to come will be the downhill side of their lives. (What a surprise they are in for. ) I grow tired of disciplining but when I can assist a young lady from being sexually harassed by boys, I am all over that.

And where else could I be caught drawing in class and everyone think I am doing my job?

Thanks Jackie for Missing Me

Hi, all.
Yes, Jackie, it is time for a new post.
I have been o-u-t-o-f-p-o-c-k-e-t!
First a week long trip to California with my sister where we had a great time with my nephew and his sweet little family (Linda's grandchildren). We drove up into the mountains where we stayed the weekend and went into the Sequoia National Forest. Then back to Lemoore for the babies 1st birthday party and remodeling big sister's room to be appropriate for a big 1st grader. It was really fun.




I never got to drop off my luggage at home before I got dropped off at the doctor's office to help Lee who was having to spend the day in the office having cancer cut out of his arm. What an experience getting to spend the day in a dermatologist's office waiting with a bunch of old men having parts cut off! By 8:00 PM when we finally got to leave we had made friends with some of the other men waiting for their results like Lee. One old man left looking like a rabbit with his ears bobbed. Another one looking like he caught his nose in a vise and wrapped it with a hand towel. Men sprang leaks and bled all over, puddling down their shirts and all over. Lee messed up the cafeteria pretty badly. (can't take him anywhere) But in the end we finally arrived home in one piece (well I was anyway, and he was stitched up pretty much.)

From there....a day or two of cleaning up, washing clothes and packing for a trip to visit my grandmother who turned 100 on Saturday. Yep! 100! And in good shape. She looks no different to me than when I was a child except she stopped putting the purple rinse on her hair so she has white hair instead of violet. She is the most beautiful 100 year old woman you will ever meet.

How lucky am I?

Now Let Us Pray

With four children within a five year and 5 month span you know I heard as many funny things coming from my children as the next lady heard from hers. My children were cute, my grandchildren are still cute and I am sure when they have children they will be cute. But we were so busy raising our children that by the time I collected the children, settled them down, stripped them off and got them in the bathtub at the end of the day my busy mind had forgotten what had taken place an hour before. I would sit there on the side of the tub drying off little bodies and would think, "something was funny today...what was it?". If I did not remember it then and repeat the tale to someone else then it was lost for eternity. Why is it that other people could remember the funny things their children said but I could not. It may have had something to do with the number of children in such a small range of time. I am not quite sure if it is that I had pregnancy brain or if I lost brain cells with each child I bore or if I just lost my sense of humor progressively with the birth of each child. Somewhere over the years I did regain my sense of humor. It may not be as sharp as some but still I know funny when I hear it....sometimes, it is what they say, sometimes, it is what you thought and sometimes, it is what they do. All in all, children do bring humor into our lives.

• Reagan is a five year old girly-girly. She loves to dress in princess dresses, put on jewelry and wear lip gloss and get her toes painted. As her mother tried to paint her toes Reagan kept up a ceaseless dialogue while she wiggled and squirmed. Finally her mother said, "Reagan you must sit still if you want me to paint your toe nails." Reagan replied, "But I can not sit still with my mouth flapping up and down all the time."
  

• Two and a half year old Reese was with me in the kitchen today. I had fixed her a small sandwich of toast and peanut butter and as I handed the sandwich down to her she looked up at me with her clear blue eyes and so sweetly said "Pwa". I questioned, "Pwa?" and she confirmed, "I want Pwa". So I knelt beside this precious child and put my arm around her and said a little prayer and thanked God for her food and her family as I thought what a wonderful job my son and his wife are doing with this child who would request a prayer before her meal.
  Amen.
  The prayer ended. I stood up and turned, pleased with life, I was ready to go about my business when Reese looked up at me so sweetly and politely repeated her request "I need Pwa-t". Stunned for a mere second. I thought there was a new twist to the request this time and it changed my whole perspective. Opening a cabinet, pulling out a small plate, I handed her a plate and she was satisfied.
  

• And last but now least the cute:
  I offered Reese chocolate kisses, "would you like a chocolate kiss".
  Sweetly Reese leaned in kissed me and I handed her the chocolate.
  Although I tried to tell her the candy was a chocolate kiss again, I asked, "would you like a chocolate kiss?" Reese leaned in kissed me and I handed over the kiss.
  I gave her one to give her mother. She leaned in kissed her mother and then gave her the chocolate.
  

I think I shall keep chocolate kisses at my house for that girl.

Lonely Away from Home

What do you do when you are alone in a new town and lonely?

Holly is off to college for the first time ever, in a new town, alone, classes will not start for a few weeks still, no job but searching for one and lonely. She met people at church Sunday morning but few students attend evening services and she left "crying like a baby".

Okay, it breaks my heart. Luckily a few days ago she talked me into doing a facebook account and I added her name along with others. Today she IM'ed me through our facebook accounts and she is l-o-n-e-l-y. It was by accident I left my computer on with my facebook account open at 5:30 when Belva came over. An hour later when I returned there was Holly's message. Now at nearly 9:00 I still have it open and have kept up a slow dialog with Holly and hooked her up someone else there by texting a mother who texted her son who contacted Holly and now Holly will at least see another familiar face.

Today I am thankful I live in the 21st century.

What do you advise a lonely girl?