AARP and dinner at 4pm here I come!

So I'm starting to look forward to my birthday. Understand that I typically love all things birthday...and all things me-related. So even though I was going to be that religion that doesn't celebrate b-days, I have since repented and gone back to the almighty candle and cake and present celebration.

Yup, I was looking forward to it UNTIL a kid called me something today:

Nana.

I'm sorry. Do I look like your 55 year old hispanic grandma named Nana? No I do not.

I've gotten Mom, Mommy, and even Daddy before (to the kid's credit, he doesn't have a mom -uh because he has TWO dads- so calling me Daddy was 'normal') but NEVER in all my years has anyone called me the name of a grandparent.

My wish for my birthday this year is to not resemble anyone's Nana. And to not lose my dentures when I blow out the candles.

What are the odds?

We are learning the -am word family this week (jam, ham, clam, etc) and a little sweety yelled out, "DAM!" He was trying to get under my skin but I drew a picture of a beaver and river and I must have used the word 'dam' 19 times just to prove it was okay to say 'dam' in school. They were shocked and amazed and now it's their favorite word and use it at every possible moment. Man I wish I were a fly on the wall around the dinner table in some of those houses! "Mom, Miss Rose taught us the word 'dam' today." Once again, I'm teacher of the year.


At library center a kid brought up a magazine that showed a beaver and a 'lodge.' I then showed the lodge/dam to the class and used the word 'dam' 12 more times.


I had a faculty meeting after school about interventions for kids (Side note: here is my strategy for intervention, "Hi Mr./Mrs. ____, your kid is special. Like special ed special.") Anyway, these types of trainings typically last 2 hours and are painful. I had a phone interview with the CFO of our school district today at 5pm and I was afraid the training would run late and I was quite nervous to speak with the CFO. Needless to say, he lives for talking to kindergarten teachers seeing as how I completely understand zero-balanced budgeting, a 500+ million dollar budget, GFOA, and the relationship between the private and governmental sectors relating to a school district. Excuse me, do what? Precisely my thoughts. BUT...I had to press on because my paper is due in two short days and this phone interview was all I could think about towards the end of the day. I get to the intervention training and the counselor has a power point up that just brought everything into the light of humor. It said, "Have you hugged a beaver today?" and had a picture of Buc-ee.


What are the odds that I would encounter beavers and dams so many times in one day? That is why I love teaching.


I have NO IDEA what Buc-ee's and the beaver have to do with intervention training. It was basically just comical relief since we hate the trainings and the counselor thought it would make us smile to have a "beaver as our training mascot."


Something inside told me that posting the bumper sticker of "Have you hugged a beaver today?" outside your window when you are an elementary school counselor is just not right. I don't know about you, but I get the giggles when I hear the word 'beaver.' I giggle harder when I hear, "Have you hugged a beaver today?"

Sweetness...

There is nothing better in life than walking holding the hand of a sweet little 6-year-old (that may or may not belong to you), her looking up and saying, "I love you Miss Rose," and meaning it with all her heart.

Okay maybe there is something better: the little devil in your class -who is really just a teeny pill away from being the brightest and kindest child on earth- come in first thing in the morning and yell, "I'M SO GLAD TO BE BACK!" and it doesn't even make you angry he's yelling because he's so happy to be at school because it's better than wherever else he's been. And then he gives you a hug.

These two things make me forget everything else and remember that it's all okay.

(The second good thing does make me have a glass of wine tonight, however.)

Somewhere between 20 and 40...

I don't have anything clever to say today. Today might as well be filed under, "Days to Never Repeat Again" along with the day you saw your puppy get run over by a car or find out that you won't graduate in a month because you are 3 credits shy when we all know that the advisor told you your degree plan was "good to go!" Not that either of those things have happened to me.

Because they haven't.

I'm just saying that those would be days to never repeat again. Much like today.

The house I really wanted -and was really planning to make an offer on in a couple of days- was taken from me out of the blue (um, I didn't even know there was another interested party) and I'm working hard on my paper that is due on Friday but it's time-consuming (hmmm...funny how graduate school is like that) and I'm all confused about this boy and I can't figure out how to archive posts and I'm about to have another birthday. Another one.

Tomorrow I'm going to start being that religion that doesn't celebrate birthdays. But I'm gonna celebrate everything else...just not birthdays. And I won't worship anything false if they tell me to, or drink potion, or have babies with some dude that has like 17 baby mommas. Just no. more. birthdays. Please.

Brand spankin' new

When I was in college, my brother gave me some very sage advice, "Why do today what you can put of until tomorrow?" Ah yes. The answers I have come up with include, "You can use your time for other things; You will be able to review your work with time; You won't be stressed out..." but let's be honest...those answers suck. I live for stress and no time and submitting a first draft. This a first draft. I bet you can't even tell.

Okay so I have a HUGE assignment due on Friday and I decided that I should create a blog. Right now. Not when the assignment is finished; not when I need a study break...NOW. It's just how I roll.

Gone are the days where I would email out my blogs. I am now posting them for all the world to read. That's a little scary. But frankly, I don't care because I don't get out much. If you don't know me, you might think that is a little odd and wonder if that is true. Keep reading, folks. And check the archives (um, when I figure out how to post archives).