The Game

I drove #1 son and two of his HighSchoolHomeys up to Indy last night to play the wild sport of lacrosse. Lacrosse is a confusing game. I very much enjoy watching it, but I usually have no idea what's happening. I sat next to a gal who was filming the game with her flip. The entire game. Her son watches his mom's films in order to perfect his game. This gal knew everything about lacrosse. As she filmed she explained things that were happening whenever she wasn't screaming directions to her son and my son and the other players. The game ended in a tie, 16 to 16. Her son was our rep in an over time scrimmage kind of thing. He got the ball early and started running towards the goal. She held up her flip, filming, but kept her face buried in the crook of her other arm. Her son ended up scoring, giving us a fantastic victory. She missed it, but she can watch it later.

The Education

An Education is an odd movie. Tonight I've been reading on the internets about the episode from Barber's memoir on which this movie's based. I had some ideas about the movie that ended up being incorrect. It's kind of an unpleasant story either way. But the acting was quite good. And if you want to see it you probably should.

The Scarf

I helped out in a 2nd grade room today, giving a dreadful test to a small group of kiddos. A test that was entirely too hard for them. I felt horrible by the end as I scooped up pages and told them, "Job well done." Later a little urchin found me in my office. She had my scarf which must have fallen off me in my frenzy to read bits and pieces of test passages to the kiddos. I thanked her for returning it and she bunched it up next to her face and told me, "I saw it on the floor and I didn't know whose it was. So I picked it up and I smelled it and smelled it and smelled it and I thought it was yours!"

I was tempted to ask her if the scarf smelled okay to her, but then I figured I'd leave well enough alone. I have enough to worry about right now.

The Signs

The K's read about Dr. MLK Jr. this week. During free choice time, I brought index cards and tongue depressors and tape. I said, "Dr. King had a lot of messages and sometimes he would be in marches and carry signs. Let's make some signs like the ones Dr. King would carry." A group of K's took up the invite with gusto. They wrote signs like "Everybody can be nice to everybody" and "I love all of you" and "Hold Hands." After we made our signs we walked around the classroom during free choice time, in a big circle, holding our signs aloft. The k's playing with blocks or over in the kitchen area gave us supportive nods and smiles as they continued their play. It was pretty neat.

The Craziness

Today we had a Colts Pride rally at school. I didn't go because I was at my desk working on common assessments for a few different grade levels. But I heard the screaming and the clapping. It sounded like a really good time. I asked a friend about "Blue" the mascot, and I was surprised to hear her report that Blue didn't want to pose for pictures and had a brusque manner. Not the way to cultivate fans, Blue! Everyone had a Colts shirt on today but I don't have a Colts shirt, so I wore a blue and white print blouse. I plan to get a Colts jersey, asap, despite Blue's rudeness.

The Trip

Teendaughter left this morning. We're not too happy about that. But we're grateful for a long fun visit. Referring to the fist of 5, this visit was certainly a 5 and then some. Both TD and #1 Son have incredible energy. They are movers and shakers who pack their days and nights like alpacas. I'm amazed how they can stay up late night after night visiting with pals. I probably should stay up late too, but I love sleep so much. Could my love of sleep be keeping me from a range of untold adventures? It's something to ponder.

The Tournament

Our #1 son is having a super smash bros tournament downstairs. We have about 10 boys down there, playing their hearts out, trying to win their brackets. We're watching the Colts upstairs. I hope the Colts win. Husbandman feels I should not blog during the Colts playoff game and perhaps he has a point. I just missed a great play. This is a night of fine competitions.

The Movies

Tomorrow I will have my implant procedure. Which as we all know, involves sedation. Teendaughter rented 4 movies for us to watch tomorrow: I Love You Man, Sense and Sensibility, Public Enemy and of course, Bourne Identity. Despite the sedation and the movies, I do feel a little nervous. What if the people say negative things about me while I'm sedated? And what if I feel discomfort or even pain after I get home? What if my 3 day weekend is negatively impacted? And what about that 4% chance that this procedure won't even work? I don't mean to sound like a big fat downer, but I do have a few worries.

The Oddity

I went to the grocery store today and I parked my car. I saw 10 crows pecking at something. Is that a ham, I asked myself. So I walked closer and saw that the crows were pecking at a huge uncooked unwrapped turkey. Had to be a 25 pounder. It was somewhat upsetting but I stood there watching the crows eating the turkey for awhile. Then I called Teendaughter and #1 son and suggested that they come over to check this oddity out. They both declined, but that's okay. I'll never forget the crows eating the turkey.

The Work

This unexpected 4 day weekend? I didn't expect it at all. And come to find out, I got a ton of stuff done. That just proves that work days should be cancelled randomly, or in layman's terms, willy nilly. The gift of the unexpected free day has amazing results in terms of productivity. But why is this so? Please discuss among yourselves.

The Snow

This day has been pleasant. I'm teaching Teendaughter to crochet. We have a fire going. # 1 son is listening to his ipod and walking in circles through the homestead. Husbandman's learning about non linear schrodinger equations. We're doing our best, forgetting the rest.

The Dike

Teendaughter walked in on a story I was sharing about someone using the word "dyke."

She quickly interjected, "I do not use that word."

Husbandman asked her, "What if you were in Holland and you were near some canals and you were actually near a structure that held back the water?"

"Still wouldn't use it," she said confidently. "I find it disrespectful."

The Surgeon

The oral surgeon was having a grand old time showing me all the nifty tricks he can do with his computer to assist him in a tooth implant. "See how cool this is? I can calibrate exactly how far to drill into your bone. We've got a good 11 to 13 millimeters right here. We're not going to hit nerves til 15 centimeters, down here. I drill a small hole and then I push this titanium screw right into it." After 5 minutes of excited rambling, he asked, "Are you okay?"

"Well, it all looks good. I'm maybe a little freaked out about the whole drilling into my bone thing."

He was quiet for a few seconds and then offered, "Maybe we should sedate you."

"Yes, let's do that."

The End

Obviously, vacation's over and it's time to get serious. I had planned to finish a list of tasks which I did not finish. And that's problematic for me because these tasks had to be finished by tomorrow. Oh well. I'm a flawed human being. That's basically the bottom line.

I didn't get work done because I saw Sherlock Holmes this afternoon. It was a lot of fighting and Sherlock Holmes mumbling his various discoveries, but it was okay. If you want to see it, you should.

The Desk

I went in to the compound today and cleaned my desk and my email inbox. I had emails that were almost one year old that I've been saving and feeling daily guilt about not answering. I answered them all. I wrote to one former student teacher, "I'm sorry I never responded about writing you a letter of recommendation. And I'm sorry I don't have time to write you one now. But I still like you and think you're good." I answered a bunch of stuff like that. To one woman who told me she had emailed me 5 times, as if I didn't know already, I wrote, "I'm sorry you wrote so many times. Yes I did read all your emails and I have no excuse for not responding to them. To answer your question, I did enjoy getting a doctorate degree and teaching at the same time. You should definitely go for it, if you haven't done so already. Again, I apologize." After the email cleared out, I worked on the desk. I even used windex wipes. Then I took out my new cool mousepad. The desk really looks attractive.