What I Did on My February Vacation: Part 1

An 8-year-old and an 11-year-old beat me in Monopoly today. When they decided to join forces against me, I actually reached for the rule book. I quickly harnessed my competitive nature and told myself that it is okay for me to lose a game to a few elementary school kids (once in a great while).

(P.S. At one point, I had 3 houses each on my Park Place and Boardwalk properties... Damn.)

Leaky Buckets and Valentine's Day Dreams

After a fun-filled/exhausting/raucous long weekend, I was not quite ready to come back to school today. Last night being an unofficial Sunday evening I, of course, did not sleep a bit. I could not relax my mind long enough to trick it into an even fitful slumber. 10:30... 11:20...12: 30... and just as I fall asleep my body reminds itself that, with such little sleep, I might just oversleep and I begin again... 2:30, 3:30, 4:00 and I might as well get up. I practically fall asleep in the shower as I shampoo my hair, stare blankly into my closet dripping wet for 5 minutes, finally decide on black pants and a light pink shirt (how novel for me), choke down the strongest coffee I have ever made and head out the door. After my quick half-hour commute, I enter my school building at 5:55 a.m. On my way in I am reminded by WBUR's Bob Oakes that it is indeed Valentine's Day and I silently congratulate myself on a keen wardrobe decision. I also remember that I have to prepare 2000 flower "grams" for their delivery (albeit late) tomorrow. The day passed in a blur and I was reawakened by the flower delivery guy at 2:30 when he said, "Ma'am, these flowers are probably going to die if you don't get them into water soon." Double Heh? He called me ma'am and...They were stacked up in 7 different 3-foot long cardboard boxes. Where the h does he expect me to get waterproof containers for all these stems?

By 6:15 p.m. all 1865 (Civil War, what..?) flowers were successfully attached to their proper Valentine's Day messages. Thanks to the NJHS students, myself, my co-advisor, 2 other teachers (thanks Ms. M and Ms. S!), the 5 Pizza Hut pizzas we ordered, and every single spare garbage can, recycling bin, and bucket we could get our hands on, the appropriate middle school Valentine's Day drama will ensue tomorrow.

(By the way, with every carnation I affixed, I laughed to myself that not even one of these flowers will ultimately end up in my hands. Truth be told, I purchased Valentine's flowers for myself just this past weekend and they were fabulously gorgeous. Honestly, after another 12-hour school day, all I need for this Valentine's Day is a pink night gown, Tobey, Ginger, and my comfy bed. Seriously, what else could a girl ask for...? :)

And We Shall Call Him Valentino

My cousin's dog had puppies last week. Uh oh... there are still 5 cute males left and I have a school vacation coming up (perfect for training a sweet baby canine). I told my mom I was going to name my new puppy Mr. Valentine, but she insisted that Valentino was more appropriate. Do you see what's going on here...? She stopped discouraging me. Do I smell a joint-custody opportunity? I may just be a mom sooner than I think.

Warning: Possible Side Effects May Include...

The last party straggler did not leave until 7 p.m. tonight (the day after our party). He watched movie after movie with us, laughed at the absurdity of the night before, and even participated in the cleaning of our apartment for a solid 8 hours today. At around 5 p.m., I inquired about the boy's name and who he belonged to. My investigation was cut short though when I realized that my fellow housemates and friends had similar questions. Sadly, when the chap finally put his shoes on and left, not one of us could remember his name.

Profound.

Every day my kids have a "warm-up" to complete which helps to get them settled and focused. It is usually in the form of a question or short activity. Last Wednesday I asked kids to comment on the President's State of the Union Address. If they watched it, they had to tell me what they thought was the most important part of his speech. If they didn't watch it, they were supposed to tell me what they think the President should cover when he gives a speech to the American people. Most kids commented on the war, poverty, drugs, etc. One child wrote this:

"I would like the president to talk about the issue that is happening. Like that sneakers are getting more expensive."

Looks like I have my work cut out for me.

(Actually, this is a very genuine concern. At least he recognizes that material items like sneakers are expensive and difficult for parents to spend money on. There is a lot of pressure for kids to have brand name clothes and costly game systems like the Xbox 360. These are items that are very visible to their peers.)

Flu Season

So I have been sick for about 2 weeks now. Shortly after my birthday I started to lose my voice which is usually a sure bet that I am going to get sick soon. Per usual, I kept on keeping on and then, half a month later, I crashed. I got about 3 hours a sleep Friday night and worked all day on Saturday with 5-11 year-olds. Needless to say, when I got out of that cold, dry room I was coughing like the Marlboro Man. Sunday, I could not function. Monday, I slept until 3. ( I usually get far less sleep so if my body was able to sleep this long, I was clearly not okay.) Tuesday I was reluctant to call in, but did so anyways and am so happy that I did because that extra day did wonders for my immune system.

Today is Wednesday. I took a Cold and Sinus/Stuffy Nose/Sore Throat something-or-other at 6 a.m. and the rest of the morning was smmmooooooooooooth sailing. I was an outsider looking in as I maintained an internal dialogue (much more so than usual). I was somehow juggling 20 tasks (more so than usual) while leading a multi-step, hands-on activity for my kids. In the middle of giving instructions, I would pause for a solid 30 seconds, lose my train of thought, and one of my aces would pull through with a "Ms. Hinkell, you were just saying..." In between classes was equally as blurry. I had kids hugging me and welcoming me back, asking "Ms. Hinkell, where were Monday and Tuesday?" (ummmm, would "the moon" be an appropriate answer?)

I almost reached my breaking point when, during Period 3 (my largest class), at least 8 students were asking me questions at once. Three things were very wrong with that situation:
#1: I DO NOT respond to a student unless they have raised their hand first.
#2: I had already answered the question they were asking 3 times before.
#3: They were all asking the very SAME question.

HEH? That's okay though, it only added to the absurdity of my day.

Anyhow, for those that care, I am feeling much better now. Well enough, in fact, to go to a Bruins game tomorrow night with Big Dave. Go. Team.