war story

 

Tom & I sat out on the porch with a bottle of wine last night & told old stories. In the tradition of porch stories, a good one gets better the more it's told.

So here we go...

the year is 1970.

The powers that be are sending young men to fight an old mens' war, At this time ,it was in Viet Nam. things haven't changed too much since then.

My future husband is 18.

He is sitting with his mom, watching the draft lottery on tv & wondering if his entire future will be changed at that moment. (for those of you who aren't familiar, at that time there was a lottery to pick those who would be drafted into the military. They drew the birthdates of all 18 yr old men on live tv and  your number depended on when & if you would get a notice in the mail from Uncle Sam that began chillingly with "Greetings...")

Tom's mom was incensed. "well,it doesnt' matter what your number is,"she sputtered. "I've done my part! They sent one of my sons over there and shot him! He still wakes up screaming! You are just not going! I'll write you a note!"

Well, Tom still says he won the lottery

. He got a high number, but I treasure the thought of him showing up at the local draft board with a note reading"please excuse my son from this war..."

 

It is a stormy day & I love it. If it's pretty, I feel like I must be out & about,but Caitlin & Tom are napping & Mariah is gone for the weekind....

I'm guilt-free.

I have a note?

my interview

i was so excited to see that Rebecca, who has the wonderful journal In the shadow of the Iris, wants to interview me. The great thing about journaling is we get to feel famous!

Let me begin with a disclaimer...I am home from work with a toothache, waiting for my dentist appointment and have been up all night. I hope I dont' embarrass myself! Don't feel too much sympathy for me,though. I am really anesthesized on pain pills! 

 
In The Shadow Of The Iris
Interview
Comment from: sunnyside46
"oh, I wanna play!
Marti"

Marti,     I'm so glad you decided to play along. I think this is a great way to get to know even more about people. So pull up a chair, imagine the green hue of an interview room, pretend I'm Barbara Walters and here we go.............<and please make sure and email me when your done so I can get over to your journal right away and see your answers> Have fun! Rebecca  

 

   1) A publisher has just handed you a million dollar advance to write a book. What direction would you go? Fiction, nonfiction, love story, mystery, sci-fi, chick lit, adventure, poetry, ok this list could go on and on.......... your sitting at your computer, blank page staring bold and white at you, what would you write to earn your million dollars?

 

 I think I would write a book pretty much like my journal. I love the tradition of telling stories on a porch late at night.That is the vibe I'm after here.

 

  2) You have 5 Mothers, of soon to be teenagers, all waiting patiently for your wisdom and advice. <Ok this includes me> What would you pass down to us to help us through these years of having teenage children? Advice, suggestions, wisdom, padded suits, HELP US. As the mother of a 23 year old daughter, that makes you a professional!!

 

 The best thing you can do for your daughters is to arrange life where you can say yes more than you have to say no.What I mean is, make sure you have lots of fun things you want them to do to take up their time so they have less opportunity to do things you'd rather not know about!

 The smartest thing I ever did was become a Girl Scout Leader. I started when my youngest daughter was in kindergarten & I became close with all her friends. Through Scouts, the same girls have stayed close through middle school & I know her peers & their parents. You get real close when you've spent nights lying in a tent listening to the rain for several trips! We have tihngs in common because we spent time together.

my girls always had to have a hobby.It didn't matter what ,but they had to have something going on.This gives them confidence & a concept of themselves as competent

. Don't sweat the small stuff. I wasn't thrilled with Mariah's pink hair, but I hellped her dye it & it became a memory to laugh over.

Be the house where all the kids hang out. You may have a mess to clean up, but you'll know where your kids are!

Enjoy your kids! I dont' know why people are thrilled when babies learn to walk & talk, then suddenly want them to stop growing when it comes time for driver's licenses & dates!

 Remember, even if they are going through a phase, if you have been close, you will be again. Just step back & breatheBe there when they come back

Tell them you will ALWAYS come & get them with no questions asked. My 23 yr old remembers this more fondly than anything I've ever told her.

Find something to like about their friends.Dont' make them choose between you,at this age, you'll lose.Discuss differences on a philosophical , rather than personal level.

 The best friend you'll ever have is your daughter!

     3) What do you want to do when you grow up? Ok, thats a silly question, but really, tell us something you're still dying to accomplish, a dream that is just at your fingertips, a quest still to be had...

.......Oh, wow...I want to be a park ranger, but then I would have to work during the summer!it would be cool to be a heavy equipment driver,too!

 4) They always say you get once chance to make a first impression. When people meet you, what kind of impression do you think they walk away with about you?

 It's important to me to be thought of as cheerful.

Life is too short to waste any of it .I try to think that every thing I do , I am trading a moment of my life for it & I want to make sure it's worth the deal.

I think I give the impression of being a ditz, which is not really true. It's just that I dont' feel you have to be stressed to be competent..

  5) I really liked this question Carly had asked in my interview so you get it too. If you were commissioned to create a painting that would best represent your life as a whole, what would it look like, what colors would it be, and to which museum would you allow to display it?

 hmmm, I would like it displayed in a children's museum.I would like to be painted in a field with my arms over my head , twirling....

 

so, if you want to be interviewd, leave me a comment & off we go!

silver whites

I am reading some kids' essays & just had to stop and share this one...

"Dr. Martin Luther King was a great silver white leader"

huh?

It became clear as I read on...

 

"He wanted every one to have their silver whites"

This particular child has a lisp and writes just like he talks.

Is that not precious?

 

wordpictures

favorite pictures I carry in my mind to warm my hands over on cold days....Megan , my girl Scout since kindegarten,saying"my life would be so different if I didn't know you"while my nephew played guitar & the crickets tried tooutdo him

 

my lanky,perpetually snotty Caitlin, leaning on me. Some people have marks on doorjams to tell how tall their kids are. I keep track of Caitlin's growth by the snot marks on my clothes.

 

purple wildflowers like exclamation points in the woods

 

sleeping with the smell of a fire, waking with burn holes in my shirt (I was cold!)

 

I am so lucky in this life....

What a great weekend we had! Friday night, Ava & Megan & Stormy came to visit. They are Girl Scouts form my troop. We have been together since they were in kindergarten. We have spent many nights huddled up in tents telling stories to keep theboogey man away.Now that they have become teenagers I am so much a part of their lives that they forget I am part of the grownup world. Somehow because of our long association, I am exempt from the bored tolerance they extend to most adults.I feel much more akin to them than I do to a lot of people my age. They,like me , are still excited about the world.
I had planned on taking them to the beach on Saturday, but my BIL & SIL were going camping,so I talked them into going along. (I explained to them once that since they were older, they would be responsible for the meetings, money, etc & one of them said,"well, what is your function?"I am the one with a driver's license!)
Tom went up Friday night, but we waited for Ava & played poker for pennies.
We got up early Saturday morning to go. The girls were packedfor a beach trip, so I threw all the blankets, jackets, pillows& shoes I could find into the trunk & off we went.
A word about David & Judy: They got married at 17 & 18.She was pregnant, the families were not pleased. They didnt'; have jobs.Three children later, he had a stroke. An accomplished musician, he can only strum his guitar now. A talented artist, he taught himself to draw with this left hand.They lost their house & all their possesions in Hurricane Ivan. They live on her pay she gets form running a booth at a tourist attraction selling homemade herbal remedies and his disability check.They are the happiest people I know.
They are very clsoe to their kids & gradkids, they get together & all sing & play some kind of musical instrument. They love in their family is so strong you can see it,an actual physical presence
So, the campers are Judy & David,their son Kelley, his girlfriend Cathy, his daughter Lily who is 2, me & my entourage, Tom & our nervous cocker spaniel , Penny.
After a long trip in the car filled with Blink 182 and shrill laughter,we arrived at Blakely.Of course we got lost, it si a huge park & the map is laughable.But what a beautiful spot to be lost in!Everything the new green of spring...sunlight sparkling on the trees, wild violets peeking out of the grass...
We hiked, ate, ran up & down hills, ate,played guitars, drank, laughed and basked in our love of each other.
I am so thankful for this family I have found. I wandered around looking for the place I belonged in my younger years. Through happy chance & careful cultivation, I have found my home.

best aunt ever

My sister in heart as well as in law is the best aunt ever.

 She is my age & has no biological children, but is stepmama to grown twin girls.

Every family should have one of these people...she knows everybody's birthday by heart (and in our family of 9 siblings, 39 grandkids & i forget how many great-grandkids,that is quite a feat) she comes & ASKS if she can babysit, seh brings toys whenever she comes to visit, the perfect aunt.

One day we were all sitting around & talk turned to what would happen to our kids if we met an untimely end"Why, we drew up papers with our lawyer, they go to Eileen"'"Really, we did too.How about you?"" well,we hadn't discussed it, but we just assumed Eileen would take them" 

The person to be honored by all this post mortem giving didn't say much about it until it was time to go. "Hell, no", she exclaimed (Eileen never curses) "All of you aren't riding in the same car!"

this week's issue of Sojourner

Dying and dignity

Health care these days isn't, for all but the elite strata of our society. It's not hard to conjure up a medical nightmare tale at the local coffee shop: Just start sharing your own recent woes at a hospital, and a host of voices will chirp in with their own experiences of neglect.

Lo and behold, I have a story to share of heroism that takes place in the health care world. A nursing friend of mine, Mary Ann, works in a Catholic hospital in San Francisco. She was on her regular evening shift last month when the police brought into the emergency room a John Doe whom they had found lying inert on a city street. This homeless man was barely conscious, and his body had entered into the final stages of toxicity and organ shut-down that precede death.

On this particular evening, not unlike most evenings at this urban San Francisco hospital, the nurses had a full slate of patients who needed attention. To Mary Ann's list was added John Doe.

Mary Ann soon realized that there would be no extraordinary medical intervention to rescue John Doe's life. Her task that evening, as she understood her nursing vocation, was to accompany her patient on his journey toward death. Mary Ann continued to make her rounds with all her patients early in the evening, and made regular stops at the bed of John Doe. She noted that the man whose name she would never come to know was aware of her presence, and responded to her words of comfort.

The other nurses on the ward that evening were moved by Mary Ann's spirit of compassion, and felt sympathy for a man dying alone, without apparent friend or family. To a person, the nurses spontaneously volunteered to add to their attendant list one of Mary Ann's patients so that she would be free to care solely for John Doe.

Mary Ann stayed by his bedside the rest of the evening. The man could not speak to her, but he applied pressure to Mary Ann's hand in response to her prayers, stories, and consolations. He remained alert until the last breath escaped from his lungs. Death came to take him at daybreak. Mary Ann uttered one final prayer of gratitude to God for walking this gentle soul home.

As Mary Ann shared this story with me, two immediate thoughts came to mind. First, it's tempting to overlook the legion of nurses, therapists, doctors, technicians, and other health care professionals who each and every day act in a way that I can only think of as heroic, or perhaps saintly. They, too, are pained by the economic system that pits revenue against care and cuts budgets along with dignity. There are individuals in the system who are trying to make a difference, and we need to honor them.

Second, as John Doe lay in his hospital bed dying, saved from a totally anonymous passing by a giving spirit, the nation was transfixed with Terry Schiavo. Americans, it seems, work out their social values through pop culture - race with O.J., gender with the Bobbits, and so on - so perhaps the 24/7 media coverage of every detail of the Schiavo family is not surprising. But it strikes me that Mary Ann, on watch at the bedside of John Doe, is the symbol for an expression of "the absolute dignity of human life" that I will carry with me.

 

 

this article impressed me as the story of someone who lives a reality most of us just like to discuss.

saturday 6

saturday 6

1. If you played last week, did you actually go back to the very first edition of the "Saturday Six" to see what the first set of questions really were?  Were you surprised at the answer?

no & no

2. When you signed on to AOL today, how many new E-mails were in your Inbox?  How many were in your Spam Folder?

 inbox 35

spam 50

3. If there was one childhood friend from your youth that you could meet today to find out what happened to them, who would it be and why?

I have an aversion to thinking about the past

4. How much weight would you like to gain or lose?  Whose body would you most like your own to resemble?

I am working on losing 30 more pounds,but apparrantly not too hard,since I had coffee & Bailey's Irish Cream for breakfast. I would like to have my body resmble mine , only in great toned shape while lying on the beach drinking wine.

5. What is the last CD or cassette you listened to in your car?

Bruce Springsteen Born To Run, the greatest car CD ever! "Roll down the window & let the wind blow back your hair, the nights busted open these two lanes will take us anywhere, we got one last chance to make it real , gonna trade in these wings on some wheels..."

6. RAPID FIRE QUESTION #1:  "The last time."  When is the last time you:
a. ...Lied to someone you care about?

I told my husband I wan't mad when I was this morning
b. ...Were tempted to reveal a secret that no one else knows?

I wanted to tell about how I applied for a transfer to another school, but I haven't yet
c. ...Payed a bill online?

never
d. ...Saw a movie trailer that made you want to see the movie it advertised?

closer, haven't seen that yet & it looks good
e. ...Took an aspirin or pain reliever?

took a lortab because I thought I might get a headache last week
f. ...Hung up on someone?

 never, that's my mom's trip
g. ...Turned down an invitation to a party?

Never & I hope I never do!
h. ...Filled your car's gas tank?

last saturday when I was still rich from my income tax return
i. ...Had an unexpected knock on your door?

last night, when my friend Jerry stopped by
j. ...Ate a meal that left you absolutely stuffed?

this morning, when I made eggs, rice & tomatoes, bacon & biscuits for Sunday breakfast

car blessings

I am so loving my car!

 Going places is a pleasure , not a chore now!

Something really good is going to come of our having to squeeze a penny till lincoln screams...    

I am searching for what that is... 

I know it is a blessing...                   I just haven't discovered it yet ...

letter from my pastor

  Happy Life Dear Ones,   I think of all the little stories about the importance of attitude; viewing the glass as half full or half empty; choosing each day to be happy instead on sad; making lemonade out of lemons (better yet, a lemon ice-box pie. Yum)  Etc. Etc. Etc.   In this dimension, no two things can occupy the same space at the same time. In the New Testament letter of James, he states that it has to be one way or the other.  One cannot draw both bitter water and sweet water from the same well.  Yet he tells us that we somehow have confused that orderly progression of events.  We use the same mouth to both bless and curse.   What proceeds from the mouth is so powerful in giving birth to thoughts and ideas.  A small piece of kindling starts large fires; a small rudder steers great ships. And a little member, the tongue, can do mighty things.   People often wonder why it is that they pray and make affirmations, and continue to reap negative, unwanted results.  Perhaps it is because they "pray amiss."  There is a principle that must be evoked in what Emmet Fox termed, "Scientific Prayer."    Jesus summed it up well when he said that whatever one prays and asks for, one must believe that one receives it.  Then one shall have it.  Emmet Fox more or less said the same thing.  So did James.  So do all teachers of metaphysics.  The magic is in the spoken word wed to the energy of acceptance and belief.   Often I know of something that one is wrestling with in this life - and it is not difficult to ascertain why that is. One need only listen to the speech; observe the attitudes.   Jacob wrestled with an angel until daybreak.  He knew that his problem contained a gift for him, and he said:  "I will not let thee go unless thou bless me!"  How often are we cursing the situation (and adding to the fire) instead of blessing it, and expecting a blessing.   Problems come concealing great gifts.  The outer wrapping is removed by centering oneself in the awareness of the Presence of God, making Truth -oriented statements, feeling "as if" it has already occurred, and then letting it go for God to bring forth in Divine Timing.  And to accept it with an attitude of thanksgiving.   Highest good is manifested this way.   Yes, there can be blockages to this magical process,  We can negate the good that longs to express in our lives by believing in "bad stuff."  When one believes in doom and gloom, one usually talks about it - incessantly  - to anyone who will listen. One prepares the way, and karmic law swings into effect.  One sows the seed of negation by belief, visualization, 5th chakra energy (the power of the word)  (also known as hoof and mouth disease) (sticking foot into mouth) and then powerfully expressing with an expletive deletive. (curse word).   Let's face it folks; we create our own reality (experience) on this earth.  What we believe (not hope for), we receive.  What we expect, we receive.  What we prepare for, we receive.   Do you begin to see how your situation may have occurred?   The good news is that the same process that created your problem can re-create it.  Hard work?  Sometimes.  One has to watch (catch) one's thoughts, one's words, and one's deeds.  One has to be sure that one is planting desired plants in one's garden.  Weeds grow easily, fast, and often strong.   But, it is amazing how beautiful life can be when we accept beauty into our hearts.   Smokey The Bear used to say, "Only YOU can prevent forest fires."    Only YOU can choose love, peace, harmony, and health as the major thrust of YOUR energy.   Doggone if this stuff doesn't work.  Truth always works, when you work it!   Love,   Carolyn

It's a good thing I like my new car. Now that I figure out my budget, it looks as though I'm going to be living in it!

stuck

The setting for this story is my beloved old portable classroom. When they built on to my school, everyone was so delighted to finally be rid of the ugly things. Not me! I loved mine because it had a bathroom attached where you could talk to the children through the door while you tried to accomplish personal business, just like at home. I refused to move for a while, but one day I realized it was truly time to go.

This particular portable building had seen better days. The door handle was stripped & sometimes we would get stuck inside. This was no problem, since one of my older boys would just jump out the window & open it from the outside. It didn’t happen often & was a welcome diversion.

On this particular day, my designated window jumper was absent, so I was sitting in the window debating on whether I would be safer jumping out barefooted or in my shoes, which had a small heel on them that day.

While I was mulling the situation over, the entire window, with me stuck in the frame, fell out onto my desk. There I was on my back, on top of my desk, with the window frame stuck on the back of my neck & my thighs, which were up in the air!

you might say I was framed...sorry ...I had to ...

 

One of the construction workers came & got me loose. He enjoyed it immensely!

I decided I probably did need a new classroom after all, which was a good thing, because after I moved out, a tornado blew my dear old portable away. (at might, no kids inside & no witches underneath)

singing and spelling

Those of you who read my journal regularly will know that I moved to a new school this year, one where things are a little more “by the book”. Being a tad unconventional in my methods, I stick out like a feminist at the Republican National Convention

 

I told my kids if they all passed their spelling tests, I would stand on the playground & sing the “Doxology” (Praise God from whom all blessings flow…for those of you without the benefit of my church-going upbringing)

Well, they did & I did

with gusto

 

People look at me weird & kinda duck their heads when I say “good morning

weekend assigment

Weekend Assignment #54: Tell us all a single piece of wisdom you've learned from personal life experience

If you can't change the situation, change your attitude!

some things never change...I'm still turning in assignments late

sexual harrassment

Mariah, my oldest daughter, has always been the adult in the family.

 Whan she was 2, she was the one who knew where my purse was.More often than not ,I had no clue. Most of the time, didn't care!

 When she was 7,she did all her own laundry because I didn't perform up to her expectations in that field.

She enjoys bossing Tom & I around & we like it to, because if she thinks we're incompetent, she gets things done.

She continually wears this bemused expression, "How did I end up in this family?"

We're glad she is here. While Tom & I are figuratively dancing in the flowers & Caitlin is literally on the roof, someone has to remind us to pay the utility bills.

She came in all indignant today with her company's new dress policy...."It says 'no thongs!' What business of anybody's is it what kind of underwear I have on? That is sexual harrassment! I'm complaining to the management!"

should I tell her I think they mean flip flops?

 

 

when she was little she would call her shorts "short sleeved pants". i didn't correct her 'cause i thought it was cute.

she hasn't quite gotten over that!

Neighborhood Watch

well,it's a dognose day here in La (wet and cold) & I'm sitting here with the first cup of coffee,hoping I have time to write before everyone wakes up & the panic of morning begins.

I have a story I can't wait to tell.

We had these nighbors when we lived out in the country by the bay. They are great people, our dear & well-loved friends. We'll call them Jack & Audrey for the purpose of this tale.Jack is a gentlemanly guy, about 60. He never says a bad word about anyone, never tells an off-color joke. He has an inordinante fondness for liquid refreshment and smokes to the point that it will make you cough when you stand on the porch The dear man is very careless about his health habits,to say the least, so when I went out to get the paper bfore dawn one morning and saw him lying in the front yard,I was terrified! Like the good Girl scout I am, I threw down my paper & ran to give CPR. When I turnned him over to listen for a pulse,he suddenly sat up, gave me a horrified look,pushed me aside & ran into the house.

I said to myself,"well, I guess he recovered'

A few minutes later,I got a phone call from Audrey ,who was laughing hysterically,"What did you do to my husband?,she managed to gasp." He says he was lying in the yard ,minding his own business, when you tried to perform an immoral act upon him!"

Yep,those drunk men just move me to uncontrollable passion every time!

An old entry recycled

the Menopause Song

 

The Menopause Song

 by Marti

I am suddenly sweating

While everyone’s’ cold                                              

And my buddies are betting                         

It’s just ‘cause I’m old

 

My friend who came

Every 28 days

It’s just not the same

Since she stays away

 

But I have a new partner

Who’s here when she’s not

And since I’ve met her

Good gracious, I’m hot

 

Mood swings, insomnia, lack of desire,

All these things I get

I think I’m on fire

I’ll finish this yet,

Turn that A.C. up higher!

 

My life’s going great

I’m getting all hairy

Meet my new playmate

It’s the Hormone Fairy!

 

But my life couldn’t be better

I don’t want it different

Let me get out of this sweater

At least I’m not pregnant!

YAY

WOW! editor's pick! I am so happy! Everybody please write me!

what a day!

What a day!

I got a new car!

well, new to me...it is an 02 Honda Accord!

To let you know what a momentous occasion this is,let me give you my car history. I have been driving an Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera since my last car caught fire (that's another great story)It is a car with personality.The passenger side window quit working, so Tom ,who has been christened "Ghettotom, the Superhero of the Half-fixed" by Mariah, rigged it up with plexiglass. You can hardly tell the difference & if you want to roll the window down,you just punch it, pick the window up off of the road and ,with what dignity you can muster, put it in the back seat.

The driver's side door works great too.You just roll down the window (this one still works) stick your arm out & use the outside handle or climb out the passenger side door.

Now the car before that was an Olds Delta 88 given to us by Tom's parents when we totaled our Dodge Spirit (antoher great story) We were camping out and had decided to stay for another day when someone ran into the camp store and screamed"there's a car on fire in the parking lot."As you can tell , I am accustomed to car problems & calmly raised my hand , "that would be me"

I requested a fire extinguisher & everyone stared at me blankly.Realizing I was dealing with rather slow folks, I enunciated in my best teacher fashion"My car is on fire in the parking lot. We all may die. I need a fire extinguisher!"

I camp a lot & always felt park rangers were guardian angels. I was real disappointed when they continued to stare at me blankly. Finally someone in an RV brought me the desired item. Tom & I stood by the blazing auto, reading the instructions, then put out our car.

Now the Spirit. It was totaled by someone running into the back of us.Mariah was driving and it turned into metalmush when an old econoline van ran into us. We weren't hurt,so it was a good day.

The car before that was known as trhe Narcoticar because every time Mariah got into it ,she fell asleep. The back seat of that Buick LeSabre was blue plush & looked like an expensive coffin.This was perhaps a bad sign , because when she first got her license & she went to the store (by the long route) that giant 10 foot long hood was her undoing when another teenager ran into her.Another blessing , they were both okay,but the car was a lost cause. After both these adventures, Mariah didn't drive for years!

Then there was the Mazda. I ran into Tom's work one day & gasped"you've got to help me. The AC quit working." I have always been pretty tough, so it hurt my pride when one of Tom's co-workers commented"your wife is used to comfort ,huh?"

No, it was July in Alabama & none of the windows rolled down in that car! The kids were semi-concious!

So , you get the idea of my car curse. I have the feeling it was something like Snow White. Remember when all  the fairies gave her gifts & one was bad & said she would prick her finger & die?

Well, I think I have been blessed with love & friends & a wonderful life , but I have never had a car with all the accoutrements that worked for any lenght of time.

So, when we got the car, Caitlin was delighted because it had a CD player & Mariah was almost tearfully thankful that it had hubcaps!

Today also marked the second year anniversay of Caitlin's braces...did my horoscope say this was the day of shiny metal objects that cost lots of money?

 

maybe I'm not Highly qualified

Perhaps I am doing a really poor job teaching my kids anacronyms.

I choked just a little at lunch.

The boy next to me said , "Don't worry , Mrs. Smith, I can give you DNR"

teacher tale

Long ago & far away, there was a school mysteriously beset by a plague of frogs. Teachers would open up their desk drawers to find a little green visitor. Students would find frogs in their jacket pockets. There were frogs all in the hall, frogs in the sink in the bathrooms. It sounds funny now, but, sad to say, many educators like to stick with their routine & don’t’ want to stop for a laugh. I know it sounds odd for people who work with children all day, but it‘s true.

Gradually this mysterious visitation ended & life at the school returned to normal. No more screams & shrieks of laughter disturbed the orderly days.

Everyone wondered about it for a while & then forgot about it & went on with their lives. No one ever knew how it happened.

Until now…you are the ones who will finally know the secret I promised myself I’d take with me to my grave (which I would have probably gone to quicker if anyone had discovered it before now.)

You see, I found this great ditch behind the school…and we were discussing metamorphosis in  science…it was Spring Break….I was in a hurry to leave….I forgot about the jar…Who would have thought my kids would gather THAT many tadpoles?

I wonder if the statute of limitations has run out on that one?

downhill

My day is going about as well as I can make it go!

I refuse to let this job make me crazy!

BLLLLBBLLLL (this is the closest approximation I can make to the noise you make when you run your index finger up & down your lips in the always charming way that makes spittle fly everywhere!)

We were doing acronyms today & I asked the kids to name some they know & tell what they thought they stood for. One little boy said, “DHR stands for Down Hill Road.”

There are compensations!

caitlinism

while looking over my shoulder as I told of her latest exploit, Cailtin indignanty said

"I wouldn't do that!"

When met with my bug-eyed incredulous gaze, she snickered and sashayed off, saying over her shoulder,
"well, the person I am today wouldn't do that!"

How true for us all !