The Entertainer

Behold, the night time ritual...

If Anyone Could

If anyone could

make wearing footed pajamas like THESE

and a hat like THIS

while sitting in a hot pink bucket

reading a book

look GOOD...

It would

 be...

SYDNEY.

A.K.A.

Sydvicious

Syd "Cuban Pete" Chambers

Sydmeister

Sydney Lou Lou

I call it vanity.

She calls it CONFIDENCE.

Alive...barely

If you have not had the Stomach Bug of 2010, count yourself lucky. What can I compare it to?

Getting your toenails plucked out one by one with a searing hot pair of pliers?

Feeling like you are the sole survivor of a tragic farming accident involving you and one of those big tractor thingies?

Experiencing stomach cramps that can only be compared to the contractions you might have delivering quintuplets naturally?

Having a debilitating wave of nausea overcome you with just the glimmer of a thought of maybe viewing a piece of fried chicken?

Fighting back the urge to smack your husband when he finally arrives home from work, runs out to get you a new 2 gallon bottle of Sprite, and then questions..."Why did you not drink this?"

Yes, all of the above and then some.

I have survived the stomach bug...it kicked my hiney...but I am still alive. Barely.

I Would Have Laughed

Those that know me KNOW that I am little kid person.

Not a tiny kid person, but a LITTLE kid person.

I enjoy the 7-9 year-old range for various reasons.

Mostly because they are old enough to "know" something but still young enough to be "innocent."

As a teacher, you tend to gravitate towards a particular grade level due to your personal preferences, tendencies, and multiple personalities.

If you would have told me 5 years ago that I would be teaching a SELF-CONTAINED group of 8th graders and that I would be loving every minute of it, I would have rolled in the floor laughing...literally...I would have busted a gut cackling at such a preposterous statement.

I have never been fond of barely teenagers. There is just something about this age group that is disturbing, annoying, frustrating, mysterious, inconsistent, moody, disturbing, nauseating, curious, wonderful, obstinate....did I say disturbing?

I don't know if it is because I have such a small group, or if it is the fact that I have such an interesting group, or if it is the fact that we are self-contained, or if it is the fact that we spend so much time together that we feel like a big family, or if it is the fact that I work half a day, or if it is the fact that I have completely dived headfirst off the deep end of what was left of my sanity, or if it is the fact that I work at a great school, or if it is the fact that I have found my niche. Maybe it is a combination of all of these factors. But whatever it is, I am head over heels in love with these 11 people. These 11 people with all of their mood swings, idiosyncrasies, doubts, fears, sweet gestures, crazy outbursts, and hormones. There's just something about them that helps me to enjoy my job.

So, for today, I like them and I shall savor this moment.

'Cause tomorrow I may change my mind.

Multi-Tasking

These days, I feel like I spend 90% of my time multi-tasking. I did not realize that I could:

1. feed Sydney
2. load the dishwasher
3. listen to the news
4. grade papers
5. surf the web for a science video to show my students
6. prepare dinner
7. answer the phone
8. text my girls
9. wash clothes
10. dry clothes
and
12. fax evals to our therapists

All at the same time.

Now, if I could just figure out a way to change lightbulbs and mop the floor too, I will be in business.

Just need a pair of roller skates.

Hat Tale

Once upon a time, there was a little squirt of a girl who loved the outdoors with a purple passion. One of her favorite things to do was romp and stomp around her Gigi and Papa's backyard.

One day, as she was wondering about the lawn, she encountered a scraggly straw hat covered in assorted mildews and dust particles. This little squirt of a girl who has a profound antipathy for any type of head wear, head band, or any other object which encircles the cranium, snatched up this dusty treasure. She held the hat up to her mother and uttered, "Huh?"

Her mother responded, "That is Papa's hat. He wears it when he mows the grass to keep the dirt out of his hair." The squirt deftly replied, "Huh? Papa?" and succinctly slapped the hat on her head. With a flick of the wrist and a slight adjustment, the squirt ran off to play.

She continued to wear the hat for the rest of the afternoon and adjusted it frequently at any point it fell slightly askew.

She monitored the jacuzzi while wearing her lovely bonnet with the help of her clinically insane sidekick, Rags the Jack Russell terrier.

The little squirt sadly gave up the hat upon leaving the Yard of Endless Joys and shouted out of the car window, "Buh bye! Seeeee You!"

  

 The End

Call Me Irresponsible

In the past week, I have experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.

I have made numerous trips to Lufkin to spend hours at the hospital.

I have wept for hours on end when I learned my mother had cancer.

I rejoiced for hours on end when I learned that the Lord had healed her of cancer.

I have done a lot of soul searching, praying, seeking, finding, and analyzing.

And, as a result of all of this emotionally draining, soul-sapping, rambunctious rejoicing, crying, and exulting, I have become extremely...

Lazy...

Irresponsible...

and a Grade A

Procrastinator.

Because...friends...

LIFE IS SHORT.

It is a vapor.

It goes by in the twinkling of an eye.

Papers I need to grade can wait.

Invoices can wait...for a while...

Dishes can rest peacefully in the sink...

while I GO play at the park.

'Cause tomorrow....

my baby will be all grown up

and I will have plenty of time to do all those OTHER things and you never know what tomorrow is going to bring...

So live every day as if it is your last

Because one day, 

 it will be.