Skip to main content

a few reasons to smile today

1. that the cop who was banging my door down at 1 am only wanted to tell me that my garage door was open and not that someone was dead. ( really, that couldn't have waited until morning, or i'd almost rather have the lawn mower stolen than the the pants scared off me in the middle of the night).

2. that Tess went back to sleep after her early wake up session until 8:30!

3. that i got my fat ass to the gym and loved it.

4. mexican food for lunch with a friend. (so much for the gym)

5. saving a cute little bird from the pool parking lot. ok, really wendy did the saving.......but she did use my hat to hold it in so i should get some good deed points out of it.

6. really it was Shaun's hat, and he doesn't know, which will really make me smile.

7. iced green tea with one splenda.

8. a swim lesson w/out any melt downs.

9. almost 15 minutes that both children were asleep at the same time in the afternoon.

10. an afternoon high that was less than 3 digits.

11. mexican food for dinner w/ a friend... different resturaunt, different friend. i had the will power to say no to the 2$ coronas and even a margarita but quickly plowed my way through the entire bowl of chips.

12. 10 ft tall sunflowers blooming in the back yard.

13. fireflies and pop-ice.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

multiple choice

As I write I am procturing a test ( yes on a Saturday, and no I am not getting paid for it.) The room is silent. The only noises I hear are pencils scratching on papers and pages turning. If I listen closely enough I swear I can hear their brains turning. I have always been a good test-taker. I would still regularly brag about my SAT scores if it wre socially appropriate to do so(or an actual indicator of anything meaningful). There is something comforting about multiple choice. (well as long as you don't have the crappy all of the above or none of the above choices...just the classic A, B, C, D variety). There are parameters. Multiple choice means you have options. The right answer is right in front of you, and all you have to do is find it. Even if you don't actually know which one the right answer is there are usually clues, it can be narrowed down or worked backwards. Even a blind guess is likely to be right 25% of the time. These aren't bad odds. All you have t...

Turning the question

My school has been sending me to some inquiry training. The “i” word has been thrown around since my education classes in college. It is one of those things that is really good as a concept but kind of hard to pull off in the classroom well. For lots of reasons. But the big one number is because teachers are reluctant to let go of the control. To let the kids loose with a concept and see where they end up. Let them discover, own it and share out all on their own. Without intervening. Then push them a little bit further and clear up any misconceptions that they are holding onto before they slip out your door. This is supposed to be the most meaningful way for a kid to learn. For them to discover rather than memorize. One of the other problems with inquiry and science is that kids have stopped learning how to ask questions. My son bombards me with whys all day long. Why are owls nocturnal? (which comes out a lot more like “not-turtles”) Why do I have to take a shower? Why ...

Meet the teacher

People keep asking me how I am or if I am going to cry. And few weeks ago, I kept saying no. I mean, I am used to dropping Owen off everyday at school. Or I’m at least used to Shaun dropping him off. I am used to school. I do it everyday. But. The first day is Monday. His and mine. And I am not ready. And I don’t just mean that my syllabus isn’t copied and that there are boxes all over my room. That would be true. But I am having doubts about my kid entering this world. The kind with lockers and buliten boards and hall passes. And tests. A world where from now on, he will be receiving a grade. Where he will be compared, judged, scolded, and ranked. We met his teacher the other night. Turns out I taught her son not too many years ago. Owen was off playing within seconds with a friend from his soccer team. Tearing the room apart. Ecstatic when he saw a big tub of legos. He will be just fine. But I wasn't so sure about me. I was suddenly filled with questions. The basic ones. Like how...