Coming Back: The Good, the Bad, and the Very Weird

Whew! It has been a crazy, crazy month. Here's what has been going on:

THE GOOD:
  • Had a great time with YS and housemate of YS.  The bridal expo was fun and it was neat to see what caught her fancy.  More on that very soon.
  • I was nominated to apply for a spot in a pilot program called the Emerging Leaders Academy.  Despite being dead sick with a cold all last weekend, I worked through the fever and got my essay written, and pulled together the application.  I think this might be the thing that helps me figure out where I'm going and what I'm doing.
  • My middle school kids did great at their big reading event, in spite of having to go about a month earlier than usual.  They were adequately humbled by what they didn't know and boosted by what they did.  And they BEHAVED and represented school well, thanks be to God.
  • The 2014 Newbery Medal winner, Flora & Ulysses, is wonderful. There haven't been great ones on the whole for the last 10-15 years IMHO (exceptions: Dead End in Norvelt, When You Reach Me, and The Tale of Despereaux which is by the same author as Flora). This one is sweet, funny in the right places, and touching.  Also not a million pages long.  Blows the others out of the water.  READ IT. ENJOY IT. YOU'RE WELCOME. Special thanks to LibraryElf for handing to me right off her department's desk.

THE BAD:
  •  See horrible cold, mentioned above.  I think I just got run-down from all the stuff going on.
  • A week of standardized testing really messes up your lesson plans and leads to anarchy in the classrooms (no homework, lots of movie-watching).  Two fifth graders get to stay inside during recess tomorrow to mull over their poor choices and write up a recipe for doing better.
  • Why won't The Cat let me sleep???

THE VERY WEIRD:
  • The driver of the bus that took us to the reading competition was an older man who talked like a born-again Christian and said he homeschooled his five (now adult) children on his own after being widowed. (Definitely someone safe to transport kids.)
  • I can't believe this week I will be testifying at a hearing.  There's a first time for everything, I guess.  School was surprisingly kind and said they'd put my time out down as Jury Duty. 
  • I try not to be distracted by other people at Mass, but this week I went to the well-off parish near me and this teenager was wearing camouflage tights. As pants. She had a hoodie on top but it wasn't long enough to cover her (not small) tush.  I can't believe Mom, who was next to her in the pew, let her out of the house in that (especially to go to church), but maybe she was picking her battles.
  • The senior patrons at the public library love me.  I don't know why this is, but my guess is I have more patience helping them with their iPads/Kindles/Rocket launchers than their children who handed them these things for Christmas/Hanukkah.  Today I had my first "Are you married? Can I set you up with my son?" inquiry.  Then my future MIL (not) admitted he didn't want children. Well, it was nice talking to her, anyway.

It has seemed as if I've been going non-stop, but there have been moments of cat-on-lap, and I did manage to finish two library books (one good, one meh).  Still, I'm looking forward to Easter when things will slow down.  

A little.  

Possibly.

 

Comments

LibraryElf said…
YAY! Glad you liked Flora. Like I said, that one surprised me and I really enjoyed it. It certainly was one that I thought deserved the Newbery.

Best of luck to you this week!
Dave E. said…
The Emerging Leaders Academy sounds very interesting. Please keep us posted.

I've been to two funerals the last six months and was kind of shocked at how some people showed up at both. I know that's not the most important thing, but these were families with some means, yet their children, some almost adults, showed up dressed in blue jeans and tennis shoes for a grandparent's funeral. They looked like they were ready to plant grandpa and make a beeline to a pickup basketball game. Like I said, dressing up for church or a funeral is not the most important thing, but it seems awfully disrespectful to show up dressed that way if you don't have to be.
Kate P said…
LibraryElf--yes, one of those "deserved" Newbery winners, hee hee! Thank you. :)

Dave--Will keep you posted for sure.
Nobody owns dress clothes anymore. That's why they have to help college graduates figure out what to wear to job interviews.
I told you about the wedding I cantored with the guest in the Flaming Skull Bowling Shirt, right? It might have been his best shirt, and that's O.K. But really I don't know what happened to dressing up for church. I mean, I understand the idea that "God's pleased to see you here," but there's also something to bringing your best self, inside and out. And I'm not saying it's the prom every week but I just KNOW what the well-off kids (uh, their PARENTS) lay out for it and I just wonder what really matters.
Kate P said…
BTW, as an update, the hearing went well. I was more there for support of the patron, which was appreciated. There will be a trial in about a month and a half--dunno if I will be subponaed for that.
Haven't heard about the Academy yet but am DYING to know if I'm in.

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