Back to School

Well, I survived the first week of school.
It was actually better than that sounds. I had a good week, even though I was REALLY tired every evening. I'll get used to it; I did last year. My students behaved well, and we're getting to know each other. I'm ready to start teaching my actual subject--we get our textbooks tomorrow--although I must confess the thought of making classic literature interesting to seventeen-year-olds is a little daunting. Oh well, I need to remember I don't have to be Super Teacher, but I can believe in and encourage every kid.

Miss Pink absolutely loves her teacher. We had such a great teacher for her first two years (her school loops K-1st and 2nd-3rd) that I was wondering if we could possibly be so fortunate again. And yes, we were. her teacher is super sweet, very calm (apparently she never raises her voice) and very organized, to judge from the classroom. Miss P came home singing about her teacher the first day. And Miss P has signed the happy book a bunch of times, so she's working hard and doing a great job.

Mr. Blue is in a new class at his preschool, too. He also likes school, and he has a new love interest. She happens to be the teacher's granddaughter, so he'd better behave himself. He heard another mom telling me that her son also likes this little girl, and Mr. Blue kept saying afterward to me, "I don't know why we all like T." Then he decided it was her "pretty dress." All I know is, he talks about her constantly!

Childhood Memories, Part II

Do any of y'all remember my first post about my childhood memories? I forgot I wrote Part II, so here it is!

1983: Mother finally gives in to Alison's begging and allows her to read Gone With the Wind. Alison reads it in one day, almost making herself sick. Wants to be Scarlett O'Hara.

1983-1987: Spends a LOT of time outside, riding her bike, exploring the "woods" behind their house, and even playing basketball. This marks the last time in her life she can be described as "outdoorsy" or "sporty."

1987: The boy next door, a good friend, is killed in a three-wheeler accident while Alison is at camp. Her parents don't tell her until she gets home after the funeral, which makes coming to terms with his death even more difficult.

1987-1995: Writes many first pages of awful historical romance novels ripped off of Jane Eyre and Gone With the Wind. Also bad poetry imitative of Emily Dickinson or T.S. Eliot.

1988: Gets braces off and, thanks to teen movies, expects every boy she knows to fall in love with her. This does not happen.

1988: Develops a massive crush on her 23-year-old volleyball coach. Devastated to learn he's engaged, but does not learn her lesson about crushing on totally unavailable/uninterested guys.

1988: Finally is allowed to listen to "light rock" station instead of just Christian music. The way is paved for a decade of bad musical taste that features the New Kids on the Block, Michael Bolton, and even Milli Vanilli.

1990: Father informs her that she needs to get a job because he had one at her age. Father has failed to take into account that she is below the legal age limit, but a yogurt shop in the mall hires her anyway.

1991: Takes driver's ed class, where driving instructor impatiently skips over the parallel parking part of the curriculum, grabbing the wheel and parking the car instead of teaching Alison how to do it. Yes, she's still bitter.

1991: Takes the driving test on her sixteenth birthday because it seems necessary to have her driver's license as soon as possible. Fails because she has no idea how to parallel park. Sets a personal record for "Birthday with Most Tears Shed."

1991: Learns how to parallel park and passes the driving test. Ironically, it turns out she doesn't really like to drive and (even twenty years later) will let anyone else drive whenever possible.

1992: Graduates from high school as valedictorian of her class. However, there are only six people in her graduating class, so that makes her accomplishment less impressive.

1992: Tells her father she's not sure she wants to go to college (because secretly the thought of being in classes with more than six people scares her). Father wisely does not overreact; instead he says fine, but she will need to get a full-time job. It takes approximately six seconds for Alison to decide she's going to college.

*End of childhood*

What I Learned This Weekend

I seriously am the worst blogger ever. I never update. Well, at least last week I had an excuse--I was attending professional development classes required for new teachers. It was slightly less painful than the eyebrow threading I had over the weekend.

Speaking of threading--I've watched people have it done at kiosks in the mall and intended to try it because I have really thick eyebrows. I do pluck, and also trim the longer hairs, but I haven't had the eyebrows waxed in a long time because a) money hasn't been exactly in excess around here and b) I don't want to risk having ALL my eyebrow hair ripped off by some woman I don't know because then I just wouldn't look like myself. So for $10 I decided to give it a try because at least they had pictures of eyebrows I could point to.

It HURTS, y'all. I mean, waxing doesn't feel like being tickled with a feather, but it's over really fast. The pain from the threading kept going and going.... And then she did my upper lip (with my permission, of course) and that was even more painful. Involuntary tears ran down my cheeks and soaked my neck. And I had forgotten that my skin gets red after hair removal, so I had to walk around the mall with  bright red splotches over my lip and eyebrows. Lovely.

On the positive side, I like how my eyebrows look! I think I'll go back to getting them waxed, though.

So what was I doing in the mall with time to try the threading? I had been invited by our youth pastor's wife to come on a girls' retreat as a mentor. Since it was only one night away from home and Justin can handle that much time without backup, I said yes. I figure I need practice bonding with teenagers. We went to a hotel and had pizza and devotions and went swimming and thank GOD the girls in my room didn't want to stay up all night--we crashed around 12:45. The next day we spent four hours in the mall. I think the last time I did that, I hadn't had Miss Pink yet. So I was embarrassingly tired on Sunday.

I am so old. Yes I am. Plus I did not buy myself anything because a) I do not really need any more clothes (although I cannot help feeling that there are never enough clothes, and I saw lots of things I WANTED to buy, so yay me for exercising self-control) and b) I want to spend any and all available cash to decorate my classroom. So the only money I spent was on having myself tortured.

And yet! The retreat was actually enjoyable. I got to know several people better, and it was fun not to have to do housework or get up to get anyone a cup of milk right when I had just sat down. The girls did not seem to mind having to stay with a grown-up--after all, I'm not their MOM or anything.

In conclusion, I don't recommend eyebrow threading unless you have a very high pain tolerance, but girl bonding is good.