What Do Pipe Cleaners, A Third World Country, and Ebay Have in Common?

Stay with me. Randomness to follow.

I woke up confused this morning. It only got worse from there. My hair had a mind of its own. I forgot my pipe cleaners (an important kindergarten necessity) and my herbal tea. Thankfully my school is in the back yard of the grocery store. I paid for my new pipe cleaners at the self-check. Of course, they rang up at more than twice the price they were supposed to be. And of course, there was no one around to fix it. And, and of course, I was late for a meeting. So I forked out the extra cash. I know what you're thinking. How much can pipe cleaners be? It's really the principle of the matter. I was at the same grocery store yesterday, and instead of bagging my groceries, the bag girl was texting on her phone. It was probably something like "bggng sux. wut r u doing? lol." I'll be shopping elsewhere in the future; except of course, when I'm in a hurry and need some pipe cleaners.

As the morning went on, my day got even more discombobulated. No tea to keep my throat moist, an unexpected assembly, short one volunteer for centers. But then, a surprise. We're doing a unit on friends. Today's book was a story called "Friends All Around." The words and pictures showed children all around the world enjoying different activities. There was a picture of some children from Suriname, jumping rope together. Why was that a surprise? Because Suriname is where I was born. Very few people have even heard of it. If they have heard of it, it's because of that slimy little dude who had something to do with Natalee Holloway's disappearance. Anyway, it was just very cool to see that picture in a book that I get to read to my kindergartners.

And that brings me to another thought: election day. We left Suriname when I was very young. There was a brief stint in The Netherlands, but then we came to the good ol' USA. Today I got to vote - not something that happens in Suriname. How awesome is that? I was born in an oppressed country, but lucky enough to end up here. Doing what I want, living how I want, voting because I can.

The other cool thing about voting today is due to where I live. I walked into the polling center where no less than 10 people I knew were waiting in line. The election judges were all women I know. We chatted and we caught up with each other; kind of like a voting party. We discussed everything but politics, which I found both weird and refreshing.

My discombobulated day started to recombobulate as I got home and discovered leftovers for lunch. I made one of my favorite dinners last night, so that was a good thing. Even better, I found a bottle of Coke in the fridge. What is it about that stuff that makes your cares disappear?

However, upon checking my e-mail, I received notice that something I purchased on Ebay is now in dispute. I didn't have a problem, but now I'm wondering if I'll get my fifty bucks back.

The discombobulation continues.

A Good Day

In the Mormon church, congregations, called wards, are decided by geographical location. Basically, what time you go to church depends on your address. Outside of Utah, a ward can cover a huge area. But right here in Utah you can live across the street from someone and belong to a different ward.

We moved about a 1/2 mile away from our old place, thus we are now in a new ward. Today was our first day. Do you know what I found? I found some really nice people who weren't afraid to introduce themselves to us. I found a bishop who already knew our names and had been expecting us. I heard talks on procrastination, patience, love, and gratitude. I'm really good at the first thing, and working on the other three, by the way. But most of all, and perhaps most comforting, I found a lot of the same thing I've found in other wards wherever I've lived: people who love God, who want to do good, and who are willing to serve in any way they can. Within hours of church ending, a sweet couple came by, just wanting to get to know us. They are anxiously awaiting the births of their 36th and 37th grandchildren (I know!) and treated my kids like they were the only kids on the planet. He brought an atlas of the local area and showed my son where all of his favorite hiking trails are, and upon discovering Jessica's love of piano playing, invited her to come and play music on his Phantom 4000 fancy-shmancy computerized music thing-a-mabob.

So, it was a good day. And a good reminder that there are fine and decent people everywhere you go.

A Spooktacular Spectacle

Have you ever noticed how with various holidays there comes a certain amount of pressure? The turkey had better be juicy or great-aunt Edna won't touch it. You feel the need to spend X amount of dollars on a certain Christmas present or someone is going to be disappointed. Even birthdays can be stressful.

But not Halloween. Dress up, spook out, and eat candy. That's it. So that's why I have this social fantasy. It goes a little something like this:

I would love to throw the biggest, baddest Halloween GALA you've ever seen. You know, like something right out of the movies. Lots of glitter and glowing lights, a fog-covered floor; masks on everyone, music, dancing; elaborate costumes. A fog machine, ghosts in the windows, witches at the door, and bats in the bellfry. And then of course, there's the food: an ornate spread of tricky treats -- complete with a bloody fountain of strawberry punch.

All of my friends would D-R-A-G their husbands to it, because when you get down to it, Halloween is for girls. Boys do the costumes for the candy and then get over it. But do we girls ever outgrow playing dress-up? Hardly.

So if and when I ever find a spare ten grand to throw my gala, you're all invited over for some dress-up!

Ah, We Meet Again

Where, oh where, does the time go? I have got to get back to blogging. Every day, and I mean EVERY DAY, something happens that makes me think that is so going on my blog. So no more excuses, even if they ARE good ones, like having the flu and moving and parent-teacher conferences and a primary program to put on. It's just time to get all the junk out of my head and onto the computer screen.

First, some funny things I've seen:

In my new neighborhood, we're surrounded by farm land. There's a gang of chickens with befeathered heads which make them look alot like Phyllis Diller. This gang likes to strut their stuff up and down the road. Their leader: the blackest duck you've ever seen. His name should be Daffy.

On the same road, there's a statue of a big elk. For Halloween, someone stuck a big black raven in its antlers. Just thought that was funny. I find myself shouting out "Nevermore!" everytime I go past it. And I clearly realize that I am the only person in my neighborhood who gets that.

Finally, a conversation with my son:

Me: Do you know anyone at your new bus stop?

Him: Yeah. His name is Jorge. Which is weird because he spells it with a J but you say it like an H. And you say the G like an H. Spanish is really hard. I wonder how you say his name is English. And he has a little brother named Omar who always rode our bus last year and he was the most important kid on our bus.

Me: Why was he the most important kid on your bus?

Him: Because he had his own seat and it had a seatbelt and the bus driver said his name ALOT. And then when we got to school we all had to wait until he got off and the bus driver would shout okay, Omar and the preschoolers, time to go to school! And I always thought that would make a great name for a movie, you know, Omar and the Preschoolers... kind of like Alvin and the Chipmunks, only Omar and the Preschoolers.

What more can I say?

I'm Sick. Just Humor Me.

Further justification of the already irrational fear which I do possess:Yeah. Jellyfish do more total harm to humans than great whites. So there. I gotta quit reading EVERYTHING at museums.

Status Update

So we decided to move. We'd have to move eventually, and this way we get into a place that we really like, and then it's overwith. The big day is Saturday.

However, I've had the flu all week, and I am not a good patient. I'm one of those stubborn sickies... you know, the kind who won't admit they're sick. So until today, it was just a head cold. It hit me Saturday night. Sunday I powered through church and took care of my responsibilities there. Monday I went to work, packed a few things at home, and did what moms do. Tuesday I couldn't even lift my head, so I got a substitute, but still managed to pack a few things. Wednesday I went back to work, came home, took a load of stuff to the new house, came back home and collapsed onto the couch until I went to bed. This morning I got up, fully expecting to go to work. I washed my face and had to lay back down again. That was when it dawned on me that it might be more than a cold. I finally mustered up the strength to set up for another substitute teacher. By the way, let me just say, setting up for a sub is a pain. It's easier to just go to work. And don't think I didn't think about it.

I have spent more time on my couch this week than I would ever care to admit. In education, the occupational hazard is illness. We're only three weeks in, so I hope this isn't a sign of things to come. A couple of years ago, a fellow kindergarten teacher was hospitalized with pneumonia at this point.

No move ever goes smoothly, but moving while sick? Please.

Irony, Stress, and The Joys of Childhood

There has been so much happening lately... so let me sum up.

First of all, irony. Irony is one of those great writing tools that authors use to tell a story. O Henry was one of the best. Remember the guy who sold his gold pocket watch to buy his wife some combs for her long hair? His loving wife sold her long hair to buy him a chain for his pocket watch. That's irony. I've had real-world experience with it this week.

The house I'm currently living in has a nice, empty, upstairs family room. As long as we've lived here, I've wanted a table and chairs for it, where I could sew, the kids could do their homework, and it could generally be used and abused while my nice dining table was left alone. Last Wednesday I finally found such a set. I brought it home and immediately started sanding it, picturing it in a lovely shade of spa blue. While sanding it, I got a phone call. It was the real estate office (yes I'm living in a house that's up for sale). They wanted to schedule an inspection -- the house was sold.

Irony.

In a further twist of events, we started looking for a new place to rent on Friday. We found one on the first try. And it has room for an extra table. The owner wants us to move in on October 1. That's in two weeks if you haven't heard. The buyer's son/agent told me today that his parents are willing to let us stay here until May 1 of next year. But we really like the new place.

That's not exactly irony... more like stress. Final decisions will be made in the next day or so. There will be much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, for sure.

On the bright side, upon seeing the possible new digs, my daughter Jessica came home and immediately started packing up her bedroom. Had I known that this was all it took to get her to clean her room, I would have threatened to move a long time ago. If we don't move, she's got the cleanest room in the house. Now THAT'S irony.

In other news, I took my son Jamison to the dinosaur museum on Saturday. His chosen souvenir was a sandstone "rock" from which one must dig the bones of a tiny T-Rex and then put the skeleton together. Yesterday as he was "digging," he exclaimed with much enthusiasm, "Hey! I found the crotch!"

Ah, the joys of childhood.