Today

I am 30 today. I have been waiting for today probably since I was 12. It feels good, it feels right, it feels about the same; in my mind, I've been 30 for the last 18 years.

Today is also bittersweet, as it will always be for me. Four years ago, my Mom spent this day taking her last breaths, fighting her final fight, and asking, in a pain-induced stupor for the time. Over and over, she asked: "what time is it?" The day was spent trying to relieve her pain and get her calm; she was no longer really there; but every few hours, a brief moment of clarity and the demand for the time.

At midnight, she asked once more for the time, and we, the Hospice nurses and myself, who had been trying desperately all day to give her comfort that could not be found, told her the day had passed- it was now the 21st. With that, she stopped fighting, she stopped asking, and in a matter of 30 minutes, my Mom finally went to sleep.

So you see, my birthday is both beautiful and horrible. Touching and gut-wrenching. I spent my last birthday with my Mom, watching her fight to live so she would not die until the day after my birthday.

I remember her gift every day of every year.
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Quote of the day

My home room students were transitioning from their math class to music, but had to stop off in my room to drop off/pick up their stuff.

As they have very little time to get from one class to the next, I was standing in my door, saying "go to music, move quickly, run like the wind; LIKE THE WIND, I TELL YOU!"

Kids were laughing as they hurriedly grabbed their pencils and folders and scurried out the door to their respective music classes.

About 2 minutes passed, when one of the students came charging back in out of breath, and ran over to his desk in a panic.

I looked at him, confused, and said "what are you doing? MUSIC, go, now!"

He looked at me, while frantically digging through his desk and said,

"Mrs. Scott, I was so busy being like the wind, I forgot to grab my music folder."

This is why I love 7th graders.
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Current Events

Every week in my homeroom class, we talk about current events. Today, the very tragic murder @ Yale University was mentioned by a student, but my students had questions:

Student: "Mrs. Scott, I don't understand, how did they find her in the lab, but not until now? Wouldn't they see her if she was in the lab?"

Me: "Well that's tricky..."

Students: "What do you mean?"

Me: "Well....umm....her body was hidden."

Students: "Hidden....wait....what....where?"

Me: "I don't REALLY want to go into this guys, it's pretty sad..."

Students: "But where was she hidden, Mrs. Scott?!? HOW could they not find her body until NOW?!?

Me: "The investigators found her body in the wall; in an air shaft in the wall."

Students: "...."

Me: "It's a very sad story, folks, but there is a lesson to be learned. She was at her school lab, she was alone, and she didn't have her wallet or her phone with her; she left them in her office. What is the lesson we can learn from this story? What is it YOU all should remember from a story in a world where there are bad and scary people?"

Student: "Don't go to Yale!"
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Sick day

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Our dog does not play well with others.

Right now the side door to the garage is open, our dog can enter and exit to the backyard at her leisure; but she insists on standing on our deck, right outside our sliding glass door, frantically barking non-stop.

Why? The neighbor dog next door has had the audacity to walk around her own yard, calmly, without any regard for how this might affect anyone else.

She's just meandering around her own yard, sniffing the grass, inspecting the flowers, and every once in a while, she will gaze across her yard and make eye contact with our dog, through the fence.

This CAN NOT STAND!

The following is true for 7th graders at the beginning of the school year:

1.) They don't know how to stand in a line, walk in a line or stay in a line when asked.

2.) Not unlike their counterparts in elementary school, they will squeal if any living creature should appear in the classroom (i.e. spiders, bees, flies, beetles etc.)

3.) Even after the teacher has removed said insect, they will still have to discuss, compare and reflect upon the insect's visit to the classroom.

4.) Much like their younger counterparts, they cannot sit still in a chair for more than 30 minutes; it is physically impossible, apparently.

5.) The moment they return from lunch, they will need to use the bathroom. They will roll their eyes, and sigh in disbelief when you tell them they should have used the bathroom during their 40 minutes of lunch/recess.

6.) They will forget their day planner in the "other teacher's" class. They will roll their eyes and sigh in disbelief when you tell them they can't go back and interrupt "the other teacher's" class to get their day planner.

7.) They think sharpening their pencils down to numbs is absolutely fantastic; they will leave the pencil shavings all over the floor and table. They will roll their eyes and sigh in disbelief when you tell them to clean up the shavings.

8.) They will think having to trade their shoe as collateral in order to borrow a pencil from the teacher (when they "forget" theirs) is the most hilarious and fantastic thing ever.

9.) They will use too much tape to cover their books, will jam the stapler when turning in their assignments and will have to use the three-hole punch several times before they get the holes in the right spot. The will leave tape mess, ruined staples and the little hole remnants all over the table. They will roll their eyes and sigh in disbelief when told to go back and clean up the mess they made.

10.) If there is a hanging sign, a door jam or anything above their head; they will jump and slap it; they have to, it's just part of their genetic code. They will roll their eyes and sigh in disbelief when told to please NOT jump and slap things.

11.) They will do anything for candy.

12.) They will magically find it in themselves to sit quietly and pay attention for a lesson, if promised the ability to play a game when finished "learning." They will never discover the game is also educational.

13.) They will believe anything you say and will laugh if you do anything physically entertaining (like rolling your eyes or sighing in disbelief REALLY LOUDLY in their general direction.)

14.) They will NOT understand sarcasm.

15.) They are basically still pretty innocent.

In which I rant about "The Speech"

I keep meaning to blog about this, because, as you may imagine, I have much to say on the matter.

Trouble is, I am exhausted already and it is only Wednesday.

As such, I am going to make the following statements in regards to the President's Address to students. Allow me to preface by saying, yes as a school we did receive emails and calls requesting students not watch the President's speech, yes I did show it, and yes students were sent to an alternate location during the speech.

(In case you think my Uber-liberal bias is played out in class, let me assure you, I made no
comments during or after the speech and my students have no idea of my political affiliation;
last year during and after the election, my students never knew for whom I was voting.
Teachers are excellent actors.)

In regards to the Presidential Address and the "backlash" there-in, I would like to say-

1) It's public school.

2) He is the American President, democratically elected.

3) This was not the first time an American President has addressed the American school children, President H.W. Bush gave a similar speech broadcast from a high school in Washington, D. C.; he did this in 1991.

4) As President Thomas Jefferson said, "Information is the currency of democracy."

If we believe in American democracy, how is it then, that we can justify removing our children
from classes in their public school because our democratically-elected President has declared
his intention to give a speech on the importance of education?

5) It's public school; and also, he's the President of the United States of AMERICA.

6) If you disagree with a person's politics, particularly the President's,how is removing your
child from school, preventing them from listening to him give a speech on education, teaching
them anything? Instead perhaps, why not have a discussion with your child about why you
disagree with the President and allow them to listen to the speech with discerning ears? Then,
discuss the speech with your child afterword and explain why you agree or disagree with what
is said.

7) He's the President of the United States; it's public school.

8) What is dangerous about the President wanting to give students a speech about the value of
education? Do we NOT value education? Never mind, don't answer that.

9) Regardless of the man (or woman) holding the office, the office should command some
respect. If the President of the United States says he wants to address the children of the
nation, it must be something important and quite possibly, something worth hearing. Perhaps
we should remember our history and treat the office with a little more respect.

--sidenote. Those of you who know me, know I was not happy with the previous
President. However, I always referred to him as President (instead of just his first or last
name as so many tend to do) and I still believe regardless of my opinion of him as a man,
he was our leader and as such I respected his position during his tenure.


10) Public. School.

Timeout

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Puck needs a new home

Our dog Puck, a Malinois-shepherd mix is known to most in our lives as “the coolest, goofiest dog in all the land.” We rescued this charming fellow as a puppy four years ago. He was found abandoned under a house in Los Angeles and my husband brought him home from the shelter while he was working in LA on a business trip. We took him to obedience classes, were he graduated top of his class, we took him to the doggie park where he made friends. We took him on walks, to the lake and on the boat.

He can sit on command, he will stay when he feels inclined, or if you REALLY push the issue.
He can give you a high five, and enjoys ballroom dancing.
He plays soccer, and likes to run down the slide on the play set in our back yard.
He especially enjoys lying in the sandbox.
He has no skill for catching a ball.
He will lay his head on your leg and stare at you with his big brown eyes for hours; he loves spooning, although he is accustomed to sleeping on the floor
He enjoys peanut butter, milk bones and most other treats; he will not eat vegetables.
He is a wimp. Case in point: he chased and caught a rabbit in our back yard; the rabbit kicked him in the face so he (Puck) yelped in fear and released the rabbit; Puck then ran and hid under the deck.

He was “the baby,” that is, until we had our daughter. Then, because we have a small house and because he’s a big galoof, we made the choice to move him out to the backyard (or furnished/carpeted garage) during the day, while she was little. He was big and awkward and I was afraid he would knock the baby over; plus I wasn’t a big fan of my baby crawling through dog hair. Well, everything seemed to be fine, but she is now two; a very bright a cheery toddler who likes to say “hi” and play with her doggie. We have taught her to be gentle and never to get in a dog’s face. A few weeks ago however, he walked up to her, she tried to pet him on his back and he flipped around and snapped at her. This was unprovoked and unexpected and it scared us. We took him to the vet and met with our dog trainer and all have concluded he is probably jealous of our daughter and came to be impatient with her. Obviously a jealous dog and a busy toddler are not a safe combination; they cannot be together anymore.

We are obviously devastated but we can’t really live a life where a toddler wants to play with the doggie and the doggie has to live in quarantine outside, wanting to come in. It’s not fair to him or her.

We are hoping and praying a good and friendly single person, couple or family with older children/ no children will want a nice, medium-sized friendly dog that has a long life yet to live. He shouldn’t be with little ones, as he is rambunctious and it seems, a little impatient with them. However, he would be a wonderful friend to a group of rowdy older kids who need an extra soccer player, or a big buddy to flop with on the floor during movie night. He would love someone to take him for a walk or a run every now and again but he’s just as content watching TV with his people. He’s very smart and very agile and could be trained for agility or as a working dog very easily, he is eager to learn and have someone work with him.

He has had all his regular check-ups at the same Vet. since he was 8 weeks old; he has weighed right between 67 lbs consistently. He stands 23” tall (@ the shoulder.)

Please let us know if you are interested in meeting him.

Stubborn

It was dinner time, but Evie was not interested in eating dinner. I told her to sit at the table, she ignored me. I squatted down to her face and told her again, it was time to sit at the table and eat dinner.

Me: "Please sit in your chair, it's time for dinner."

Evie: "NO!"

Me: "Evelyn, sit at the table now please; if you do not sit at the table, you will go sit in timeout."

Evie: (thinks for a moment...) "I go to time-out."

Me: "Ok, go sit on the step."

She ran to the step and sat there until I walked over and released her, at which point we had the obligatory "You were in timeout because you didn't listen to Mommy" conversation, I then told her to go sit at the table, which she did.

Sitting at the table, eating, Evie looked at me and said:

Evie: "I go-ed to timeout"

Me: "Yes, you did go to time-out. Why did you go to timeout, Evie?"

Evie: "Because I no listen."

Me: "Yes, that's right, you didn't listen. You need to listen to Mommy."

Evie: "Dat's wyte!"


Tonight, Bryan was doing bedtime duty and told her it was time to give me a "night-night hug"

Evie: "I dun wanna have a Mommy hug"

Bryan: "Ok, let's go to bed, then."

Evie: (reconsidered, and then ran toward me,) "I wanna Mommy hug!"