Alarm clocks can fail.
I slept late and rushed to work.
Feels kinda good though.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Salute the Slug
Yesterday before prayer meeting in the morning, a couple of us were waiting around outside the sanctuary and we saw the fastest slug in the world. He wasn't that fast at all, but for a slug, he was really moving. His long body undulated in perfectly timed waves as his antennae stretched forward over his head in an expression of sheer speed and determination. We watched him go and cheered him on as he covered at least three inches in under a minute. It was so impressive and uplifting to us that we started steering kids around him to make sure it had time enough to get across the sidewalk to the bushes and safety. Before long, the time for our meeting came, and we were forced to leave him to his own defenses. We hoped he wouldn't get run over by a pack of wild kids running to class, or some father in steel-toed boots, and even promised to come back out quickly.
Sadly, when we came back out, as soon as we could, the slug was no more. His mangled slug body lay about two-thirds of the way across the sidewalk, a glistening trail of slime showing his astonishing progress. We all stopped for a moment of silence for the friend who had taught us so much about the power of conviction and the dangers of living with no form of skeletal system at all. I write this today so that the memory of this courageous member of the universe will live on. I salute you Sammie Slug (we named him), we may never see your kind again.
Sadly, when we came back out, as soon as we could, the slug was no more. His mangled slug body lay about two-thirds of the way across the sidewalk, a glistening trail of slime showing his astonishing progress. We all stopped for a moment of silence for the friend who had taught us so much about the power of conviction and the dangers of living with no form of skeletal system at all. I write this today so that the memory of this courageous member of the universe will live on. I salute you Sammie Slug (we named him), we may never see your kind again.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Monday Morning Haiku
School begins at last!
New plans burst forth from my brain.
Pray for my students.
New plans burst forth from my brain.
Pray for my students.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Missing Children
The kids have been on vacation for the whole week with their mother, so I've had a lot of time on my hands for the past few days. I've definitely been keeping myself busy, and others have been trying to keep me even busier, so the time has gone by quickly. It's actually been great having time away from the kids this week. I've been able to keep the house really clean all this time, so long as I keep the doors to their rooms closed. I've been getting more work done - lesson planning, writing, preparing my classroom, and fixing some things around the house. I've even been able to spend more time with someone special, time that I definitely couldn't spare with the demands of children. All in all, it's been a productive and self-gratifying week.
Still, I can't wait for them to come home. It's like the house is a little too clean. And too quiet. There's no card game at night. I realized on Monday that I don't know how to cook for one person, so I've been on the sandwich diet all week. No one to wake me up too early on Saturday morning, but then no one to give me an excuse to watch Saturday morning cartoons either. To my shame, I'm even finding that I don't do devotions nightly when they're not around, and so I tend to not do them at all. I don't think I've ever complained about the burden of having kids to raise, maybe jokingly, but their absence is a kind of burden also. Luckily, they're actually on staycation, so I've been able to come up with a couple of good reasons to stop by and see them for a few minutes, sort of get my kid fix, as my friend, who's a new father, would say.
Tomorrow they're coming back, and the next day school starts, so we're back in the routine again. The summer days of spending so much quality time together are over, and the days of hustle and grind are back. But I'm actually looking forward to cooking and washing and tucking kids in at night again. (Just the one kid, really. I have to clarify for my son's sake, he does not require tucking in. A simple pound and peace out is enough for him.) I suppose this time has been valuable, not just for the things it's allowed me to do, but to make me miss the things I'm required to do.
Still, I can't wait for them to come home. It's like the house is a little too clean. And too quiet. There's no card game at night. I realized on Monday that I don't know how to cook for one person, so I've been on the sandwich diet all week. No one to wake me up too early on Saturday morning, but then no one to give me an excuse to watch Saturday morning cartoons either. To my shame, I'm even finding that I don't do devotions nightly when they're not around, and so I tend to not do them at all. I don't think I've ever complained about the burden of having kids to raise, maybe jokingly, but their absence is a kind of burden also. Luckily, they're actually on staycation, so I've been able to come up with a couple of good reasons to stop by and see them for a few minutes, sort of get my kid fix, as my friend, who's a new father, would say.
Tomorrow they're coming back, and the next day school starts, so we're back in the routine again. The summer days of spending so much quality time together are over, and the days of hustle and grind are back. But I'm actually looking forward to cooking and washing and tucking kids in at night again. (Just the one kid, really. I have to clarify for my son's sake, he does not require tucking in. A simple pound and peace out is enough for him.) I suppose this time has been valuable, not just for the things it's allowed me to do, but to make me miss the things I'm required to do.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
Monday Morning Haiku
Sun rises early.
First day back early meeting.
Vacation's over. :(
(On the use of emoticons in formal haiku - I think it's the next big thing. When you consider how the Imagist and Lost Generation poets embraced both Asian forms and experimental use of punctuation, it really has been a long time coming. I think Matsuo Basho himself would have killed for this minimalist form of communication. And since he was a genuine samurai, that's saying something.)
First day back early meeting.
Vacation's over. :(
(On the use of emoticons in formal haiku - I think it's the next big thing. When you consider how the Imagist and Lost Generation poets embraced both Asian forms and experimental use of punctuation, it really has been a long time coming. I think Matsuo Basho himself would have killed for this minimalist form of communication. And since he was a genuine samurai, that's saying something.)
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