And I'm OFF ...

Well, I did it! I got everything done that really needed to get done yesterday so that I can leave for the beach after church today. I had a huge bag of grading to do, and lesson plans to write up. I desperately needed to get my roses cut back before spring hits. (Have any of you locals noticed the daffodils poking through the bark dust already?) And I had to get laundry done (and dishes and yada yada yada). Meanwhile, I had a batch of four teenagers last night, another (only slightly) different set that stopped by during the day (briefly), and three teenagers here last night. Well, they're still here actually! Oh, and I was the designated "pick up the kids from the movies" person last night, too. Wheee!

It was funny, though. Both this afternoon when the kids stopped by and then this evening when I picked them up from the theater, there was a boy (different one each time) with them. Boys rarely come to our house. I wish they would! But ... they don't. But Isaac came by with the girls today, and apparently after he left, he told Kayte, "Your mom is so COOL!" Hah! Well, thanks, Isaac, but ... I'm completely baffled by that. I didn't even do anything! I was sitting at the table, grading papers! But ... I'll take that compliment, wherever it came from! I think maybe he was just blown away by the fact that the girls just waltzed in and went straight to the fridge. He said (to them), "You just get in her fridge?" Dakota said, "Oh, yeah. We do it all the time." I told him, "They basically live here." (Maybe that's why I can't seem to keep food in the house ... Hm ...)

The second boy, D., is not one of my favorite--and he knows it. I called his mother, when he and Kayte were back in the 7th grade, and they were going out. When she broke up with him (again. Those two have a love/hate on-again-off-again relationship that worries me at times.), he threatened her. Now ... I don't think he would have hurt her, for real! But even to threaten her like that, because she chose to break up with him? Nuh-uh. Now, I have to say, I tend to have a pretty hands-off policy with my kids. I instruct them and discuss things with them, but I rarely intervene. Like when Kayte and Lindsay had a year long spit-and-hiss fight ... Kayte and I talked about it routinely, but unlike the other mother involved, I didn't want to make them "kiss and make up." They had to WORK through things, not gloss over things, and now they are (finally!) friends again. (Whew ...) But that was a long, tough road. And then other things happen: Kayte tells me about parties where her peers are getting drunk (NOT parties she has been at), about so-and-so giving a boy oral sex and making sure it gets back to her as revenge for this-or-that ... all kinds of lovely things kids do when adults aren't looking. I listen ... and listen ... and listen. But I rarely DO a thing except (hopefully) help her think through what happened and how she's going to handle it. But when D. threatened her, I called his mother (who insisted, of course, that he's a very nice boy). Anyway, he knows that I'm not entirely thrilled with him. (I told the girls today, "It's nothing personal. It's just that I don't want him within 50 feet of my daughter ...") Well, he was so nervous in the car last night. After he got out, the girls told me how they had coached him to try to smooth things over with me, etc. I told them, "You know, I don't think it's such a bad thing to have a WEE bit of fear of a girl's parents ..."

But speaking of fear ... I had quite the incident this week! a first for me. I had gone to a lovely Lit Lunch with some other teachers (eating quiche and lemon bars and discussing how to help student comprehend what they are reading), and time was up all too soon. I went back next door to my own classroom and was trying to transition my mind back to the class that was due to start up, when I saw W. (BIG, white kid) reach out and smack at C. (tiny, Mexican boy). I said something like "Hey, knock it off," because the kids are always hitting each other in their play and I didn't think much off it. Next thing I know, W. is sprawled across the table and lunging for C (who had turned his back). He grabbed him by the neck and pulled him down, backwards, against the table and was choking him. I know my jaw pretty much hit my knees as I stared at him in horror. The freaky thing is ... he stared right back--RIGHT into my eyes, the whole time he was choking this kid. I said, "W!!!! WHAT are you doing?" Then I pointed, full arm outstretched, at the door, and ordered, "Get out of here!" Thank merciful God, he let go of that boy's throat and stalked out of the classroom. C sat up and blinked at me, his face a mask of absolute terror. It was ... awful. I went next door and got Jami (principal) and she took it from there, but I can't help wondering what I would have done if he hadn't let go ... Could I have taken him down? I have no idea. He's a pretty big kid! But thankfully it didn't come to that. (And also thankfully ... he won't be in my class when he returns from his three-day suspension.)

But anyway! Other than that, the week went well, although it was BUSY (hence, no blog posts). I'm still working/studying late every day, but I was able to knock off about 10:00 this week, rather than 11. It's amazing what one more hour of sleep can do for a person's ability to function!

I had my formal observation by the principal on Thursday, and she declared me to be "growing by leaps and bounds," which pretty much made my week! But now ... I have to be observed by the superintendent, twice, once this coming week, and once the week after. GULP. (Long pause in the typing here, as I try to figure out a way to convey the depth of that gulp ...) Well, there's nothing for it but to press ONWARD--and to be as prepared as I possibly can be.

But in the meantime, I'm out of here! I was singing yesterday, some made up song about going to the beach. Kayte's friends say, "I love your mom." Kayte just rolls her eyes ... They said the same thing yesterday, when I was going through the drive through to get Brendan some chicken nuggets (since he won't eat pizza), and I dropped my money inside the car and the lady at the window was waiting for me and ... yeah. Dakota says, "I love your mom ..." Kodee, at school this week, asked as I was setting up for class, "Are you always this way?" I looked at him, "Like what?" He said, "I don't know. Like ... this." I said, "You mean, scattered?" He shrugged. "Yeah?" I nodded. "Yep. Pretty much." Ah, well, watching me struggle to keep the loose ends from flapping in the wind provides countless hours of entertainment for the youth among us ... Hah!