barf and bloody noses.
i've worked in a preschool now for 6 full days. during the last three days i have rushed three children with emergency potty needs to the restroom with just seconds to spare. i have cleaned up a bloody lip after a small accident on the playground. i have sterilized the bathroom floor after a poop episode. i hurried a little boy to the bathroom--he threw up three times along the way. i have taken care of a terrified little girl with a bloody nose. i have cleaned the carpet after a failed potty-training experiment.
who says preschool is easy?
week two.
ready for week two? perhaps. this past weekend was spent at the beach with my niece and nephew. little bridget is so beautiful. i had a wonderful time with her. she is talking a lot more these days and it is an absolute delight. baby jack is a little monkey. he is so dear when he clings to you or flails his limbs about with excitement.
it makes me sad that i have to go to work. it means that i am missing out on time with them.
of kitchen blinds
in boston grand
two women stand
inside a kitchen yellow
with aims to pass
such daunting tasks
as claim e'en many a fellow
the night drew nigh
and with a sigh
miss linda spied the table
"oh kathryn dear
these curtains here
we'll hang if we are able!"
determinedly
they set to see
if either one could manage
to set the drill
and try to fill
the holes with screws they'd cram-age
a valiant fight!
turn left! turn right!
now straight! the screws did scamper!
across the room
and pretty soon
the cheerful mood did damper
As oft will be
the girls did see
no chance to mend the ruffage
when said Ms J.
that they should stay
a glance at other stuff-age.
in name, the box!
"let's place our stocks
upon the detailed pictures
contained within
the pages thin
to help us place the fixtures"
then by great chance
K's eye did glance
upon a piece to fasten
unclasp the hinge--
no need to twinge
or force the shade to crash-in
Hey hey! Ho ho!
the shades just so
are permanently fix-ed
atop the pane
of glass they frame--
let's have a drink well mix-ed
some nuts and grapes
to celebrate
an ev'ning well triumphant!
with time to spare
and wine to share
they bask on porch-chair-summit!
first week.
so this is the last day of my first week of my new job. monday and thursday were great. tuesday and wednesday were less great. in fact, they were aweful. BUT. i have high hopes for today.
"Your Hair Looks Like Little Worms!"
Today at work, this little boy was wiggling his fingers. i asked him if he liked to wiggle his fingers and he said yes. he said he liked to wiggle them like jelly. I said "or like little worms".
his eyes widened with delight.
"Your HAIR looks like little worms!" he exclaimed.
...best part of my day.
Apple Green, Apple Red
Apple Hit Me On The Head.
I am a preschool teacher. That's right. I said it. Tomorrow I will start a unit on Apples. Apples are so handy. You can use them for so many things. They are great teaching tools. Apples have seeds. We can count the seeds. Apples come in different colors and shapes too. We can sing apple songs. We can talk about Johnny Appleseed. We can eat apples. We can cut an apple in half and use the halves as stamps for apple prints. Then we can talk about fractions. We can read books about apple picking. We can talk about taste and texture. We can compare and observe. We can put apples in a basket and we can take the apples out of the basket. Apple start with the letter "A". Little "a" looks like an apple. We can watch an Apple dry out and turn brown. We can put lemon juice on another apple to see what happens overnight. The possibilities are endless.
By the End Of The Week, I will most likely have Had My Fill Of Apples.
child
so pretty. she lives in africa.
Madeleine L'Engle.
Madeleine L'Engle's death last week marked the first time i shed tears for someone i had never met. In a way, it's as though she raised me. I feel a deep sense of loss.
She died the same day Pavarotti died. I love music; I love Opera. I even have my BA in that field. But never have i felt such a soul-connection with those things as the connection i felt with Madeleine. I absolutely devour her writings. The mild panic and dismay in my heart was great when i realized that the voice who (for all intents and purposes) had given me so much of my self had been silenced.
but i have not ceased to learn from her. I haven't fully digested everything yet, and i salved my wound by making my way through
Two-Part Invention; The Story of a Marriage. I suppose a voice that great cannot easily be stilled.
I am just sad never to have met her, talked with her, asked questions of her.
It
is rather peculiar. Peculiar to grieve the loss of someone who never even knew my name. Naming plays an important part in her writing. It is likely that even had we met she would not have been able to recall my name for ever, but the important thing is that she gave me one. Her writing has named me, marked me. It is with deepest gratitude to God that I acknowledge her life, her work and her spirit. May God grant me equal grace on my journey, and may He continue to do with me that which is pleasing to Himself alone.
blog blog blog
blog blog blog blog blog. i have so much to say, but no time to speak of. i am moving to the city. i start a job tomorrow. it freaks me out a little. i went to a wedding this weekend. ash went home yesterday. julie had to teach today. i am working on music for the north shore men's choir. i am finishing some laundry. i am meeting my mother for lunch. i will probably cry from exhaustion at some point this day.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BLOG
two years, folks. two years. thanks for the memories.
city for you, city for me
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmaybe i have a job. i have to get back to them ASAP. several things have to happen but it could be a good thing for me. bye.
each night before you go to sleep, my baby...
...take a sleeping pill.
at least that's what i had to do. my body was so wired from the fire on Sunday night that i couldn't even take a nap yesterday. good thing is that last night i, at least, did not dream about roaring flames. no. my dreams were about preschools and interviews. (i have an interview tomorrow morning. i hope it goes well.)
either way, ash and i are headed to the city this evening. we'll crash at a friend's place tonight, i'll go to my interview in the morning, and then we'll spend the rest of wednesday courting boston.
we're almost sticking the original sans-fire-plan for the week. not too bad.
weeeeeeeeeeeeird
i think, secretly, deep down, i believe that blogging about last night's trauma will purge my mind of its effects. so far, it isn't working.
kathryn sprat could eat no fat and ash could eat no lean
and so, between the two of them they licked the platter clean.
what i mean to say is that under anxiety's strong influence, i tend to forget about food and ash can think of nothing else. together, we make the world go 'round.
this has been an anxiety driven day. i feel like an elephant is sitting on my chest and i can't breathe. i just want to be able to sleep tonight, to be honest.
....and to think! ash chose to stay here this week so that his life would be easier! fate has a cruel sense of irony.
"not so fast," she thought to herself...
after a solid night's sleep of less than three hours, i have decided to NOT try to clean anything because it needs to be done professionally. my family is glad that we acted so quickly and that everyone is fine.
it's funny---in my family, we get worried about small, insignificant things. we stay calm during big things. in fact, i was the only one of the five of us last night who thought to call 911 right away.
later, one of my friends told me they would never have thought to call 911. i said, "what else would you do?"
they said they didn't know.
the cleaning could be expensive. thankfully the comparative damage isn't too bad. like everyone keeps saying, it could've been much, much worse. ok. that's all for now.
just for kicks.
let me just note that i have kept this blog for two years come wednesday. too much has occurred. this fire business is freaking me out.
"Pardon me for mentioning it ladies, but the house is on fire."
--courtesy of P.G Wodehouse.
in all seriousness, though, my house caught on fire tonight. police, fire dept, whole shabang. scary. cooking accident, don't you know. five people. all adults. all familiar with cooking AND wise enough to call 911 when faced with flames. tomorrow brings with it the joyous prospect of cleaning. like maniacs.
thankfully, there is no structural damage to the house. we may need to paint, and we lost a cabinet, but it could have been much worse. like, we could have lost the house.
...and did i mention that my parents went away for the weekend to relax? they have no cell phone reception and, as of now, are unaware of the events of the evening.
my writing is disjointed. probably i am in a form of shock. i'm sure i will write more at a later date.
