One: The week started off with an extremely clean house and an afternoon hen party involving lots of wine and jewelry. I became the person that I hate and hosted one of those direct sales catalog parties...why, I'm not really sure, other than the lure of the jewelry and the need to do something different. It wasn't terrible--it was actually easier to host than it usually is to attend someone else's. I didn't have to play the games, which are like bastardized versions of baby or bridal shower games (ugggh, kill me), and the hardest thing I did during the party was fetch more wine. I profited from the party, and still have to order my free bling, so I guess it was all worth it. Good friends came over for dinner afterward, and the kids played in the yard while I drank more wine and pretended it was already summer and not Sunday night.
Two: I have been entertaining the idea of signing up to do those very same direct jewelry sales. I'm actually still sort of considering it, to the point that I attended a cult recruiting meeting the other night with a recent acquaintance. It's tempting, to be sure...I could really use the money, and the jewelry is a great perk, of course...but I was just a little turned off by the emphasis on the sisterhood of the women selling and how damn enthusiastic and cheerful everyone was. I know how that makes me sound--like the Goth girl in the back of the classroom drawing pictures of graveyards. But I just couldn't get past the cheerleady (yes, I made that word up) "Price is Right" feeling it all gave me. And I really shudder at the thought of going to people's houses to give these parties and having to actually MAKE people play those very same games that make me want to barf, and of having to TALK to people. Gasp!
Three: Of course, I was as rattled by the Boston Marathon attacks as everyone else...Andrew is of an age now where we don't feel compelled to change the channel, so we watched together as the events unfolded. He asks wise questions for a seven year-old and doesn't overreact, and I'd rather he hear facts and information from me than on the playground in bits and false pieces. I'm struggling, now that it's all over, to balance my emotions on the topic. I don't understand the anger that I see a lot of people expressing...it's not productive, it's what leads to events like this in the first place, and I just can't muster it. I'm horrified that people are capable of this, but I'm also compassionate enough to have some thoughts for the perpetrators. Something led them to this, however misguided and heartless their actions were. We watched the news as the second suspect was apprehended, and while I saw a lot of comments from friends and family about how they should just kill him too and save the time and hassle of a trial, I was hoping for him to come out of it alive, and was happy when he did. Not just so that he can be prosecuted, but because he's a young boy who was obviously misguided or disturbed, and it just makes me sad...I don't know how else to say it. He's a victim, too, ultimately.
Four: Because I didn't have enough going on this week, I also attended our local Board of Supervisors meeting on Wednesday night. There's a big struggle going on here between the School Board and the B.O.S. over funding that doesn't exist. Many people want property taxes raised (myself included) to offset the shortages, and there are just as many people who are adamantly resisting. I don't know what's going to happen, but the experience of going was certainly interesting. When there's a public forum and a microphone, all sorts of people feel compelled to get up and speak their minds, including a man who just wanted to rant and rave about how wonderful democracy is, another who I SWEAR was stoned out of his gourd, and others who think teachers are overpaid for the ten months/180 days we work (HELLO?!?!?!) and shouldn't be worried about getting a pay increase or continued benefits. I have decided, however, that the putz I voted for to represent our district needs to go, so it was helpful in one respect.
Five: The week concluded with the two drama performances at school, which went as well as, if not better, than I could have hoped. With the exception of a prop tree falling slowly over at the beginning of the first show, only to be caught and slowly righted by my diligent stage crew, and some technical problems that prevented us from using the opening and closing music, it was fairly flawless. The evening performance was well-attended, we got some nice donations, and the kids left feeling very proud of themselves. (Me, too!) They all went to the local Dairy Queen for their ritual post-show ice cream (to which I was invited--how sweet), but Stella Artois was here waiting for me, and I couldn't let her down. The kids gave me flowers and dragged me kicking and screaming (not quite) onto the stage for curtain call, and I got more than a little choked up at the thought of my eighth graders moving on and the vacancy they'll leave. Andrew was a big help throughout the whole process, and last night his job was to man the donation jar and hand out programs, which he did with relish. Not actual relish...that would be messy. I came home to some potted tulips from my guys, and I can't wait to plant them someplace special. The tulips, that is.
Six: This is random, and not really connected to my week at all, but I'm sitting here looking out the window as I write. The mulberry tree is budding, the grass is greening, and what really got my eye--the dandelions are popping up all over the place. Dandelions always make me think of my grandfather, and while most people treat their lawns to prevent them from growing, I tend to run around blowing the seeds all over the yard to encourage them (plus, it's fun!). Grandpop loved them, too, and would be known to pluck one from the yard to put in his lapel on the way to the office in the mornings. I miss him, and Granny too, but feel them here in this house, where so many things not only remind me of them, but were theirs...well, it makes the shabbiness worth it sometimes.
1 comment:
The dandelion in the lapel story made me smile. :) I also used to think that they were the most beautiful flower I'd ever seen.
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