Overheard at Chess Club

Not sure of the background of this conversation. Wish I knew.

Two fifth graders, as they contemplated the vagaries of life and planned their next move:

"There's nothing worse than a mad mom."

"Oh yes there is!"

"Oh, right - a mad dad."

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful...

...that yet again, after our furnace shut down in the middle of the night, I managed to get it started again yesterday morning. I'm especially thankful for this because the temperature was -28 degrees Celsius outside.

...that I survived having my teaching observed by my principal on Monday. I know I'm a fairly good teacher. I've never really had complaints - at least nothing serious - from students, parents, colleagues, or administrators in all of my eighteen years of teaching. Still, I experience nervous shakes whenever I'm observed. One more lesson to have observed, and I'm done for four years or so.

...for books on CD. I've been borrowing them from the library and listening to them as I drive to and from work. It's so great! There are only 2 downfalls: my car CD player skips when it's really cold, so I miss the occasional word and phrase - at least until the car warms up. And I have to choose my audio-books carefully or I could make a fool of myself. I was listening to Mitch Albom's For One More Day, a story in which the main character is contemplating suicide and is taken on this spiritual journey to spend one more day with his mother, who had died years before. Well, as I mentioned in my comment on the previous post, I tend to be a weeper, so there I was, bawling my eyes out on the highway to work. Luckily I had a touch of a cold at the time, so when people at work asked, I chalked up the red eyes to that. Not sure what that trucker who passed me on the road was thinking, though.

...for#1's band teacher, who has encouraged him to join the jazz band. He couldn't play earlier in the year because the practices were the same time as his volleyball games. She needled him and needled him until he finally joined last week and he loves it! I told him it was an honour to be so persistently recruited by a teacher. He said, "Well, she kept telling me that she was sure I would like it, that jazz is in my bones, whatever that means." I think it means that she knows him very well.

...that #1 still gives me a hug and a kiss and tells me he loves me before he goes to bed. He's 12 now, and I expect that may stop soon, but I sure hope it doesn't.

...that when #2 asks what's for supper and I reply, his response is almost always,"Yes!" He is by far the least picky of the three.

...that, on cold mornings like we've had for the last week or more, my little car still starts. It's an amazing little vehicle.

...that when my blogposts are few and far between, as they have been lately, people still drop by to see what I have to say. I'm especially thankful that some see fit to drop off a little comment. Thanks, folks!

Have a great week.

My Latest Guilty Pleasure

Beauty and the Geek

Only problem is - my favourite couple, Nadia and Mario, were eliminated this past week. I actually cried!