Highlights of a Hairy Week

Here are some highlights from a very crazy, busy week:

Mrs. Rackley…can I ask you a question about babies? 

Be.  Still.  My.  Heart.  This came from the mouth of a precocious, mannerly little fellow.  As smart as he is, I’ve got to be honest, I sputtered some.  My eyes, I’m sure, got big.  Finally I said, “Sure.”

Why do babies walk on their tippy-toes all the time?

After I could breathe again, I tried to answer him.  I might have said something like, “Oh you know, their muscles are not strong yet…blah, blah, blah.”  I was so happy it hadn’t been anything worse, I could barely focus.

**

I got this love letter on my birthday.  It was written by the sister of one of my students.  And let me assure you, sweet girl, you ARE beautiful…and smart and creative and kind and thoughtful.

**

At another point, we were brainstorming (-ed) family words.  I got bed, red, fed.  One yells out ted.  I told them yes but as a name with a capital letter.  A few little brains churned until I hear, “Like the movie ‘Ted’?”

“Yes,” I say, while I’m thinking ‘you better not have watched that movie’.

Someone else yells out, “What about Teddy…like my teddy bear?”

Then boom, another says, “Teddy Roosevelt!”

Only the little fellow and I knew who he was, but still, it was another one of those moments where I know my face looked stunned.  (I have a hard time hiding emotion on my face, like really hard.  It’s a curse.)  I’ll tell you, I’m surrounded by some very intelligent, inquisitive children this year.  Hope I can keep up!

**

So, I had a birthday this week.  The students asked how old I am, and I told them….then it was their turn to look stunned.  Their minds cannot process 46.  It’s too much – especially when I’m older than most of their parents…which they made sure I knew!  I’ve got to be honest…birthdays have become a weird, almost depressing event over the years.  What happened to the celebrations?  Now it’s just, “Oh crap…in four years I’ll be fifty.”  But fear not, the hubby made the one thing I wanted for my birthday.  I had chocolate cake so all is right with the world.

This is the masterpiece Bill made.  Half chocolate icing, half cream cheese. Yum!

Saying Hello

I woke up early this morning…very early.  It was one of those mornings where you can only sleep for snatches at a time.  Each time I woke up, my dog was staring at me.  Must have been something in the air (but it didn’t seem to be affecting my husband).

I woke up thinking about 6:05 a.m.  I could hear her in my head telling me it was almost time.  Not quite but almost.  My special day wouldn’t start until then.

I woke up thinking about her waffles and the homemade strawberry sauce/syrup/yummy stuff she used to cover them with. She pulled out her waffle maker on special occasions…today would have been one of those days.

I woke up thinking about my momma on my birthday.

I woke up thinking about my grandmother, too.  I had dreamed about her during those snatches of sleep.  Doris was back to well and feisty and spirited.  She was driving a car (Lord help us…she didn’t learn to drive until she was in her sixties and my papa passed away), and she was driving fast.  She was speeding toward the nursing home with a car load of family but she quickly told us she didn’t have to stay there anymore.  We all knew it was true…she was too well to stay there.

I woke up feeling melancholy as I thought about these women I’ve lost… but then I smiled.  I smiled because they were with me today.  They came into my mind and heart strongly, more so than usual.  They came to say hello.

Best birthday present ever.

My 9th birthday. I got a red purse with my name stitched in white. My name was in cursive, and I’d only begun to write in cursive myself. One of my most cherished gifts ever.