FML

For me, today started at 11:50ish last night. The first day of school is always exhausting, so I went to be on the earlier side. A few hours into that sleep a thunderstorm rolled through, waking me slightly. I surmise that I drifted back into a light sleep, but soon after a gigantic, house shaking BOOM woke me up. That's an understatement, actually. I nearly jumped out of my skin. It turns out the BOOM wasn't caused by thunder. Already sweating with a racing heart, I went to the bathroom and got a drink of water. I stumbled back into bed and started to fall asleep again. Until I heard sirens and voices outside my window. I jumped to the window to check things out and saw a firetruck parked outside our neighbor's house. Several neighbors were outside shining a flashlight into the tree-covered power lines. I saw smoke. After a few minutes the firemen got back in the truck and drove away. So I returned to bed, but not before noticing that our alarm clock was off. Great, no power! (It's a good thing I'm neurotic and always set my cell phone alarm, also.) I climbed back into bed and attempted to sleep. No dice. Two National Grid trucks roared down the street about a half hour later with their spotlights shining and CBs (I'm guessing?) blaring. Greeaaat! They left around 3:30. The alarm went off at 5:30. Two a little more hours of sleep for the second day of school. Yippity skippity!

Fortunately our power was back on when it came time to dress for work, otherwise there's no telling what I would have stumbled into school looking like. I left early so I could get a jump-start on my day. Apparently the universe had other plans. When I appoached my classroom door, I realized I left my ENTIRE school bag at home. With my room key. Fantastic! I ran all over the building trying to locate a custodian. Luckily our custodians are unbelievably kind and he let me within without a problem. I vaguely remember saying something about how I hoped forgetting my bag and key weren't an omen for how the rest of my day would unfold. Ha ha ha.

Yesterday a student brought me flowers so I had them standing in a glass vase of water on the counter by my sink, which happens to be right next to my classroom window. Things were getting a little stuffy during my third class of the day, so I opened the window to let in some fresh non-germy air. When the period was over the students opened the door and began exiting the classroom. I felt the immediate breeze from the window and turned toward the window. In what seemed very much like slow motion the vase fell over, throwing the flowers to the ground and leaking water all over. Then the vase started to roll...right off the counter onto the tile floor. SMASH! Water and glass in a million pieces. I picked up the phone and called the custodian. Again.

When the custodian finished cleaning up my mess (I offered to help, but he insisted I stay away), I walked across the hall to my teammate's room to tell her the story. As I walked out of her room, things fell off her shelves and a stack of clipboards fell to the ground. What the heck?

I immediately went to the phone and texted my husband. It went something like this: Forgot my bag, computer, and key, along with rings so hands feel naked. Vase of flowers crashed to floor with glass and water everywhere. FML.

I get a charge out of using FML. I have never thought it to be appropriate, but sometimes it just makes a story sound funnier.

I finished off the day with a trip to the movies with a girl friend. Eat Pray Love. I thought it was o.k. Liz's trips to Rome and Bali were more interesting to me than the trip to India, although I'd love the opportunity ( I think) to meditate at an Ashram. Here's the best part. The cell phone of the girl behind us rang three different times during the movie. And SHE ANSWERED IT all three times, each time having a rather long-winded conversation. Did she miss the public service announcement before the previews that orders people to silence their cell phones? That's why I love teaching. If I can get 75 kids a year to grow up being able to choose correctly between good and bad behavior, then I'll consider the year a success.