Summer Project 1 Done!

I sometimes have a problem finishing projects.  This year before school ended I had 3 projects going on at the same time. It makes my dining room table a mess but that’s sort of how my brain works.

My first summer homework was to fix my letter box. I need to explain. I have a slight obsession with bulletin board borders and bulletin board letters. I’ve taught for so long, when I first started, my school did not  have an Ellison machine. For those of you who don’t know, an Ellison machine is a letter cutter.  It’s not a Cricut or a Silhouette cutter by any stretch of the imagination.  It’s the most simple thing in the world: you put the paper under the die cut, pull the lever and it cuts your letter. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.  When I started teaching we didn’t have one. So, you had to trace and cut your own letters. . . It took a LONG time. I still have a tracing kit somewhere.

So I started buying letter sets.  Teacher stores and Hobby Lobby  sell letter sets. They usually have to be punched out but they come in cute patterns.  I have a huge weakness for bulletin board borders and letter sets. I almost can’t contain myself or stop buying them. I know – it’s a sickness. There’s just so many cute sets and I never know which set I might need.  Here are just  a few of my my sets: 

 

Several years ago, while my school resource deputy was teaching my class, I made little envelopes for all my letters, sorted them and stored them in a box.  It makes it really, really simple to find the ones I need.  My box looked like this:

And this:

I  made those envelopes at least 6 years ago but I think it was longer.  They were looking a little worse for wear.  And  I have so many sets, they wouldn’t all fit in one box. So, . . I found these great Ziploc type packets from Amazon. . . and found new boxes.  Here they all are. 

The new packets/envelopes are almost pencil case sized. The only thing is, my M’s and W’s are too tall and they won’t zip.  But it’s better. it’s much much better. I can check one thing off my summer “to do” list.    And now, I think I’ll work on another part of my to do list – naps!

My friend, Mr. Al.

Last Wednesday afternoon, I got a phone call that no one wants to get. My dear friend Susan Smith (known to most people who know me as “Mrs. Smith) called me to tell me that her husband Al had unexpectedly passed away.  To say that this shook me was a bit of an understatement.  I was and still am a mess.  I love words, but I’m not even sure I can find the right words to tell you about my friend Mr. Al.

In 1994, I started as a full time 6th grade Social Studies teacher at Westwood Middle School.  At that time, we were on teams – a group of teachers all taught the same kids and those students rotated between them.  I was the Social Studies teacher and a woman named Susan Smith was the Science teacher on my team.  Who knew that she would end up being one of my dearest, closest friends?

We found out through that year and many more how much we have in common. We were born on the same day – October 15.  Different years of course, but we shared a birthday.  We both are horrible losers, and ridiculously competitive.  Neither one us believes in doing something the easy way, if there’s a hard way.  We spent many, many nights together alone on our hallway.  We walked to the car together many, many nights. The day she left school on her last year, I didn’t think I would be able to teach without her. I’ve only felt so lost a few other times in my life. 

When you spend that much time with a person, you meet their spouse. I don’t have any recollection of meeting Mr. Al for the first time.  We probably ate together.  Since 1994, we’ve eaten many meals together.  Mrs. Smith always laughs and says Mr. Al and I have the same palate.  We both are not particularly fond of many vegetables and both have a tendency to eat the same thing at the same restaurants.

We have eaten countless meals together, been to the movies many,  many times, and watched hours and hours of college football together.  When I found out I was accepted at FSU, I went running down the hallway to tell Mrs. Smith first. I was in her room when I called my sisters!  It was a Wednesday, so I had church, but the next night, Mr. Al and Mrs. Smith took me to dinner. Mr. Al said “they” had a present for me. It was my little library, and my very first FSU anything.  You see, they both got their Bachelor’s degrees at USF (just like me)  but then Mr.. Al went to Law School at FSU.  He was very excited that I was going to be a Seminole.  Mrs. Smith was with me at school all day, so “they” was really him. I used to tell him he should teach husband lessons – he was the sweetest, sweetest man.

Mrs. Smith and Mr. Al got married the same year I was born. Age-wise, they could have been my parents and in some ways, they acted in that capacity.  They were at my graduation from FSU.

I called Mrs. Smith first when my mother passed away.  We had our Mom’s funeral on Monday,  and on Tuesday, I left to go to the beach where Mrs. Smith was staying.  She fed me, listened to me and cried with me. When I left, I was better. I wasn’t OK yet, but I was better.  I’ve house  - and dog-sat for them 100 times.  We’ve had long conversations about any number of topics. We didn’t always agree and we’ve had some very loud discussions. We’ve spent Christmases, Thanksgivings, and birthdays together.  My daddy, my nephews and Mr. Al – some of  my most favorite men in the whole world. 

 

We’ve spent so much time together. It’s been a little more difficult lately, because I’m still working Mrs. Smith has retired and Mr. Al has cut back a LOT on his work hours. I am irritated with myself for letting time slip away.  .  .

Here’s what I know about Mr. Al..  He would  be your biggest cheerleader, but he didn't hesitate to tell you if you were being stupid.   He loved Mrs. Smith, their boys, and the girls that his boys loved.  He loved golf,  tennis , FSU and the law.  And for whatever reason, Al Smith loved me – and I’m  better for it. 

In the musical Wicked, one of my favorite songs is “For Good.”  Part of the lyrics go like this:

It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime.
So, let me say before we part:
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you.
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart.
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have rewritten mine
By being my friend.

Who can say if I've been changed for the better
But because I knew you.
I have been changed for good.

Al Smith left handprints all over the hearts of everyone who knew him.  And because we knew him, our lives are better. 

Banana Puddin’

I don’t cook a lot. I don’t have a signature recipe.  My friend Chris makes a bacon-wrapped meatloaf that is apparently incredible! I've seen it, but I’ve never eaten it.  He’s known for that meatloaf.  My sister is a great cook. She makes the best biscuits I’ve ever eaten.  My friend Donna Moody makes lemon blossoms – these little  2 bite size cookie things that are just fabulous. I know other people that everything they make is just wonderful – my friends Kathy R, and Debbie C and Sharon D.  I’m not that good at anything. 

However, once upon a time I made my sister Robyn’s recipe for banana puddin’.  Yes, it’s  puddin’ not pudding. . . At a school where I once worked,  we had a “cooking contest” and I made Robyn’s banana puddin.  I won.  The person in charge had to give me the first place prize and she wasn’t happy about it.  This banana puddin’ ROCKS!  There is French vanilla pudding involved and heavy whipping cream and whole milk and cool whip and a few other things.  It’s so thick and creamy, you can’t POUR the pudding, you have to scoop it.  It’s pretty good, even if I do say so myself. 

So, the day I won that cooking contest, I had leftovers. I took  the bowl to church for my AWANA leaders. They loved it – which was very satisfying. They bring goodies quite often, and I simply can’t do enough for them, so it made me happy when they liked it.  I felt like Sally Field – “ They like it, they really, really like it!”

On Monday, my sweet friend Mrs. Dawn’s husband went home to be with Jesus.  She’s beside herself, as you can probably imagine.  Her friend, her husband, her sweetie – is gone away from her.  She’s got an empty spot inside.  

I had to go to Publix yesterday so I called another friend who I knew would be with her. I asked her what Mrs. Dawn needed.  You know that in the South, when someone passes away, we bring food. My friend Mrs. Turner is from New Jersey and she doesn’t get that.  She asked me once “What’s up with you people? The day my mother died, there were people knocking on my door with food.”  But, that’s what we do!   She didn’t need food, but she did need some plastic cups!

I asked Mrs. Debbie if there was anything Mrs. Dawn needed or wanted.  Mrs. Dawn told Mrs. Debbie she didn’t need anything but she sure would like  some of my banana pudding.   

So tonight, I made a banana puddin’ and delivered it to my friend Mrs. Dawn.  It’s not a  big deal  - she’s already gotten lots of stuff from other people.  It’s not going to keep her company in the night when she turns over and her husband isn’t there.  It won’t make having to go the funeral home and get through the next few days any easier.  But she smiled when I took it to her and she enjoyed it while she ate some of it.  For a minute, she smiled and ate banana puddin’.  And that, my friend Mrs. Turner is why we do it.

Bus Duty Games

So I may have mentioned that I have bus duty every afternoon. I certainly don’t do it alone. . . We  have been called several things so far this year. One bus driver call us “Mrs. Dennis’ Minions.”  We are usually called the BB’s: either the Bus Brigade or the Bus Babes (we are mostly all females – OK, sometimes we call ourselves that. ).  I think someone has called us  something else that starts wit h a B, but we won't go there. We all work together really well and if everyone would just listen to us, we’d have that bus situation whipped into shape. 
BUT, we are not in charge of the world.  We can’t make anybody do anything we want them to. . . So, we spend a LOT of time together. There are moments of pure pandemonium and chaos, followed by periods of absolute boredom, while we sit and watch for buses to pull in.  So to combat the wait, we make up dumb games. We are not going to patent these or make board games but we make up stuff.  Here’s some of the stuff we do. 
1. We are always on the lookout for cars in the bus loop. Hardly a day goes by when at least one car completely ignores the sign that says “buses only” and pulls into the bus loop. Anybody listening to our radios nearly always hears “Car in the bus loop!!”  Today the car drove in completely the wrong direction, stopped and the driver said “I’m hear to pick up ______” and only said a first name.” There are so, so many things wrong with that I don’t even know where to begin.  A) YOU”RE IN THE BUS LOOP.  B)  You’re going the wrong way. C) There are 1940 students at our school – right off the top of my head, I’ve got no idea who  or where _____ is.  D) How do we know you ‘re allowed to pick up ______?  Do I need to go on?  I think not.
2.  We try to be the first one to spot the buses. We can see them on Highway 27 before they turn onto our road.  Sometimes, the ones we see aren’t our buses.  That’s heartbreaking when we see a bus and it never turns.
3. We play the guessing game with substitute buses.  Every day I get an email from my principal with bus changes. Today bus 847 rides bus 1682.  Those are not really our bus numbers, I’m just making stuff up.  So, we mark it down on our little bus sheet, get out to the bus loop, only to find that that information may or may not be correct – and the buses may or may not have the correct number on them. Last week one of our buses was a different number and the bus driver had a new hair do and she looked just like another one our buses. That was confusing. 
4. We measure how long it takes the bus to pull into the loop and how long it takes to load. One bus takes a long time, because we have to send the kids in groups, because they want to get home so quickly, they run over us. It takes them longer.
5. We make bets on which bus will be last.  We have one bus that is ridiculously late all the time – and it does two runs.  So if  you are really late for your first run, obviously your second run is going to take a while too. . . Apparently our game has rubbed off onto others.  We have one bus driver named Speedy  (obviously, that’s not really his name, but that’s what we call him. . . ) who now “races” another bus. Today he stopped on his last load to ask if the other bus had been back yet. When we said no, he gave us a thumbs up and drove off.
This isn’t a game, but it’s my favorite part. Our school is huge. We have a huge staff and huge number of students. While we wait, we talk to each other and to some of our students. And we get to really, really talk. . Sure, sometimes we have to stop and load a bus, but we finish later. 
Who knew bus duty could be (almost) fun???

Hot water and Free-Spinning Toilet Paper

Here in Polk County, the School Board has a magical mystery place that occasionally, we peons get to visit.  On Highway 98, between Lakeland and Bartow is the wonderful and amazing Jim Miles Professional Development Center.  It has it’s own Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jim-Miles-Professional-Development-Center/244326988996226
To be perfectly honest, I have no idea who Jim Miles is, what he did or why we have a professional development center named after him.  Media Services is housed there, EERS (Electronic Equipment Repair and Support) is there, ESOL may be there, but I’m not sure.  There is some warehouse space and other stuff but I  basically don’t know much about what else is there.  Here’s what I do know. . .
Several years ago, the Polk County School Board bought a warehouse and spent a lot of money trying to make it not a warehouse anymore.  From the outside, it’s still a warehouse. But inside? It’s pretty fancy – shmancy.  There is a huge auditorium that can be broken up into several different rooms, which is where we are sent lots of times for professional development. There is very nice carpet, beautiful murals painted on the walls, great wireless access throughout and the coldest A/C in any place in all of the county.  I am hardly ever cold, but I freeze at Jim Miles.  People wear jackets and boots and bring blankets – it’s that cold. It has a big beautiful sign outside.

 

Here’s one thing that I just don’t understand. . . Jim Miles is one of the few places where you actually get hot water to wash your hands in the bathroom sink. I’ve never had hot water in any bathroom sink at my schools. I think some of the teacher restrooms at my new school have hot water, but I don’t in the media center bathroom.  At my old school, in the media center, I had three sinks and a custodian closet that had a hot water heater but there was no electrical outlet for it.   My old classroom, which used to be part of the home economics suite,  used to have hot water, but the hot water heater leaked once so they just took it out.
Here’s another thing.  At Jim Miles, the toilet paper dispensers are free-spinning.  You can get all the toilet paper you want.  My old school – nope,.  All the dispensers had those stupid little tabs that stop so you only get like 4 squares.  My new school doesn’t have those, thank goodness.  Why you ask does that matter? Well, our county is notorious for buying things from the lowest bid.  Most of the time, you really do get what you pay for – so when you buy toilet paper from the lowest bid, you get pretty crappy toilet paper. (Did you see what I did there? That’s funny, isn’t it!)  If you have toilet paper that is less than one ply, that you can see through, you probably need more than 4 squares.  I’ve heard rumors of some people who have had accidents with their toilet paper dispensers and those little tabs that stop the roll have been damaged and subsequently lost. I can neither confirm or deny that rumor.
Here’s my question.  Why does the professional development center get hot water and unlimited toilet paper? Maybe it’s because it’s where we send new teachers to learn about our county.  (Ha! Fooled you! Don’t think you’ll always get hot water and free spins. . . )  Maybe it’s because when we bring people in to develop us, that’s where we bring them. 
I really didn’t intend to get too political here, but last night I sat at Jim Miles during an impasse hearing.  Our union and our School Board are at an impasse over raises (and several other contractual issues) for the 2016-2017 school year.  Yes, that’s correct.  That’s not a mistake.  We are still trying to negotiate a contract for a year that is already DONE!  I sat there listening and looking around that building, noticing things I’ve noticed but never really noticed before. I’ve never been to that building where there hasn’t been a custodian on duty, and usually more than one.  My school of almost 1900 students and well over 100 staff members has fewer custodians during the day than that building.
I started thinking about respect and/or lack thereof.   I don’t think it’s disrespectful to not have hot water, but it sure would be nice to have it.   I don’t think it’s necessary to have free spinning toilet paper dispensers, but it would be nice.  I mean, after all, we are adults. Certainly, we ought to know how much toilet paper we need. Of course, I must be careful, here. In the unlikely event that anyone actually reads this, besides three people who tell me they do, instead of raises, the school board might just offer us hot water and toilet paper. But on the other hand,  that’s more than they are offering now. . .

Things that I dislike about College Football

I generally love, Love, LOVE college football. I really do. It’s just exciting. I start with College Game Day,  and I watch football all day, even games and teams I care NOTHING about. . .
However, I don’t love EVERTHING about college football. There are some things that just annoy me. And since this is my blog and about 5 people read it, I can do what I want. Here they are:  a few things about college football that annoy me!.
1. Obviously, I don’t like it when my team loses.  I am NOT a good loser.  And honestly, I’m a little bit spoiled.  Being a FSU fan has been pretty easy for a while.  Although some wins haven’t been pretty, there has been a lot of them. It’s easy to get used to your team winning more than they lose.  I have a lot of respect for those who stand by their team after year after year after year of losing seasons.  I just don’t want to be one of those people.
2.  I really don't like people who talk trash.  To be perfectly honest, in my heart, I’m not a good winner either. My sarcastic, snarky mind can come up with a LOT of things to say to people. However, being an ADULT  who enjoys having friends, and realizing that this is just a GAME that I have no control over (more about this later!) I don’t say them. I try really hard not to brag about winning or whine about losing where others can hear or read it!  I don’t enjoy people who do.
3.  I don’t like it when I can’t figure out which FSU shirt is the “lucky shirt.”  Don’t give me grief – my logical mind KNOWS that I really don’t have a lucky shirt and that my FSU flag flying at my house has no impact on the game,   Someone once told me that I have control issues – I know that  I have NO control over the game, but, I have been known to change to another FSU shirt if the ‘Noles aren’t doing well at halftime
4.  I don’t care for it when the players I’m trying to help don’t listen to me.  Coach Fisher never listens, no matter if I yell, whisper or send brain waves.   . . And my trying to warn our quarterback when people are coming for him doesn’t help either.   Why don’t they listen????
5.  I’ve never quite understood why 60 minutes of football can take 4 hours on TV.  I know I’m not a math person, but still, four 15 minute quarters is 60.  60 minutes turns into four hours? How does that even work???
6.  3:00 or 3:30 games annoy me.  I don’t know about everybody else, but Saturday afternoons are PRIME napping time at my house. I “watch” games I don’t really care about while I doze on the couch.   But, sometimes MY game comes on at 3 or 3:30. . . How am I supposed to get a happy nappy when the Seminoles are playing??
7.  Teams who change uniforms all the time – what’s up with that? It should be simple. Most teams have 2 main colors and we switch black and white, period.   Please, please just STOP with too many “costumes.”
8.  This is not about college football, but about being a fan in general.   Those trash talking people that I referred to in #2. . . Here’s what they miss:  Do not ever think that my love for Florida State is based solely on how well a group of 18 – 20-something-year-olds play a GAME.  I love FSU, but I keep my eye on USF too and always want them to do well. Why you ask? Because the diplomas on my wall have both of those schools on them.  My Bachelor’s degree from USF made my career and the life I live now possible.  My Master’s degree from FSU changed my life in so, so many ways.  Occasionally stupid ignorant people ask me dumb questions like “How can you like Florida State?” or “Why would you go to FSU?”     Here’s my answer:  I’m a school media specialist.  Why would I choose any other school than the college ranked #1 in School Library Media Programs?   When your school is ranked # 1 in the thing that you do EVERY day. . . that means a lot more than a football record. I’ve said it before. . . Diploma trumps fan every single time.
9.  This one is just ridiculous. . . I dislike the way that reporters get right up in players and coaches faces the very second that the game is over.  I think when teams win, they need a little time and when they lose, they need a little more time. If you shoved a microphone in my face the very minute that something I liked or didn’t like was over, there is no telling what might come out of my mouth.  For coaches and players, every word they say is examined at a microscopic level. . . That’s just wrong.
10.  Hair.  I really, really dislike all that hair hanging out of helmets.  I just don’t like that.  I also wish that all coaches had hair like Kliff Kingsbury as opposed to Matt Gundy.  Honestly, choose one:

Oh, wait,  maybe that is just not the hair. . .

My Newest Solution to a Problem

So, I try to fix things. Part of my job as a teacher and media specialist, as well as just part of my personality is to want to try and solve problems.  Sometimes, my warped brain sees thing and fixes them, but not like anybody else.  Here is an example.

I’ve gone to bus duty every day since school started.  I am not assigned bus duty, but since the media center isn’t open yet, I voluntarily do bus duty. Bus transportation  is a mess, especially this first bit of school  and the more  hands on deck, the better.  Well, here’s the problem. in case  you haven't noticed, if you’ve been outside from say 2:45 – 4:30 lately it is HOT outside.  And when you’re holding a sign or running kids back and forth or shouting “Look for your bus”  it’s even hotter. (Today we shouted “Don’t look at the sun!”)  The heat index last Thursday before bus duty was 106. 

I love the AP that I serve bus duty with – she’s got the same sense of humor I do and we think a lot alike.  Out testing coordinator and our Kindergarten grade chair both do bus duty every day as well.  It’s like a little club. (If everyone would listen to us and do what we say, it would be better, but they won’t.)

So anyway, we stand around waiting and talk about how hot it is. They laugh at me and can’t figure out why I don’t look so hot. One ladies face turns really red and her hair gets all sweaty and they say I don’t look like that! I say it’s because I’m hot and sweaty all the time, I just don’t look any different.  Here’s something else people don’t know.  My job is a LOT more physical than most people think. I know, most people think I just sit around and read books all day but that is so not true. Since school started, I have averaged over 14000 steps a day – and that doesn’t count when I push a book cart around.  Thursday and Friday, I moved/climbed over 111 boxes of textbooks!   Today  over 1400 pounds of books were delivered and I’ve gone  through and moved the first pallet already. I do real, physical work.  So, all that work and book moving and bus duty make me hot.  Really, really sweaty hot.  Not to be too gross, but sometimes so hot it makes it tricky to use the bathroom, because your underwear don’t behave like they are supposed to, because they are wet with sweat.  So Friday morning, I noticed something, I had climbed over the boxes of books, ran from a cockroach and moved lots of boxes. I was hot and had to use the restroom.  Again, at the risk of sharing too much, when trying to use the restroom, I almost slipped off the toilet seat, because I was so sweaty.  So,  my brain came up with this.  

TA-DA!!! I call it “Slip-No-More.”  It’s very simple actually.  Two strips of shelf liner, one on each side of the toilet.  I thought about just one strip instead of two, but I was afraid of a skid.  It’s brilliant isn’t it? It keeps you from slipping off the commode onto the floor.  It would be horribly embarrassing to fall off the toilet and hurt myself and either A) have to call an ambulance or B) explain that to the Workman’s Comp people.

I use shelf liner in the media center frequently (not those two strips. obviously.) I use it to keep books from sliding on book carts, to keep bookends from sliding, and to keep my document camera from sliding,It  only makes sense it would keep ME from sliding as well.

I think I should patent it. Maybe I can make enough money to retire. What do you think?