sock monkey prom dress

this saturday is prom. naturally, 90% of the upperclassmen girls today were extremely pre-occupied with tomorrow's plans (hair appointments, makeup appointments, nail appointments, pictures, dinner) and vocalized their excitement in giggly, high pitched voices.

i remember prom. not the most fun i've ever had, but i really did like dressing pretty. at least, i thought my dresses were pretty at the time. in hindsight though, the periwinkle thing with shimmery star-flecked gauze over it was a bad choice. and the gold one-shoulder number would have been nice had my bosom not been so big. ah....prom fashion - who isn't a victim?

i get to go to prom tomorrow but as one of those nerdy teacher chaperones. my dress is little and black and plain (but classy because i wore it to my sister's wedding) and i've just reminded myself that i need to go get shoes for it. i don't think i run too much danger of hindsight embarassment this time around.

i have to confess,though, that i am far more excited to see fellow prom dress victims tomorrow night as opposed to anything else.

26 days

there are 26 days left of school and this morning, as i sip coffee and look at my laundry list of tasks, the last day of school is 26 days too far away. at the same time i freak out a little because my laundry list is quite long and i fear 26 days may not be enough to get everything accomplished. i've still got lessons to plan for things i'm not quite sure how to teach (or have never taught before in my life), i've got mounds - literally - of paperwork and data collection to complete, meetings to schedule with parents who don't answer their phones, books to read, worksheets to make, an essay to write, and students who are so behind in their work i have no idea how to get them caught back up.

so i take a breath, sip a little more coffee and smell the rose scented candle on my desk. because in the grand scheme of things laundry lists are very small and 26 days will turn out to be just enough to finish well.