Spent

I worked three days this week.

Monday was MLK day, no school. Wednesday was an "ice day." School was called at 5:00AM. I gave three quizzes, played a review game, helped some kids through a worksheet on the New Deal, and showed clips from "Family Man" for my minilecture about opportunity cost. Nothing for me. The double block means my classes are three days apart.

Still, I am spent.

I found out three more of my girls are mothers than I had known, I found out one will be a father in August. Another is about to pop. One of my new fathers never came to school this week, his wife should be at BYU. I know. I had her. I got two kids suspended. One of my kids (17!) is filing for divorce. Four of my students have disappeared, two more reappeared. A third of my students never made it to school this week. I think one of them is in jail, and I'm betting I never see three of them again. I don't have working numbers to dial.

Anyone want to write a soap opera?

They write an "If_, then _" essay on opportunity cost and half of them are about dropping out of school.

Did I mention the newly published statistic that the graduation rate in four years is 17%?

My Model UN club is up to fourteen... we can finally have a Security Council. Somehow I wound up in a debate with the uber-far left kid that seems to think everything is a conspiracy. He seems to think the entire Congress is in a conspiracy against the rest of the world; that Israel should be blown off the face of the planet, and whatever genocide might happen in Iraq should go ahead and happen. All while the child kept looking at me and calling me "the U.S." and "you guys." What in the world is that child watching? I didn't know Al Jezzerra was available on stolen cable. They ate all my peanut butter cupcakes.

My Liberian orphan wants to tell me something, she keeps walking in and out of my class with a look on her face. She's got this grin that she's not sure what to do with. She said she'd buy 40 lollipops because I didn't have change. I'd adopt her if I could.

My New York trip kids are well over halfway to their goal and telling me to buy cookies to pay for my trip... I love those kids.

And that's just school.

Outside of that, I found out one of the guiding lights in my life (though one that encouraged me not to follow in his footsteps, or his wife's for that matter) tried to commit suicide on Christmas Eve. Another woman I know, younger than my mother, mysteriously died after elective surgery. She was fine and forty-five minutes later she was on the floor not breathing... she's got two orphaned daughters now. Another didn't return my phone calls this week... she's in the hospital too. Another friend had her baby and has almost named her after me (heh! did name her after me :-) ), another got engaged... and four others want new jobs.

So I'm going to curl up and watch a movie tonight.

{phone rings}

Er... or hang out with Brenda. :-)

Thanks. That's better.