Cheez-It Based Management

Loving my job...
I am wondering how you're supposed to scold 5th grade boys for shouting "Ms. [my name here] is awesome" in the lunchroom. At least they're starting to use their powers for good instead of evil, right? They haven't been able to shut their mouths or follow directions to save their lives on Fridays in the lunchroom. And since when do we throw things or poke/punch people? But somehow at least we bonded - mostly over Cheez-Its. First someone shared a few with me when they found out my Cheez-It weakness, then someone gave me their whole bag, then some one dropped off a whole box... Pretty funny. Especially for 5th grade boys. Not that any of this helps them shut their traps in the lunchroom. But at least we enjoy one another more while they are misbehaving.

Not so much loving my job...
Super quirky Ramona Quimby-esque first grader looks up at me as if we hadn't met fifty bazillion times before and says, "You look like my teacher!" Which would be a lovely compliment... if her teacher didn't happen to be over six months pregnant with twins at the moment. Hmm. Maybe too many Cheez-Its?!

Waiting for Gilbert Blythe

I recently re-watched Anne of Green Gables the Sequel (my official excuse is girls weekend with my preteen niece, btw). Apparently, I swoon like a 12 years old girl all over again when Anne finally says yes to Gilbert on the bridge over the pond after having turned him down a year earlier when she foolishly thought she needed more glamor and romance than her small-town childhood sweetheart could give her...

I realized I might be holding out for Gilbert. The perfect handsome rival/best friend/boy next door/love of your life who is devoted to you despite knowing full well all of your faults, defenses, and silly romantic notions. The person you were supposed to be with all along, who was under your nose the whole time. Who fate handed to you. Complete fantasy?! Possibly.

Regardless, it's a far cry from online profiles, blind dates, messy break-ups, and running into a former flame for the first time since you parted ways only when you've gained ten pounds, have a cold, and haven't showered in two days.

My new approach to finding love: let other people do the dirty work for me. I'm recruiting a few select moms from school to find the love of my life for me. I'm picking good people who know good people... who might know a Gilbert-like adorable well-grounded guy, right? I am choosing these agents carefully, of course - the few down-to-earth parents who I'd hand my own children over to in a minute because they'd probably do a much better job than I could, who are socially connected but for all the right reasons.

We'll see how that goes or doesn't go for a while. Meanwhile I have a few other things to attend to...