BulgingButtons

May 24, 2014
by BulgingButtons 4 Comments

Score Two For Me!

Yesterday was the last day of school. Let me assure you, this is every bit as exciting for the teacher as it is for the students.

The last day of school is meant to be a time of reflection and of wrapping up a year spent together. We looked back over what we’ve achieved, and the experiences we’ve shared. After that we headed outside for the annual staff v. 5th grade kickball game.

Yes, I said kickball. And here’s the really amazing part… I not only played, but I scored. Twice. Now you know I’m not an athlete. I’m an extremely fat 47 year old woman whose idea of physical activity is splashing around in a pool for a while (preferably with a cold beverage waiting on the edge). Kickball was never really my sport. Oh sure, I played, Everyone played. But that was when I was 10! I don’t think I’ve played much since then. Still, I wanted to particiapate. I didn’t want to be on the sidelines, so I signed up. You know what? It was fun. Really fun. And I really tried. I kicked hard and ran as fast as I could. And, this is amazing, I actually got on base all three times I kicked, and scored TWICE! Needless to say, I actually enjoyed the game. Way more than my colleagues who didn’t play and were supervising all the students!

After that wrapped up, we put in a long movie and the teachers worked frantically to shut down the year. There were report cards to stuff, boxes to pack, bulletin boards to take down, papers to file, furniture to clean and move, and so much more.

Add to that general chaos the fact that our building is undergoing major construction during the summer, so EVERYTHING had to be boxed by the last day of school. The thing is, we couldn’t do too much of it early because 1. there’s no place to store boxes in a room crammed full of children and furniture, and 2. as soon as kids see you breaking down the room they check out. We needed them engaged until the very end.

I can honestly say that this has been the best year of my teaching career. My colleagues, my kids, and their parents have all be fantastic. I have rediscovered the joy that should be in every classroom in the world, but is sadly missing in far too many.

As much as I’ve enjoyed it, it’s been exhausting. Every year is. It seems to me that any teacher who isn’t ready for a break by the end of the school year hasn’t really given it their all. Like an athlete who leaves it all on the field, most of the teachers I know leave it all in the classroom. By the end of the year our batteries are drained and we need a rest.

The image that the general public has of teachers in the summer is quaint, but unrealistic for most of us.
People think we send all summer in a beach chair catching up on our reading and sipping lemonade. While there’s some of that for many of us, most of us scramble around to find summer work.

Summer school, tutoring, and seasonal employment are all popular options for educators. I’ll be teaching a writing workshop over the summer through our local university. I’m happy to have the opportunity, but believe me, it’s work. Still, it doesn’t start for a few days, so I’ll enjoy the break while I can, with a good book in one hand, and a cold lemonade in the other.

May 22, 2014
by BulgingButtons 13 Comments

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Complacency

I was all set to “love it” since I already tried to “list it” and didn’t have any takers. I’m talking about my house, of course, and the premise of the HGTV series “Love It or List It.”

The idea is to challenge homeowners who are fed up with their homes and are ready for change. The show is filmed with couples, one who wants to stay and make changes, the other who wants to cut bait and move on. One host does a home remodel to try to fix the home’s issues while the other host takes the couple house hunting. After the reveal they have to decide whether they’ll “love it” and stay, or “list it” and move. I’ve seen it turn out both ways.

As I said, I was set to love it. I was ready to settle in and start picking out new tile to replace the original tile, which is starting to crack in places. I was set to decide on new carpet for the bedrooms, and I was ready to research granite counter top options. Moving just didn’t seem to be in the cards.

Then, out of the blue, it happened. I got an offer. A real offer. One that would allow me to make the move into the type of home I was after. One that was a little bigger. One that was a little closer to work. One that wouldn’t be across the street from a multi-family dwelling community. I accepted. Woo Hoo!

The house wasn’t even on the market anymore. I had taken it off three days prior. The couple buying it had seen in but just weren’t sure. By the time they made up their minds, I was already feeling like it wasn’t meant to be. Apparently I was wrong. Although I don’t want to jinx it. Let’s just wait until the ink is dry on all the mountains of paperwork before we celebrate too much. Still, I’m out of complacency mode and on to moving mode.

This should be an entirely new chapter of the seemingly endless saga of “sell this house.” I hope it’s a good one. Stay tuned to find out.

May 18, 2014
by BulgingButtons 9 Comments

Check Me Out – But Not Too Closely

Blog stats are a funny thing. They can give a blogger a sense of what people are interested in reading, and they can practically make a blogger (ok, me) giddy when they spike. I want to be read! I also get a kick out of checking out the map. I enjoy it when people from far-flung places visit, even if I suspect the majority of them aren’t actually reading the content.

That being said, I still have to write content that’s worth reading. My dear readers, I know I’ve been missing that mark more times than hitting it lately. What can I say, other than, I’m sorry? I promise to try harder.

Still, you continue to hang with me, and some of you are even getting out your tool belts and rolling up your sleeves to dig around BulgingButtons to unearth some oldies but goodies. I think it’s often the catchy titles that attract readers to start with. Some of the posts with the most hits have odd titles, like “Goodbye Zebra Mules,” and “The Devil, Karma, and Frito Pie.” Hopefully, though, you enjoy more than just the title.

Hopefully you enjoy reading about my daily ups and downs, and the perils of being a fat girl in a skinny (or desperately trying to be skinny) world. Today’s fat girl problem: the shelf. You know, that place along the boob line where dropped food always seems to hit before careening off into the unknown (or just settling there).

As I write, I am wearing yet another shirt with a stain along the shelf. Why? Because salad dressing stains. Yes, I got it on myself while I was at lunch with my friend. The food never goes straight down when it falls off the fork (and why exactly does it fall off the fork in the first place? I don’t know). It invariably hits the shelf and leaves a tell-tale mark, which, 90% of the time leaves a stain.

This is why fat women wear prints. The stains are far less noticeable on a print than they are on a field of solid lavender (like the shirt I have most recently stained). This is also why this fat girl hates to spend much on shirts or dresses. About 1 in 5 never make it past the first wearing. 20% people! This is a distressingly high statistic. It’s alarming, really.

What can be done? I don’t know. A better fork? Less messy food? IV fluids only? It seems like there are some options out there. This problem needs a solution, and it needs it fast, because I’m running out of clothes, and I really don’t want to go shopping.