Aaaand release breath

Whew. Day one--out of the way. Once that first day is over, it's good. At least I think anyway. The day went relatively well, though I know now not to get my hopes up for an easy year. Last year I left my school the first day thinking it would be a breeze. Not so. It took a full five days for the monster in them to emerge, thus relegating me to the teachers' lounge for a 30 minute cryfest. So I expect it to get more difficult, but I'm ready for it now. Bring it on. Try me. Thanks to L (many of you know who I'm speaking of...former student...) I am much tougher than you think.

Ps--to the left you see the sheepish expression that appeared on my face when I discovered (thanks Anisa!) that I MISSPELLED "quotes" on one of my bulletin boards! What kind of English teacher misspells words on her own bulletin boards?? Last year I misspelled "remarkable" on the wall, also. Whew. It's good to catch these things BEFORE the curriculum director pays you a visit.

Moving on. Let's all welcome Murry Horn with a rousing chant and round of applause--she's FINALLY started a blog. I've been on her for so long about this, because her life is far too comical not to be documented for all. Scenarios like pigeon poop on her nightgown, turantulas in her living room, pictures of the bull horn station wagon (piece of art on wheels), and stories of grilling out with neighbors (goat meat) are all too good not to share with the world. She lives in Alpine, Texas now, and I miss her dearly. First friend out of the womb. Severed wasps in Flight: How We Beat the Odds is the title of our joint bio, a coming of age novel chronicling the oddities of the two of us growing up in the same small town (a miracle in and of itself), and is hitting bookstores near you any day now.