Thursday, December 08, 2005

I’m Lester the Nightfly, Hello Baton Rouge

It feels like I’m asleep today, I’m discombobulated and weary and can’t focus.

Like any other day, right?

Yesterday I went on a field trip with Girl-child’s kindergarten class, to a nature center. Outside, with 24 kids aged 4-6. Freezing cold, snowing, red faces turning to spy birds nests and evidence of deer and foxes. I was in charge of my girl and two very raucous boys who insisted on turning over every branch, slipping on every patch of ice, and dusting off every log to slide across with their snowpants-encased butts. But, and this is the weird part, once they knew who their group leader was (ME), they’d instinctively find me every few minutes, like a harbor light, and I’d touch the tops of their hats or brush the snow off their backs, in a sort of weird particle-orbit. Inside the main building, we examined snakes and turtles and frogs, stuffed birds and squirrels, marveled at the carcass of a 35-pound snapping turtle (!), and ‘oohed/aahed’ over the skulls of various varmints. Kids nowadays are so smart, it just floors me, with the questions they ask and their confidence, and the way they interact with each other. “Come see this!”, they’d say to a friend, and lead them by the hand to an exhibit, much explanation of the contents, pressing their faces to the glass and steaming up the aquariums with their sweet breath. At this age, my friends and I were just lucky to not pee our pants during forced naptime.

It’s cold today. I’m massively crushed with work, feeling behind and incompetent. Chrismas shopping lists on post-its near my pc. Feeling sick from my 4th (or 5th?) cuppa coffee this morning. Still finishing school board stuff. Stressed.

BUT.

There are 5 boxes of Girl Scout cookies on my desk, paid for and ready to eat.

AND.

Sergei gave me the ‘what-for’ this morning, so even though I’m hazy-foggy, I still sport a knowing grin and a tingling in my nethers.

11 Comments:

At 12:42 PM, Blogger Orange said...

Thin Mints? Share!

What's the what-for for?

 
At 12:56 PM, Blogger Elliot said...

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At 12:59 PM, Blogger Elliot said...

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At 1:04 PM, Blogger Elliot said...

Got the Fagen reference. Great album, by the way. I'm gonna play "The Goodbye Look" now.

I loved doing the field trips when my kids were that age. I was also in charge of a group and what I always did first was let the kids give our group a name. Sometimes they settled with Team Elliot, but one group, which included a couple of girls who giggled at everything I said and did (even if I just adjusted my glasses, they laughed) all agreed on Team Frazzled Chicken. We carried this inside joke around the whole time, sometimes NOT to the teacher's amusement. I love kids at that age. They laugh so freely and recognize that I'm actually the tallest 6-year old on the planet so we all have a good time. And then, a couple of hours later, I can deposit them all giggly and jumpy back to their teacher and wave a hearty "See Ya!"

I still do go on all the overnight class campouts with my boys, hoping that there will be at least one adult who will want to sneak off to the wine store and guzzle a bottle in the woods (I've struck out on that dream everytime, though. Buncha duddy fudds some of these parents...).

Bxkfxkl! Fine, I'll drink with the racoons. They know how to party.

(That was me deleting comments--I kept messin' up!)

 
At 1:35 PM, Blogger Mona Buonanotte said...

Orange: I got 2 boxes of Thin Mints and 3 of Samoas. Damn that chocolately/coconutty goodness.... And the 'what for' was because I'm apparently a sexy beast....

Elliot: "IGY" from that album always makes me optimistic, even though we've pretty much shot that ideal. I LUV the 'group name' idea! And bonus points for using bxkfxkl!!! (Maybe the oldsters on those field trips are waiting for *you* to bring the wine, bring da funk? Peer pressure!)

 
At 2:35 PM, Blogger Agent 31 said...

Samoas? Share!

 
At 3:53 PM, Blogger Pisser said...

I'd trade you a what-for for the Thin Mints ;)

Maybe that's my problem.

 
At 8:11 PM, Blogger Orange said...

I second Pisser's remarks.

Damn, I love me some Thin Mints. We polished off our last box from the freezer a month ago. Ten months old and still delicious...

 
At 9:55 PM, Blogger Bored Housewife said...

Gosh I love it when he gives you that!! What a swell guy. :)

How.
in.
the.
bloody.
hell.
did.
you.
(ok, i'm tired of this format)
get Girl Scout Cookies at this time of year?????

 
At 9:30 AM, Blogger Mona Buonanotte said...

Maine: If'n I can figure out how to shove some Samoas through the internets to your inbox, I'll share!

Pisser: If I could eat Thin Mints whilst getting the 'what-for'...ohhhh, I think I'd die of joy. (Oh, and the Girl-child just watched me type this, pointed to your kitty avatar, and said, "Oh! What a cute kitty!"

Orange: Ditto. Kept out one box of each, rest in freezer.

Lisa: Lucky me, the 'new guy' in my department lives about an hour away, and apparently their troup sells this time of year. Oh Wonderful Boxes Of Cookie Joy!

 
At 8:20 PM, Blogger Laurie Ruettimann said...

I would leave my husband for a box of Thin Mints.

 

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