Working Girl

This has been quite a busy school year for me! I taught preschool during the day and attended school at night. I'm relieved to have a chance to catch my breath over the summer, and especially glad to have survived my first anatomy class, which was something like an academic bloodbath. I never realized how far I would be willing to go for a grade until I dissected Roger the Cat. My male lab partners were happy to do the dirty work (they said someone had to have clean hands to turn the pages of the lab manual instructions) until one of them nicked his hand with the scalpel. I just tried to tell myself it wasn't any worse than cooking a turkey, and other than the smell and pieces of fur that splattered on my shirt, that was pretty much true. On my final exam day, I asked the kids to please leave me alone for one hour so I could get some last minute studying in. They each had list of things they needed to do, with timers going off to remind them when to begin a new item on their list. They were absolutely silent, and after a successful cramming session, (it's amazing how much I can get done when I'm not interrupted every 10 seconds) I emerged from my bedroom. Madeline had a bead stuck up her nose and had pooped her pants and Caleb was chasing Sierra through the house trying to handcuff her for an offense which is too embarrassing to publish. They were, however, perfectly quiet, so how can I complain?

School is over soon, and then it will be a long summer of snow cones and swimming. I think I'll have more time on my hands, but I'll be taking one class this summer and working at a rehab hospital as a therapy aide for people with brain injuries. I applied there on somewhat of a whim after a classmate who works there told me there was an opening. I figured I probably wouldn't get the job since I don't have any medical/therapy experience yet, but the ladies who interviewed me said that teaching is an excellent segue way into working with those who have brain injuries because it requires to same qualities of patience and skills in explaining something with simple step-by-step instructions. We shall see! Since the fanciest thing in my closet is a cotton wrap-around skirt, I borrowed an interviewing suit from my dear sister Michelle. She's a few inches taller than I am, and she wears heels with her suits, so I had to borrow her super tall heels to make the pants look the right length. My feet are probably a size smaller, and I had to walk very slowly to keep from losing my shoes. I figured I would be okay as long as they didn't give me a tour of the hospital after the interview, but of course they did. I told the sweet lady giving me a tour that I would love to see the facility as long as she didn't mind stopping when I needed to put my shoes back on again. She offered to take me around in a wheelchair--but I thankfully managed just fine without assistance. Guess that would have made quite the first impression!

Above: I love being able to teach in jeans and a T-shirt

Below: Interview day--I hardly recognized myself. Guess I gravitate toward casual professions!