Dance Duty

Last night was the big night. Prom night. I lucked out for years and never had to go to the prom, even though I teach seniors. I was always glad because it was held downtown and I never wanted to drive in to Houston at night by myself. But I drew one of the short straws this year and it was my turn in the barrel.
In recent years the talk has been about how poorly the kids have behaved...come drunk, slip into the bathroom for a cigarette or a sip...dance like hoochies, leave early to go to orgiastic parties at rented beach houses in Surfside.
We even had to go to "training" for chaperones on Thursday morning. So the AP could tell us where to stand and what to expect from our charges. And believe me when I tell you I was expecting the worst.
But last night I had a pleasant surprise. Oh sure, there were a handful of the "popular crowd" who had to uphold the reputation for being hardcore hellraisers.
However, the majority of the kids were clean and sober and having a great evening.
I enjoyed meeting my students in the foyer and seeing them in their evening wear before they sweated off their jackets and makeup on the dance floor. They were a sight to behold. When you only see them in shorts and tee shirts with their hair sticking out in every direction and a pair of flip flops for footwear, these sleek, elegant creatures were hardly recognizable.
The food was excellent, you cannot beat an ice sculpture seashell full of boiled shrimp, prime rib and caesar salad for free. Who says teachers don't get paid enough?
There was no drama...Mrs. APEuro said that there were tears on the cheeks of one girl who spied a dress twin, but other than that, no problem.
Kize got to break up some suggestive smooching on the dancefloor...that's her strong suit. The kids got to see their principal, who many don't know because she's seldom out of her office. The cheerleader from second period got to come to something at school drunk, which I think is probably the height of her ambition. All in all I'd say everyone had a great time.
I know I did...I found a $99 dress that has three-quarter length sleeves, and hides back fat. You cannot do better than that.
There are only two weeks of school left. We have to hand out final exam reviews, autograph yearbooks, and turn in textbooks...that's all that's left to do. I absolutely love this time of year. The slide downhill to summer vacation. Who cares if the state legislature doesn't deal with the minimum grade situation or give retired teachers a cost of living increase. All those problems and causes can be taken up again in August. For now dance duty is done and I'm thinking about all those weeks of being able to stay up past my bedtime.

The Mother's Day Gifts Have Arrived

On the Monday after Mother's Day, we received a UPS package containing the awaited Mother's Day gifts. We had heard that they arrived in Big D on Saturday, so we had a hint that these gifts were personalized. Mind you we are now very easy to shop for, anything with a picture of the Kid is a winner.
In December for her 80th birthday GiGi got a 2009 calendar with a collage of pictures from the MP's first year artfully arranged for month by month enjoyment. I haven't had anything since my "All About Me" hard cover edition from last June. I coveted that calendar.
But here it is spring time and our ship has come in. This time the UPSman came bearing little styrofoam packing boxes within the big brown box. Ummmm, breakables.
They were carefully inscribed: GiGi and Grandmom. Ummmm, same but different.
I got Mother out of the dishwater and we opened simultaneously so no one's surprise was spoiled. And what a wonderful surprise....Happy Mother's Day Grandmom and GiGi coffee mugs complete with pictures of Miss Priss doing her big baby stuff.
Mother got the big girl in her birthday swing and one pushing her wagon...she holds her mouth like my Daddy did when she does that job.
There's also a picture that I love of the Shrink and me at the Hunan restaurant last Christmas...the big baby doesn't want her Gram to forget who's really the grandchild here.
My mug has the famous crying birthday baby on it and one of the bluebonnet pictures. There are several pictures on each one and they will be wonderful for helping us to recall the baby at this stage. We've learned how important that is because of how fast this first year has gone. Now that she's got those bangs, there's no stopping her. She's swinging and swimming and eating finger food, and when she finally realizes that she can turn loose, she will be walking. My mug runneth over!

End of the School Year

It's the middle of May and the natives are beyond restless. The students in my classes who were sitting for the AP exam were finished with me and my class the minute the testing period was over. The good news is that they all seemed to think the exam was easy...they felt prepared. Hope that's true and not just their tendency to be overconfident talking.
I assigned a project to all my classes and made it due on the day after prom. They are all whining and carrying on like infants about that. They think that the Monday after prom is a national holiday.
Speaking of the prom...I have to chaperone this year for the first time. I'm all set with my "prom dress", if it will still fit. I've been eating like a starving person for days, no make that weeks.
I saw some pictures from the MP's first birthday party and the pictures don't lie....grandmom is a chubette. So, I may look like ten pounds of meat in a five pound package when I get to the big dance.
Thank the good Lord it's only at the civic center and I don't have to go downtown to the Hyatt. The concern of the other adults involved is the behavior on the dance floor. I say that problem is easily solved. If they don't want horney teenagers simulating sex acts on the dance floor, turn off the music and turn on the lights just as soon as you spot the first "dirty dancers". Call the parents of the offending couple and have them picked up at the door. Then for good measure, don't let them "walk" at graduation. I guarantee that the class of 2010 would be so appropriate at their prom, it would look like a Baptist social.
Why is it that the people in charge of the decision making don't seem to possess the key ingredient: common sense? They take up text books before final exams even start. They schedule things like bus evacuation drills when most of the district's busses are tied up with field trips. They don't seem to grasp the concept of the carrot or the stick and that the biggest carrot they have is the almighty parking space.
When I'm Queen of the Universe, some of this stuff is going to be straigtened out once and for all.
Beginning with getting those project graduation volunteer moms out of the teachers' lunchroom.