Don't See THAT Every Day! (Long March, Day 13)

Between all of us on this multicultural staff, we know a lot of alphabets; but not this one... Mark thinks they're runes. Anybody out there know for sure? A piece of chiffon with runes on it is a rather unusual thing to find in a bag of donated stuff. The fact that it was wrapped around $550 makes it even more interesting. Luckily, I know where all this stuff came from, so I can easily find the (retired, LDS) couple that gave it to me. (Gasp! She's secretly Wiccan! That must be it!) I'll tell them that they can have the money if they hand over the story.



So, Day 13 was not as good as Day 12, for some reason. I am trying to figure out what was good about yesterday, so I can replicate it. I had a positive, strong e-mail message from a friend in the morning... I attended an interesting, animated meeting... Could either of those things change the composition of the day? Maybe the e-mail did it.


I should remember that a week ago I was much sadder than I am today. I'm working through it. I'm just impatient, as usual. Patience is a huge part of this process - no wonder I'm being so tiresome. Somebody just smack me.

OK, so let's focus on the positive. I'll make a list of things that made me happy today.

1. A little chit-chat with the other track-users at the gym this morning. One of the ladies who is often there when I'm there has a cute haircut.
   


2. I brought a grapefruit for my supper that was super sweet and yummy. I peeled it and ate it like an orange, picking the tough skin off each section.
   


3. A square of chocolate: dark, espresso, truffle. Who knew you could get all those qualities to come together for one mouthful? I was at a loss for any more wonderful adjectives to describe chocolate.
   


4. Surprising Julia, the Adult Education kitchen helper, with a little present for her birthday.
   


5. My earrings, which are pretty.
   


6. Seeing my old colleague, Dorothea. We worked together for 16 years before she retired; she comes in to substitute for an absent teacher once in a while. She came to work tonight with a plate of her special cornbread in one hand (you know, food is emerging as a pattern, here...) and a white jeans-jacket in the other. She's tired of it, and she knows I've always liked it. This is how I acquire most of my clothes! Luck.
   


7. The fact that this evening's class was kind of disastrous. That may seem counter-intuitive; but I was proud of how the staff handled it. We had TWELVE volunteers who did not come in tonight. Everybody snapped to it, worked together, combined study groups, shared tutors and made the evening run smoothly. We didn't have to send any students home. Nice work, teachers!
   


8. Loud shrieking. When the twelfth tutor, Richard C. called in, he told me, "I'm at the garage. They told me my car would be ready at 6:00, but it's 6:45 and they're no where close to finished. How would you feel if I didn't make it in tonight?" I held out the phone to the office full of scrambling teachers and said, "Hey, guys! How would we feel if Richard C. didn't come in tonight?" As one, the entire office full of women screamed at tops of their lungs. Then we laughed hysterically.

So, yeah; some good in the day, in spite of heartache.