Agh!

63 Romeo and Juliet essays and 20 Creative Writing portfolios, all before 8:00 tomorrow morning.  Can I do it?  Is it worth giving very brief feedback before they leave for summer vs. no feedback if I don't finish?

I found a Starbucks Via packet in my desk drawer.  I thought I was all out.  So there is hope... slight hope... though I have less than $10 in my pocket till payday and my house has been invaded by ants, so probably half of that will go to Home Depot on the way home.  Still, I have some coffee right now.  And I probably won't have ants after tonight.  Whether my freshmen and writing students will have any feedback tomorrow remains to be seen.  This spring I've started actually falling asleep in the middle of writing feedback comments, so I'm afraid some student papers have those strange half-dream words and sentences on them which make no sense and come from a part of my brain they have no business visiting.  Maybe sentences that start out by making sense, such as "Your overall thesis is real wooden feeeet chickfrog ice cream."

MLA Quotation Dance

My quotation dance I do for my classes. Do they know how to punctuate quotations in MLA? Yes!

Friday PDA

It's Friday
and everyone is kissing
in the hallway

the grown-ups
pass by
we overlook
the flat-brimmed caps
the earbuds
texting
and kisses.

We look away
but glance back
half-smiling.

On this first day in May
who are we to steal kisses
from young infatuants?
These moments that may
never return
The young do not see
they are stealing
these sweets.

But who will the teachers kiss
in the hallway?
We breeze by
the springtime rituals
through the hallways
of time
to those midnight wishes
when we
along the passages
of our youths
kissed or
wished to be kissed. 
There was no in-between.

It's no fair.
My kisser's not there
leaning in his armor
outside my second period
or texting me
blossoms between
quiz questions.

Still, I cannot steal
their throbbing
springtime pleasures.
I leave these islands
of ephemeral hope
to get themselves to class
on time.

Caprese Bites

I don't think this quite counts as cooking, but I'm charmed every time I make these. And they'll look so cute for our department pot luck today. Yay.

L as Roadrunner

Kindergarten OMA concert tonight. Lineweaver is so lucky to have Ms. Karen Fields as our OMA teacher. Just look at that roadrunner hat!

L is so excited... She wanted a curly ponytail. "The Gingerbread Cowboy" is about to start so I'd better go. Wow, this cafeteria is really loud!