Monday, November 05, 2012

Conversations Between Superheroes


#1 Discussing the complexities of the inner character of a superhero

Spiderman: Hulk Smash! Hulk Smash! (as he is        
                   smashing toys together)

The Flash: Hulk is a bad guy.

Spiderman: No, he's a good guy.

The Flash: Well, sometimes he's bad.

Spiderman: Yeah, but he's good too. Hulk Smash!
                    Hulk Smash!


#2 Discussing superhero attire

The Flash: Hmm...what superheroes wear belts?
                  The Flash and Batman do.

Spiderman: Superman does, too.

The Flash: Oh yeah, you're right.



#3 Discussing superpowers

The Flash: I'm so fast.

Spiderman: Yeah, but you can't fly.

The Flash: YOU don't fly!

Spiderman: I know. I shoot webs.

(then both proceed to make swishing noises pointing their fingers to shoot webs)


When I overhear these conversations, I'm reminded what Seinfeld said. Something like, "Superman, Batman, these weren't fantasies when you're a little boy. These are career options."

When You're a Kid...

You only take the time to stand still for important things. Like maybe the chance that the horse will come over and let you pet him.



You feel big when you reach the age where you appreciate a s'more.


When you're a kid, it doesn't matter if you have chocolate all over your mouth. You're full of treats and warm sitting on Mama's lap by the fire.

What I Miss About Grad School

I miss being able to wear jeans/sweatpants, a t-shirt, and a ball cap every day.
Where if I wore jeans and a nice shirt, someone asked why I was dressed up.
Oh, those were the days.

Okay, maybe the only good thing about grad school is the relaxed dress code.

So my lab got canceled tomorrow (I only have office hours) and I was thinking...jeans and t-shirt? I do that sometimes.
And dare I even dream? A ball cap?

Sigh. Probably not. I have chapel and with my luck, some board member or administrator will sit by me and ask me why I'm sitting in the faculty/staff section.

Maybe when I'm tenured, I'll wear a ball cap on a school day.


Saturday, November 03, 2012

Mom Fail

It's that time of the semester when things get very busy.  The signs? Deadlines are here. Everyone on campus is coughing, sneezing, and running a fever. Students are looking a bit more stressed and frantic. Professors have trouble working because after reading ten research papers, brains are fried.

So I've been in the midst of the busyness. And it showed yesterday.

Friday mornings are hard enough. The usual Dad-has-the-kids-in-the-mornings doesn't occur on Fridays. Fridays mean that Mom has to wake the kids up and take them to whoever is watching them that morning - usually my parents. You wouldn't think that getting myself ready and putting kids in the car wouldn't be that hard. But I guess because I only do it once a week, my timing is usually off. To throw us off even more, I went to boot camp extra early which meant even more scrambling around to get ready for work.

I had done the usual get-stuff-together-for-the-morning the night before. I had Casen's back pack ready by the door. I even had packed myself a lunch. But pretty much everything else I forgot.

As I was telling the boys bye at Mom and Dad's, I suddenly remembered that I had forgotten to stick Casen's book in his backpack. He has a weekly book he borrows from his teacher and reads at home with us; it's due back every Friday. Mom said, "Don't worry, we'll pick it up before school."

About an hour later, Dad called me, "Um, where are the boys' shoes?"
I had completely forgotten to send their shoes with them that day (I had brought clothes for them on Wednesday so at least they had something to wear other than pajamas!).  By some miracle, I knew where their shoes were - in their closet for once.

Then when I got home, I'm wrestling with Casen and asking him about his day at school. I suddenly remembered: Show-N-Tell!!!! I HAD FORGOTTEN ABOUT SHOW-N-TELL! It's like the best time of a kid's school experience, right? I felt awful. And I know, I know, that kids need to learn responsibility about remembering their own stuff, but C is four. And it was Halloween week. That four-year-old only had two things on his mind all week: a costume and candy. Anyway, I talked to him about it, and he said it was okay that he didn't bring anything this week. I felt a little better when he acted like it was really fine. I felt okay when Dad told me he was fine when they were at school, and he didn't have anything.
Then I remembered I forgot to stick a dollar in his backpack for popcorn and a pickle. It's a weekly fundraiser the PTA does, and C likes to share his food with us when he gets home (I think he thinks he's big stuff buying us treats). My parents had remembered and gave him a dollar.

After all the things I forgot that day, I'm just thankful I have such great parents that help out so much! Otherwise, my kid would be going to school without shoes.

So my big goal for this next week?
Grade a bazillion research papers? Probably not.
Remember shoes and Show-N-Tell? YES!

Happy Halloween