This Old Courdoroy Coat...

Ahhh....I just love Joshua Radin.  I found this live concert from "Mountain Stage," a public radio bit of awesomeness that is new to me.  And then I watched him on Conan.  Joshua Radin is just the kind of artist who makes me happy.  Of course, I admit that I have a big crush on him, but his music is just my style.  All I need is a guitar and two-part harmony.  I also really like that he bought himself out of his Sony contract because they wanted a "Top 40 Hit" on his new record.  He basically told them, "Ummm...why did you sign me?  You know I write slow, sad songs.  Not exactly the Top 40 type."  So, I'll probably be buying some more of his records just to support him.

And that coat...

...it's not keeping me dry.

Today was some kind of crazy day at school.  I can't really even begin to process it, but now that I'm finally home, it's already time for bed.  It's amazing the amount of work that needs to get done in the next month.  Revisions, assessments, and rec letters.  Oh my!  I am trying to get back to my normal bedtimes and normal running routine.  My foot still hurts, in an odd way.  I can't figure it out.  You'd think that four weeks mostly off would have helped, but I guess it's just being stubborn.  

I only made one kid cry today.  They all almost made me cry three times because they just don't like to listen.  They like to talk to each other.  So, I'm trying to spend more of my class time with them talking about math...and less time fighting for their attention, which they don't like to give me.  But during mentor time, there was a random radio in our room.  Someone turned it on.  I was about to get aggravated with them and ask them to turn it off so I could make announcements (my last two periods just put me right on the edge).  Then I got a glimpse of them having fun, and I just started grooving with them...making announcements to the beat.  Then, one of my kids asked if we could listen to NPR.  (What?)  Then another said, "Oh yeah, see if you can find Car Talk?  Is that on right now?"  This same kid was celebrating his birthday today.  He found me during break and opened a bakery box.  "I saved the last donut for you Ms. Dudley."  Oh man...I almost lost it.  Do my kids really know I exist?  This is from a kid who, last year, was nearly oblivious of all the people trying to help him out and I'm not even sure if he could have identified one positive thing about having me as a mentor.  Not in a mean way, just in a self-involved teenage way.  All year, I have been seeing breakthroughs from this kid.  To start, his first appreciation of the year was a departure from his usual, "I appreciate that today is Thursday, which means tomorrow is Friday, which is almost the weekend."  The first appreciation of the year, this young man said, "I have so many things to appreciate."  Again...losing it.

This old courdoroy coat ain't so bad I guess.  At least it fits me.