The Crush: It's starting, but I'm keeping it at bay.  One thing at a time.  One plan at a time.  Maintaining connections outside of school.  Not disappearing into the crush.

The Benefits: Yesterday, Shef popped into my classroom between classes.  "Mom," he said.  "Can you sign this?" It was his Humanities Reading Expectations contract, a document I wrote myself that he had to turn into my friends KK and Robin, who are his teachers.  He'd forgotten to have me do it at home.  "Sure," I said.  Later, KK, Robin, and I were entering grades, and they realized that Shef hadn't turned his in.  "Are we really giving Shef a 5/10?" KK asked.  I shrugged.  But then later, I went to his locker and told him to flipping give it to her.  I felt guilty that I used my powers to help him thusly.  So, to compensate, I went around to a bunch of other kids' lockers collecting their forgotten contracts, as well.

The Sisters: I think maybe you know I have two sisters?  Technically speaking, they're both half-sisters.  But what the heck is a half-sister, really?  Either you're a sister or you're not.  Anyway, I introduced these two to each other last night.  "How weird do you think I'm going to be?" I asked Dan in advance of the event.  "Very," he said.  "You need a giant G&T before you go."