Well, we're having a winter storm event. It's mid-April and these things happen here in Minnesota, but I'll admit I'm not thrilled. Other things that don't thrill me:

• Kids kicking other kids. I did tell the kicked kid that there is some danger in crawling under tables pretending to be a cat, but still, we all know we shouldn't kick.
• Delayed onset muscle soreness, also known as DOMS. This condition causes water retention and discomfort. It's tough being an athlete in one's forties.
• Homework. One of my kids sometimes requires vigilance and assistance in homework completion. Let's just all skip it, shall we?
• Rhubarb. There was a rhubarb-based dessert in the cafeteria the other day, and while I enjoy most foods, I just don't care for rhubarb. Next time, let's hit the fruit-based dessert with a little apple flavor. Maybe some peach.

Good news: It's Winter Break in these parts. I made it through the week. The students did their work, mostly. I did my work as best I could.

We ended the week - I'm talking Friday afternoon with an hour to go - with a rowdy cross-grade level game of Pictionary/Charades. There was screaming. It was hard to take.

Then, we went to the gym for the last 15 minutes and did the paper plate dance with recycled paper instead of plates. Here's how the dance goes: a leader, in this case Lynne, our Assistant Director, stands in front. The teachers stand behind. The music starts. Everyone is holding a piece of recycled paper in each hand.

Then, you follow the arm-centric dance movements of the leader, shaking and rattling the paper in your hands, doing swirls and twists and cheerleader-type movements. There were some jumps and kicks, too, with paper thrusting and rattling. Everyone's more or less in sync because we're following the leader.

Can you picture it? Someone took a video, but I can't find it online yet.

In any case, I really gave the dance my all, as I always do because I'm a dance captain at our middle school. Shef, who was seated in the front row, said I tried hard. My heart pounded with the effort.

And, then I grabbed my own personal children, and we left the school. I've got a lot of to-dos, but for the morning, I'm going to chill. I think we got nine inches of snow last night. The current air temperature is 7 degrees and falling. Maybe I'll catch up on my reading. Revise a chapter of my novel. You know. Indoor activities.



Fashion woes: The red sweatshirt

My first stint as Dance Captain at my Middle School