Brain Fried, Happy Times

Okay, so a few things have happened since my last post. This has been whirlwind week and I'll see if I can summarize in number form...

1) We had a full-price offer on the house after only six days on the market. Notice how I'm not mentioning that "full-price" this year is $30 grand less than it was last year? Did you? Anyway, it's a solid offer, the inspection is tomorrow, and we have a closing date. Guess what that date is. No, go ahead and guess. Did you guess May 22nd, also known as my last day of school? If so you're the lucky winner. I have to close out the school year, do report cards, pack up my room, Oh! and pack up everything I own at the same time while I'm living 45 minutes away from my house. Sure, no problem.

We spent all afternoon yesterday looking at houses so that, just maybe, we won't have to put all our stuff in a pod all summer and move in permanently with my parents, rather than coming home on weekends where all my stuff is were it's supposed to be. We found one house that's a definite possibility, but we're trying to take our time instead of rush into the first house we like. It's stressful, but it's a good stress. I'm trying to focus on all the things I won't miss about my old house, instead of thinking about all the things I will miss.

2) Aaron made the talent show auditions! I just assumed that all the kids who auditioned would make it and that the teachers were just checking that the content of the acts was appropriate. Nope. Some kids didn't make it, which is sad, but Aaron did so I'm happy for him. He sang "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz and made his art teacher, one of the judges, cry. The other judge, the music teacher, told Dan, "He's really good. He should really do something with that voice. He's got talent." So now he's all excited and can't wait to perform on May 12th. My grandmother is coming in from Las Vegas for a visit and arrives that very day, so she'll get to see him too.

3) Yesterday was the big fundraiser carnival at my school. Months ago, when I assumed, along with everyone else, that it would be warm on May 2nd, I signed up to sit in the dunking booth and let a bunch of darling little children throw baseballs at the lever and try to dunk me in the water. I also assumed that the water would be reasonably clean, chlorinated, city water from a non-toxic hose that was safe for drinking. Wrong again. I lost count of how many times I was plunged into the depths of the BROWN swirly mass of swine-flu-inflected sludge they call lake water in Hendersonville.

I'm not sure what the exact degree of air temperature was yesterday, but I'm certain it was somewhere between Blizzardy Day in Antarctic Winter and The Forgotten Bag of Peas, Deep Inside Your Freezer. Thirty minutes never felt so long. I was sure I was down to the last three minutes when Dan said, "Twenty more minutes honey--you're doing great."

The biggest problem, besides the hypothermia and gale force winds, was the volunteer who was in charge of setting up the dunking leverhad not been informed of the risks of not setting the lever just right to avoid injuries to teachers. This sweet man didn't know how to work the thing (none of us had any directions about what to do--I just climbed up and hoped there was a ladder to get back out), so he didn't know that he had to set it after each time I got dunked. I'd surface, smile (totally fake), and swim/walk over to the ladder to shiver and wait for the daddy to set it up. And wait. And wait. Then I'd remind him that he had to reset it each time and he'd run over there to do it. But the problem was, if he didn't place it in the exact right millimeter of space (unmarked, of course) it would slip and fall. While I was trying to get back on. I went flying and the wooden board slammed into my leg on the way down. TWICE. I'm sporting a lovely, six-inch-long, multi-hued bruise that vaguely resembles an upside-down heart shape on my right calf as a souvenir of the experience. And I may never get warm again.

4) Tomorrow I'm going on a field trip with Aaron to Gentry Farm. This is only my second day all year to get a substitute teacher. The first was earlier this week when I went to a professional development workshop and my class acted like crazed monkeys released from the zoo. Hopefully they'll do better tomorrow.

Then, after school is THE BIG HAIRCUT. I'm getting ten inches of hair cut off for Locks of Love. I'm nervous, but I'm ready for all this hair to go. I want to be able to sit and lean back in a chair without lifting my hair out of the way first. I want to sleep without worrying about Dan rolling over on my hair and trapping me. Wait, maybe he does that on purpose. Anyway, bye bye heavy hair; hello sassy summer 'do. Now if only I could choose a style I like...

5) Also tomorrow is the parent information night at the middle school Ryan will attend next year. I can't even think about the fact that my wee first born infant child is going to middle school this fall. Then on Tuesday I turn 40. Can't think about that either. Aaron has his talent show dress rehearsal (accompanied by Dan on guitar) and I'm going out for Mexian food with my mom's friends. Then on Thursday I'm taking my class on a field trip to the Hermitage, where I will try to avoid losing any of them in the giant sinkhole on the grounds. Well, it might be okay to lose one or two of them, only if I get to pick which ones.

So, in summary of the summary: busy week. No time to pack. Brain fried. Happy times.