A First: Sam is going to the middle school winter dance tonight! This is purely a casual affair. No dates, no ties, not even any khakis. Sam is threatening to wear camo. I put my foot down on that. Jeans and a CLEAN shirt, please!
A Last: Today was my last day at the elementary school’s Readers Are Leaders event. I read to Peter’s class a chapter from a really good YA book, No Passengers Beyond This Point (same author as Al Capone Does My Shirts), and Pete assured me I did not embarrass him. Except for last year, I’ve read at Readers Are Leaders every year since Kate was in 1st grade. Sad to let this tradition go.
A First: Peter also informed me that the esteemed mayor of Skokie read to his math class. Not a first. The mayor is always at Readers Are Leaders Day. The first? He didn’t make a public appearance in his brown or beige suit! Peter said he wore a white dress shirt with black pants. This man has been mayor of Skokie since we moved here almost 14 years ago. I’ve never seen him without his brown or beige suit on.
A “Dear God Make It Stop”: The Christmas season is barely here, and I am already sick of the holiday music. Songs that need to be put to rest for a few years include: “All I Want for Christmas (is You)”, “Sleigh Ride” (all versions), “Jingle Bell Rock” (all versions), John Lennon’s Happy Christmas (War Is Over); “Do They Know It’s Christmas”; “Sleigh Ride” (stay tuned for a continuing list as the days go on) . . .
A “Dear God Make It Stop”: What happened to drivers looking to their right when making a left onto a busy road? I almost got run over by a school bus this morning that was about to turn left onto Niles Center (and into me) as I was driving down Niles Center Rd. I had the split second choice of a) swerving and stomping on the gas or b) dying. I stomped, swerved and narrowly escaped being creamed by the Mr. School Bus driver right in my driver’s side. Then later today, heading down Oakton, a car was turning left from Central Park onto Oakton and almost got me. I drive a red minivan, folks. Not hard to see–if you turn your head to the right and check both ways!
I can hear it now, the new version of Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer: “Momma Got Run Over by a School Bus” (by the way, the former is yet another song that should be added to my “bah humbug” list.
Happy Weekend to All!