Day 324: Manic Monday

I woke up this morning about 30 minutes before the alarm which was not conducive to getting those 30 minutes of sleep. I am always afraid of oversleeping when it is that close and end up waking up every five minutes. I finally called it and got up 5 minutes early; although, I felt like I hadn't slept at all. I don't know what I need to do to feel rested. It may be allergies which always make me tired with all the sinus pressure, but I didn't get quite enough sleep this weekend. My sleep wasn't quality sleep or didn't get enough, not sure which, but starting the week this behind on rest is a recipe for disaster.

Then I am faced with essays to grade. These are creative stories so they may be less boring than 150 essays on the tragic hero in "Julius Caesar," but I am not holding my proverbial breath. The first essay I attempt to grade contains the following gems: "My sneaky vibes gave my nerves a killing name. That was never them speak to my brother again. It wasn't so bad at all; I was terrified. ... with a face full of oddly zits."

How am I not supposed to scream and cry when this is what I have to spend my time grading! UGH - well, maybe the next one won't be so bad! I can only hope. The next one is better, but the next is heart wrenching. I don't know if it is complete fiction or totally true, but the story is about her mother attacking her for being obstinate and rude. ". . . She slammed me into a wall. I tried to move; then she grabbed my head and began slamming it into the wall. I started kicking her to make her get away but that didn't stop her. After I kicked her, she moved my head around, knocking pictures and decorations off the wall."

I read this in growing horror. I picture the pretty, smart teen from whom this essay originated and can't imagine this is true, but contact the counselor in any case and will talk with her tomorrow. The truth is, you can't always tell the dysfunctional homes from the functional ones and the longer I teach, the more concerned I become that our society is rapidly defeating itself by destroying the very foundation of our country, the biblical values etc.

It is too much for me to solve. So to best buy I head to buy a video camera so I can send Daddy pics of his baby girl. That is one problem I can solve today. Everything else is gonna have to wait until they make me queen. Night all!