a plethora of unusual things

I lost a kid at the zoo yesterday. By the lion and tiger exhibit. First time in 12+ years of teaching that I've ever lost a kid on a field trip. How is it even possible with four adults and one older homeschooled sister that we can't keep track of 8 kids? We found him about 10 minutes later, but let's just say. . . my heart was beating out of my chest.

And while we're on the subject of zoos, why is it that children are so obsessed with the hind ends of chimpanzees and other such primates? I remember it from my own childhood field trips to the zoo, and this class was no different. One girl kept complaining about the poop. I finally said, in my most soothing (yet annoyed) teacher voice, "You're at the zoo. These are animals. They don't go in the toilet and flush the smell away. You're going to have to deal with it."

On the local news tonight one of the reporters was doing a story on packing lightly for airline travel. She suggested investing in travel underwear. It's really pretty simple. Pack along a large ziplock bag and a small TSA approved container of laundry detergent. When you're ready to wash, add undies, soap, and water to bag, seal, and agitate. With your hands. Just scrunch up the bag and mess it all up. Rinse and hang. They're supposed to dry overnight so you'll have clean bloomers for the next morning. I don't know why I found that story so highly entertaining.

The other night I dreamed I experienced my first earthquake. Like I kept wondering when the walls were going to stop shaking. It reminded me of a house I lived in in Philadelphia that was right next to the train tracks. Every time a train went by, the whole entire house shook. That's the feeling I had in this dream. When I got home that night, late because of a spaghetti dinner fundraiser at school, I was telling Phil505 about my dream. Come to find out, there was an earthquake in Seattle at 5:21 in the morning. I read an article about it online and the people described the shaking as if the movement of a train was shaking the house. Is that weird or what? I don't know if I could've felt the earthquake that far away or not. Seattle's like three hours north of us. But I think it's weird even if you don't. I just wish I would've looked at the clock when I woke up from that dream.

I made chili and cornbread for dinner. People, it's the 25th of May and we're still eating chili!!!! It's been raining cats and dogs all day. I wore a sweater! It feels like spring is never going to show up. We get a few teaser days of sun and then it's right back to the torrential downpours. It did stay dry while we were at the zoo, so I guess I can't complain too much.