Getting Out of My Funk!

Howdy.  Been awhile.  Still trying to think of a catchy phrase for a title, and also of what to post!  What a busy bit it has been.  As I still can't get my mind into the work I need to do tonight, I thought I'd take a breather and post a bit.  So, here are some random bits from the last 10 days or so!

Bit one:  Today, the great-grandmother of one of my students' families passed away.  She was in her 90's, so it wasn't such an unexpected event, but there is much sorrow of course.  My students (2nd, 4th and 6th graders) are handling it with grace, as well dealing with the impact on their daily lives.  The youngest was in tears today as the funeral of her much-loved "hi-baachan" is also on the day of her much-anticipated school excursion.  We sat together and held hands, and she shared what she would miss about her great-grandmother, as well as what she would miss about her event; in both, it was the care and shared experience with a special person.  Among people close to me, this is the third death in ten days.  Death is a part of life, though a hard part.  It's perhaps easier to let go at the end of a long life, but regardless of the length, finding memories to give voice to and lighten grief also affirms life.

Bit two:  On the other side of the spectrum, a friend had a baby today....one week "late," her daughter finally made her grand appearance～heartfelt congratulations!

Bit three: On the much lighter side, and in the category of "when I think about it much, I just have to find it weird," ferrets as pets.  Another baseball-mom shared about life with her pet ferret, and the image of her describing it long, thin body after a bath still has me chuckling (my Maltese looks like a giant rat, adorable, but still ratty so I'm not pointing fingers!). My son is also angling for a new pet, a very tiny mouse-like thing (yes, it probably is a mouse, but having had an invasion of the real thing and occasional alarming sounds almost like scurrying mouse feet, I can't willingly entertain the idea of one as an actual pet!!!!) and I've actually agreed to check into it, and sound out the other (human) residents regarding this!

Son saw this on TV last Monday (another tick in the "why TV is a negative influence on children" column--eeks!  I'm sounding like a hopelessly antiquated something-or-other!).  I'm thinking too much...my dog has just stolen my seat cushion, so now I'll steal it back and steal back to work!