Saturday is my only really stress-free day. And usually, I find some way to make it stressful. I get in all-out cleaning moods. Evan and I tried something today where we set a timer for 5 minutes and each of us takes a room to clean and straighten for that amount of time. When 5 minutes is up, we swap rooms and set the timer again. It worked really well. Made cleaning kind of seem like a game. Amy Clutterbuster of the World and Evan Dishloader Extraordinaire take on their apartment!

So, my life is obviously so lame I am writing about cleaning! Argh. Actually, I am a proud parent of our teething, ever-growing puppy who actually earned a "Wonder Dog" ranking on every skill she learned in puppy class. We had our last class this Wednesday. We sure are going to miss the boxer, Sarge, the mastiff, Lily, the weimeraner, Bella, and the veizla, Boomer. But I must say, our pale-faced mutt was the pride, joy, and mascot of the class. We hope to start in the next level of classes in January. I will live out my dreams of agility competitions with her.....:0)

Last but not least in this mundane entry, here is my student conversation/quote of the week:

Student #1: Mrs. Longfield, are you a hippie?

Me: Why? Do I seem like a hippie?

Student #1: Yes.

Student #2: All English teachers are hippies!

I think they may have a point!

So....here I am telling Annie that no she can't go...
Amy Draft Delete

So....here I am telling Annie that no she can't go outside for the fifth time in two hours. She just wants to see the new Jack Russell puppy....or the English bulldog....or the boxer/pit bull mix...or....ok, so we have a lot of dogs in our apartment complex.

...so I gave in and let her out. I peeked around the corner and spotted the full-fledged pit bull. I won't ever forget the first time I encountered him. He came out of nowhere--large and unleashed. After my experience with Roy and Smoky (Longfield pit bull pets), I expected him to swallow Annie in one bite. But his owner, a twenties-something male in a basketball jersey, with a cigarette dangling from his lip, quickly reassured me.

Pit Bull Owner (lazily, giving me the once-over): It's ok. Hades is cool. He's cool.

Me (doubtfully as the pit bull, apparently named Hades, steps closer to sniff Annie's female areas): Um...all right. What a pretty dog.

Pit Bull Owner: Thanks. Come on, Hades.

So, I suppose I could have let Annie and Hades nose each other a little tonight. But I don't know his nighttime personality. I think I'll keep it that way.


On another note, how do you explain to high school freshmen that Odysseus was not really faithful to Penelope, but then again he kind of was? How do you say no to a goddess? Poor Penelope. Poor naive children I get to teach the Odyssey to. And next year they get Oedipus. And then The Scarlet Letter. Is all good literature about sex?

And yes, Grete, Pear Tree refers to both Hurston and Mansfield: Their Eyes Were Watching God and "Bliss". Two of my favorites.

So, since I don't write enough (other than comments on essays I've graded or outlines for handouts), I decided to join the bloggers of the world. Pear Tree, of course, refers to not one, but two, literary symbols in works of feminist literature. Can you name the story or the book that inspired me?

Right now my life consists of my very funny and lovable husband, our rowdy and sweet puppy, and the endless work, pain, and joy that I call the life of a teacher. I will elaborate shortly, but for now I will just say that God definitely has Evan, Annie, and me in a great state (gotta love Texas for all its brazen beauty!) with wonderful family nearby. We both feel purposeful in our jobs. It's not perfect--I'm sure I'll find something to rant about soon--but it's good. God bless. :)