Happy Birthday, My Baby Boy!

There's this completely bizarre phenomenon that happens to me every year on my son's birthday. I wake up at 4am, which was a pretty pivotal point during his birth. I don't really mind, because then I'm awake to give him his "birthday minute kiss," but it's just so weird. I always just wake up completely on my own, without the aid of an alarm. This morning, I woke up out of a dead sleep at 4, and then could not fall back asleep. Then, at 4:46, I went in his room, kissed his little forehead, drank in his face, and went back to bed. (OK, I actually went and kissed him when I first woke up at 4, but that didn't count!) I was then finally able to drift back to sleep until my alarm went off at 6.

Dori and I were talking about this this morning at school, and she decided it must be from the trauma of his birth. It's almost like my body is having a flashback! There might be something to that theory....

Those of you who are moms can relate, I'm sure, to how your babies are always your "babies" no matter how old they are. I swear, when I watch my son sleep, he looks exactly the same to me as he did when I watched him sleep as an infant. There are no words to explain the unbelievable love you feel for your child. It's immeasurable. Sometimes, it's hard to even fathom that you can actually feel that much love.

I've wandered away from school stuff again, although that was partially intentional. It was another day from hell today. Here's the latest B.S. we've been handed. At lunch today, (you know, where we are expected to babysit, and give up our own lunch!!) when it was getting close to our time to go, the lunchroom manager had the gall to come over and tell me that I had to dump the trays and wash the tables!!! I'm sorry, WHAT?!?!? So I said, "You want my kids to wash the tables?" and she replied, "Well, someone's gotta wash 'em." So, naturally, I said, "I'M not gonna do it! If you want a kid to do it, that's fine. It's NOT my job."

What the hell?!?! If I wanted to dump trays and wash tables, I would have saved myself many years of schooling, and tens of thousands of dollars, and not worked hard to become a professional educator. I'd just like to know when maintaining the lunchroom became my damn responsibility, instead of the lunchroom staff's.

OK, I really don't want to get going on a rant, cuz Lord knows, I could go on and on, but I don't want to put myself in a cranky mood on my baby's birthday. I'm gonna just let it go for now... We're leaving soon to meet Grandma, Papa, Uncle, Auntie and Cousins, and (his other) Grandma for a birthday dinner.

One last thing...some wonderful soul made a donation toward one of my Donors Choose proposals, but I don't know who it was! Unfortunately, that information is kept confidential, but I want to know who to thank. So, if it was you, please leave me a comment and let me know :)

Every child born into the world is a new thought of God, an ever fresh and radiant possibility. ---Kate Douglas Wiggin

[There was an interesting notation about the author of this quote, so let me share - American children's author and educator who led the kindergarten education movement in the United States. Cool!]