Ms. Taylor Says

So I recently have learned quite a bit about break-ups, having recently experienced one myself. I have had an interesting list of songs going through my head. So I present to you, "Laurel's Chronology of a Break-up as Heard in Her Head." According to Lorelia Gilmore, moping is the first and most essential step in any good break-up. I decided to give in to this theory. I gave myself a whole day to do whatever I wanted--I watched Law and Order, drank a slurpy, and read a brain candy book. It would have been the perfect day, if I hadn't felt so bad. This stage does have nice perks though: people treating you delicately, giving you plenty of compliments and allowing you to be a completely selfish person. The problem with this is that it's kinda like when people nurse you when you have the stomach flu. It would be great if you didn't feel so crappy. For this particular stage, you need a good melodramatic melody to play in your head as you lament the events ...

So I have been told on multiple occasions that my life is weird. I often end up in weird situations that are TOTALLY not my fault and TOTALLY random chance. Today was another one of those. A friend of my finally put it into words--weird things often happen around me, rarely directly to me. I went to the local yarn shop ( LYS to the hardcore knitting world...) for a Black Friday sale. The earlier you got there, the more you saved. When I found out they were having a 25% off sale, I thought, " Lookie --a way to get cheap yarn (yarn rarely goes on sale), avoid crowds, and feel morally superior by shopping local." So I dragged my sorry butt out of the house in time to get to the store before 8. And there was a line! That's right! A line to get into the store. Evidently they abide strictly by the fire code (which made the store way more pleasant and became a very good idea as the next series of events unfolded...). So I finally got in the store. I was strategical...

So I haven't written on here in over a year, but today something became worth writing about. I'm teaching summer school, and I love it. I never thought I would say that, but God has an amazing way of working all things for good. The kids in my classes are interesting and really smart. I'm learnin g all kinds of lessons from working with them. But today was definitely the best lesson I've learned as a teacher. Let me give some background. I am teaching a sophomore class and a junior class. These are all kids that didn't pass the first time around and the classes are 3 1/2 hours long every day. The first one starts at 7:30 AM. None of us are all that excited about these hours, but we're making it. Anyway--I had never taught a junior class before...EVER...So when I was planning the class, I thought I'd go with the basics-- The Great Gatsby and The Crucible . But everything changed the first day of school. Between both classes there are two white p...

So I'm spending the week in a dorm at the University of Arkansas.  "But you're not a college student," you are thinking, right?  You are correct.  I'm here for an AP summer institute.  I've learned many valuable lessons, but the most important involves the vending machines.  I got back to the dorms tonight after some yummy cajun food and a fun night of catching up with a friend from high school.  But I decided to grab something completely lacking nutritional value before checking my email.  I was debating between Skittles and some chocolate cupcakes.  I went for the cupcakes...but they got stuck.  I tried my best "shake the machine" moves, but with no results.  So then I had to decide what to do next...this is where the genius kicks in.  I realized that instead of getting another couple of cupcakes (to, of course, set the first set of cupcakes free) I could get the junk food (Skittles of course) above it and that would knock the cupcakes down on the ...

I have been aching for weeks to begin reading the books that have slowly piled up in my "things to read ASAP" stack by my bed.  At the top of the pile was this one:  It is a bit dry, but the ideas make it worth the read.  I got to immediately put my new knowledge of game theory to work in analyzing the parental behaviors I witnessed at graduation.  But, by far, my favorite selection from the book was Darwin's list.  It turns out that Darwin decided to make a pro/con list when deciding if he should marry his love interest.  Want to know his reasoning?  Here ya go:   Pros of getting married: Object to be beloved and played with          Better than a dog anyhow          Home and someone to take care of house          Charms of music and female chit-chat          And a nice, soft wife on a sofa with a good fire and books and music perhaps Pros of single life: Conversation with clever men at clubs not forced to visit relatives and bend in every trifle absence of anxiety an...

I once heard a sermon that really stuck with me. It was all about forgiving even when the other person hasn't asked for it...kind of like secret forgiveness. As an adult, I kind of miss the childhood "I'm sorry" situations where an outside party forced those who wronged us to apologize and "mean it." Maybe this was just me, but rarely did adults let me or those who wronged me get away with the gruff and clearly insincere "I'm sorry" followed by an angry smirk. I remember one time my mom decided the best way to get my sister and me to really be sorry was to stick us in the same room until we apologized to each other. She's lucky this worked out as well as it did. It's surprising that we didn't walk out of the room missing chunks of our hair or a tooth. But as a child, I think my sense of justice was formed by this--that when I was hurt, the person was called out and forced to make amends, and I was required to do the same. Of...

My sister and brother-in-law are currently in Ethiopia meeting their absolutely beautiful daughter. I just keep looking at the pictures on their blog and thinking, "I can't believe that's my niece." I now know that until I get to meet her, time will feel like it is standing still. If you want to check her out, their blog address is www.alongroadhome.wordpress.com.