Period

I had a wonderful day with my homeroom class. I was terrified to begin the reproductive system, but the students really rose to the challenge (after 10 minutes or so of rudeness and giggling). A lot of students were really interested in learning about the male reproductive system (female is tomorrow), but most importantly, they were comfortable asking questions. Once the first question came out (what does "ejaculatory" mean?), the questions kept coming. And the kids were really engaged in the answers. I spent several minutes explaining to an enraptured group of 12-year-olds why girls get their period. It is horrifying that they never learned this, especially because this is the age at which the average girl gets her period. That means that at least half of the girls in my class have been dealing with this without understanding it. I also took an opportunity to explain that they CAN still get pregnant if they have sex during their period, and that there is only ONE surefire way to avoid pregnancy. Of course, if I had it my way, I'd be handing out condoms and bananas, but I'll have to stick to plain old honesty and science, and hope their parents will teach them this one thing. At least I feel confident that 12-year-olds should not be having sex, regardless of marital status.

Yesterday, I was really angry about a certain lunchroom policy. Apparently, no food is allowed to leave the cafeteria. The kids didn't love their lunch, and a lot of unopened lunches were stacking up at the end of the table. I put them on a tray, with the intention of bringing them to the teacher's lunchroom after lunch duty was over, because teachers often indulge in a nice $2 school lunch. Unfortunately, I was informed that food cannot leave the cafeteria. It is a liability. So, about 8 sealed meals were thrown in the trash. It was terribly wasteful, and made me think about how much food is thrown away in Connecticut public schools. Imagine how many people could eat if they would pack up the food and send it home with some of the hungrier kids (and I know some of them are) or even take it to a food bank or homeless shelter.

Yesterday, I did a great zombie run. My town's gate was broken, so I had to lure the zombies towards another town. The other town helped us by shooting the zombies for us (okay, they were aiming at us, because we brought them zombies, but we ducked in time), and we were able to return home just in time for them to finish fixing the gate. Unfortunately, the other runner I was with has developed a rattling cough, which is the first symptom of the zombie virus. For the first time in a while, I took the long way around an extra block because I was enjoying the run so much. 2.25 miles at about 11:30/mile. I'm done running for the week in preparation for the 4-miler on Sunday. My faster friend has said she will keep me company during the run, so I might not even need the ipod. I'm excited; I haven't raced since my half-marathon last May and not-trained-for triathlon in June. (I think? Have I done any racing since then? The last oh-my-gosh-it's-been-almost-a-whole-year has been pretty intense).

As guilty pleasures go, I've been given a great gift: Lifetime is starting a new series, Dance Moms: Miami. Because the regular Dance Moms isn't quite enough.

Back to work, back to planning.