Monday Listicles, Kinda

Today I am veering from my normal Monday Listicles, which is shocking, as I'm normally a good rule follower.  The topic this week is 10 Amazing Not So Distant Memories.   I have recent memories, but I can't say they're all amazing.  Some, I just need to get off my chest. 

1.  For example, I subbed in a preschool class last week.  I was in charge of helping each of the 21 kids do a craft, and I now have a new pet peeve.  Out of those 21 kids, I knew how to spell five.  And I am a pretty good speller.  Not a good ratio, my friends.  I completely understand unusual names that have special or cultural meaning.  We have Chin families at our school, and I have no problem with having to ask a child how to spell his name when his name is Bawi (pronounced boy).  But when a child is given a common, popular name, for the love please use the common, popular spelling.  Molleigh is just annoying.  And that child will have lots and lots of crafts in which her name is misspelled, then crossed out and spelled correctly for the rest of her crafting life.

2.  Let's talk time change.  What an unnecessary pain in the neck.  No mother of young children enjoys a time change.  Children's bodies are programmed, and those programs take a long time to change.  I do not appreciate the pitter-patter of little feet at 6:30 in the morning, when I usually don't hear it until 7:30.  Not cool.

3.  You know what's frustrating?  Listening to construction workers through a wall all day, and no one to enjoy the 20 times I so want to say, "That's what she said."  It never ends.  Hilarity wasted is so frustrating.

4.  You know what's not frustrating?  Having someone who you have been stalking for months and months, because you are just in awe of the choices she's made and the way she lives and the way she writes, actually take the time to come read your own blog and like the post and leave a comment saying so.  Go visit Becca and read through some of her posts.  Remarkable family.

Can't tell you how disconcerted I am that I get this excited over comments on my blog. 

And on to other things.

5.  Like soccer.  Soccer season still isn't over.  In years past it would be over by now, but for some reason each year it goes longer and longer.  To all coaches and soccer organizers, there is a reason soccer is supposed to be done by the end of October.  November is cold.  And miserable.  Sleet and wind are not exactly pleasant conditions for a soccer game.  Enough already! 

Poncho, trash bag, or death trap?  You decide.  Regardless, no 4 year old should have to endure it.

6.  This past weekend was one of those sleety, windy, cold, miserable November weekends, and two of the kids were in a soccer tournament.  At the start of the second half, Star was in the goal and looking a tad miserable.  To get his mind off of it before the game restarted, I yelled out to him, "There's my keeper!"  As expected, he totally tried to ignore me.  He just kept looking straight ahead, getting into his keeper stance, but I knew he heard me.  So, I yelled again, "I know you heard me and are trying not to smile.  That's OK.  Play hard out there!"  And that's when he grinned.  Gotcha.

Tweens are no fun.  After the game, I asked if he minded that I was yelling to him like that.  He replied, "It was funny, but don't do it again."  Lucky for him, that game was the end of his season.

7.  I have a new BFF.  She used to be Buttercup's BFF.  Now she's mine.  I stole her with my Instagram.  Remember I told you I started an account last week or so?  I have one follower.  A 12 year old girl.  And I love her for it.  She is also a long-time reader of the blog, so I know she is going to be thrilled to be getting her own little bullet point. 

8.  Here in the country, we don't have five o'clock traffic.  We have traffic, but just of a different variety.  And when you are running late for church, it is just as frustrating as rush hour on a Friday.  Yesterday, we were anxiously driving just a touch over the speed limit when this cut me off:

Apparently, in order to keep those tree limbs from sliding off the back of the truck and under my van, the truck driver thought that an annoying 10 mph below the speed limit was his limit.  And then, because God must have wanted to teach me a lesson about patience yesterday,  a mile up the road our little line got longer and even slower.

20 mph in a 55 mph speed zone, with an unending line of cars coming from the other direction to prevent me from passing.

We were late for church. 

9.  In other not-so-amazing-but-somewhat-frustrating-yet-funny news, I gave each of the big kids a small cleaning chore to do yesterday afternoon.  Giant got to vacuum the dining room.  Cuckoo chose to "help" with his little pretend vacuum.  When the room was done, Cuckoo came running to me to say, "The whole house needs bacuumed!  I'm goin to bacuum de whole house!"  I told him to go for it, until I saw how he bacuums.  While I am thrilled that he has learned to vacuum under and behind furniture, I'm frustrated that he thinks he is to get everything out from under the furniture and throw it around the room he is vacuuming. 

Dude, that vacuum doesn't actually suck anything up, so quit unearthing my well-hidden stash of clutter in order to vacuum.

10.  And lastly, I leave you with a clip.  Last week, as Hubby and I were watching for news of the Frankenstorm, we stumbled upon NYC's Mayor Bloomberg giving a speech to alert the city of what they should be doing.  I didn't hear a single word that he said, as I was too distracted by his ASL interpreter.  I honestly asked Hubby if we were watching Saturday Night Live by mistake.  Take a look by clicking here.

It's the first time I've ever been in the know about something before it goes viral.  After that update, debates have been raging.   Some people laughing, others getting offended.  I have to admit that I was in the laughing category.   This woman was supposed to be translating important information about a major storm bearing down on the city.  If everyone, including those who don't know a lick of sign language, are watching her instead of listening to the mayor, his message isn't being heard.  Should ASL interpreters show emotion?  Of course.  But the emotion should be appropriate to the situation.  Dry was appropriate for the situation.  Her emotion was far from dry. 

So I laughed.  Because it was funny.

And there you have my 10 Not So Amazing Memories From the Not So Distant Past.

Go check out some other lists to actually read amazing memories.  Perhaps Ducky's, the person who came up with this week's topic in the first place?

Have a lovely day!