How Did Jane Cope With Days Like These?

"If things are going untowardly one month, they are sure to mend the next."

~Jane Austen's quote from Emma

Wrapping up the schoolyear, with all of its paper work and stresses, cleaning up vomit from the back seat of my car, having to vaccuum up a gazillion pieces of rice because I am the world's biggest clutz..........these are just a few of the things that have further upset my peptic ulcer most recently.
As I read the quote above, I wonder if Ms. Austen ever had to remind her own self of this from time to time when things got rough for her.
I'm sure that she was often lonely and being a female author during her time must have made her seem like an outcast among her peers. Sometimes, especially when my days are filled with intensely stressful activities like those just mentioned, I wish that I could travel back in time and ask Jane in person about how she coped with all of life's unpleasantries. Did she use her writing as a means for venting or did she have a secret double life that noone ever knew about. As for me personally, I seriously doubt the latter........even if it would've been very cool.
This month has indeed been very disturbing for me and if Ms. Austen is correct, I can only sit back and look forward to the good things that are sure to follow in the month of June. I only hope she's right.

NEVER-NEVER LAND.......

When I was little, I never could understand why people would always say that I was growing up too fast. I was ready for it, couldn't wait for it to happen. And I wished for it every night.

Now, as I look upon the faces of my three little ones, I can certainly understand what those people meant.

With the ending of another school year, I am once again reminded of those words and of just how quickly my children are growing. I find myself feeling deeply saddened and extremely meloncholy as I think about when they each came home in my arms from the hospital, now on their way to being taller than I am. These three souls, three hearts that beat with a little of my own blood, have all developed their own senses of self and I can feel them slipping further and further away from me with every passing day. I shudder when I imagine any of them out in this big, scary world on their own and I pray to God as often as I can for just a little more time. They don't seem to let me hold them as long anymore, they get embarrassed from my kisses, and my oldest daughter recently began shaving her legs. I know that in just a few more years, the tiny hands that once fit into mine with plenty of room to spare will be all grown up and I will have to let go, to give each one of them a chance to fly on their own.

To think about those days to come hurts me like a disease, an illness, and one that I, at this point see no way of recovering from. Sometimes I wish that I could sprinkle some magic pixie dust on all four of us and fly us all away to Never-Never Land, so that I can keep them little forever. Peter Pan did it, so why can't we?

Although it seems impossible now, I suppose I'll get through it when the time arrives, just as my own mother did with me. Until then though, I am going to take joy in all of their discoveries, hold them just as long as I can, and love them sometimes to the point of insanity while I still have time.

Attack of the Killer STOMACH BUG!!!

Ever felt like your guts were being wrapped around a steel pole??
That is what my stomach has endured this weekend.
Add several other severe symptoms to this God-awful stomach virus that I somehow managed to become infected with, and you've got the stomach bug from H-E-L-L!!
Though I won't go into the gruesome details of the other symptoms, I will say this: they make you seem a lot less human and a lot more animal.
I leave the rest up to experience and imagination.

As germ-a-phobic as I can sometimes be though, I often wonder how on Earth I seem to contract these terrible viruses. I wonder if my skin has perhaps become tolerant of my bottles and bottles of hand sanitizer or to my constant washing.
Then I think about the places I go to eat and about the people who get right smack up to your nose when they talk to you, and I know that it really doesn't matter how much I scrub my hands or how much gel I rub on them.......viruses are still going to get me. Well, that AND the fact that I work with 20 small children each and every day who do some really, really gross things and then touch me every minute of the day (though I love them all and I am going to miss those little boogers next week when school is out... :( sniff, sniff ).

So, until those brilliant scientists come up with more medicines to battle these nasty little things called stomach bugs, I guess I'll just have to let nature take it's course! I just hope I don't have to do it again anytime in the near future.....

A peek inside my head...... ;)

~Lady Rogue~ by: A. McNally

Just like the tempest with her scowl,
she wears her pride upon her brow-
Her mournful eyes do tell her tale,
a life of pain she knows so well-
When others flock by three's or two's,
a lonesome walk is what she'll choose-
Her anger powers mighty winds-
Her heart cries for her wicked sins-
Her dress is black like ebony-
Her ivory skin like piano keys-
Inside her castle, Lady waits,
for death to lead her to her mate-
The love she lost so long ago
that stole her dreams and took her soul.


Rainy Day Sanctuary by: Amber McNally


The sun plays hide and seek behind the clouds
as darkness rides in like rolling waves of metallic grey.....
I feel the earth quake beneath me
as the sky belches out an echo of roaring thunder.......
Pellets of wet glass begin to rain down
like millions of tiny cannonballs firing all around me........
I, in my bare-naked feet do run, splishing and splashing
through the cool, mud-soaked puddles, laughing childishly all the way.
My hair, now drenched and heavy with stormy residue,
curls into silky black ringlets as I lick the water that's
dripping down my face and onto my lips..........
Standing perfectly still, I tingle with pleasure
as each lovely raindrop slithers seductively in and over
every curve and every pore on my skin.........
I feel clean and refreshed, as if my sorrows
for today have all been washed away...
The rain returns to its home in the heavens,
the clouds retreat, and all is quiet once more



Ornaments of the Orient,

by: amber mcnally

The snow-capped peaks
do glisten white
The cherry trees glow pink
The pristine waters
of the streams
do shine with morning light
She holds her fan
of pearl and jade
her body, cloaked in silk
Her painted lips do
match the trees
in her geisha promenade
With Ishtar's essence
and almond eyes
like a dahlia with her grace
Two coral combs sit
in her hair
She's porcelain's disguise



Windchime by: Amber McNally

Your pieces dangle, twist, and turn
their crystal sparkles catch the sun
A ray of light refracts and forms
a rainbow that compares to none
The secret whispers of the wind
blow steadfast through your tangled strings
A spinning motion now begins
just like a pinwheel with no wings
Your teardrop pendants intertwine
and mingle in their ballroom dance
Their harmony as they combine
does fill the air with much romance
You lovely windchime, sing for me,
forever your sweet melody.


Deja' Vu

by: Amber McNally

I see you walk across the room
like a Greek sun god
with your chin so high.
Those eyes like rain,
I've seen before,
I think to myself
as you glide right by.
A whiff of your skin
tries to tickle my nose
and images of you fill my head.
I recall your kind smile,
your wit, and your charm
and the soft spoken words that you said.
"Do I know you?"
I asked, as you bolted away;
And you turned to look me in the face.
Your features then changed
as your serious tone
was suddenly and warmly replaced.
You said not a word
as you quietly stared,
but our hearts were connecting inside.
We knew on that sidewalk
that long, long ago
the two lovers we'd been
had once died.
The moment of truth
quickly faded away
and we both hurried back to our lives.
You turned and we parted,
the two of us there
for the second time, saying goodbye.


Fair Maiden of the Avalon

by: Amber McNally
Fair maiden of the Avalon beseeches thee tonight
to guide her on a journey filled with dangerous delight
A quest through death’s long corridor til’ every room is sought
To search for one, the gallant knight, her lost love Lancelot.
Their hearts were bound together when at first their eyes did meet
but their love was kept in secret and thus ended in defeat.
So now the lady Guinevere does seek for love renewed
among the ghostly gallows calling out for her love true.


Utopia in the Sky , by: Amber McNally

I take a seat down in the cool green grass
and gaze up at the marshmallow sky
A dazzling blue canopy, freckled with polka-dots of white
clouds that burst down from the heavens
creating mother nature’s very own fireworks
These translucent stepping stones beckon me
like a towering bridge into another realm
as my imagination unleashes powers beyond human capacity.....
My feet part with the earth as my body leaves the grassy knoll beneath me
and I soar with outstretched hands into the blue lagoon
above me as the winds of spring dance across my face.
My image transformed, I glide radiantly through the
sun-kissed day, facing the intangible idea that
now exists within my mind...........there are endless
possiblilities


Lunar Wonderland

by: Amber McNally

Tonight beneath the moonlit sky
the fancy fairies flutter by
and tiptoe on wind's gentle wings
while great-horned owls hoot to sing
a melody of natural sound
amidst the frosting on the ground
The vines with tendrils, creep and curl
as the glowing moondust shines like pearl
and the toadstools hide the little elves
who keep the forest by themselves.

THE BURN OUT.....

Happy Monday! What an oxymoron if I ever heard one!
The two words do not belong in the same sentence together.
It should be, "Monotone Monday" or maybe even, "Mundane Monday". Those two would make more sense at least.
Okay, in trying to be optimistic and positive, I will say that I had an overall productive day at work today. But lately, I feel like a piece of roadkill that's been run over a couple hundred times by different tires. I can't seem to find the hedonistic pleasure in my job that all humans long for, no matter how hard I try.
Grass is always greener on the other side, I know, but there comes a time in everyone's life when the bad outweighs the good in some aspect. This is one of those times. So now I find myself thinking that maybe I've reached the end of my rope with my career. Maybe, just maybe, I've reached the point of no return, also known as THE BURN OUT.......... ...DUN, dun, dun.......(I hear the melodramatic drum beat in my head)
Everyone's been to the BURN OUT at some point or another. In fact, I knew that I'd eventually get there at some point too. That's my personality type. I simply crave variety in everything that I do. I just never thought I'd reach that point this soon.
Oh well. What can I say? Maybe one day I can actually live my dream of being a writer. Until then, I'll just try my best to put on a peachy smile and look forward to the next thing on my agenda............"Terrific Tuesday!"

TGIFF

THANK GOODNESS IT'S FRIGGIN' FRIDAY!!!!

Even though the acronym "TGIF" has probably only existed within this century, people from all over the great US of A are shouting it from the rooftops today. Over half of those people are educators......hahahaha

It was supposed to be "Fun Friday" in our classroom today. Yeah, like that really happened. It was more like "Forget-it-Friday" instead! Now I know that may sound a little harsh coming from a professional, licensed, early childhood educator...........but let's take a moment to examine today's events within the confines of our charming little school, shall we???

Highlights of my Day:

• Little "Elvis" (we'll call him this for now...hehe) decided to do the electric slide during story time this morning......influencing 10 other "Elvis's"
  to do the same.
• The one whose name begins with "N" decided that it would be funny to throw a tiny wad of paper into my eye during circle time.
• My "three stooges", who will remain anonymous, decided that going to the bathroom includes using it wherever your manhood leads you.
• One of my children thought they'd test the paint today, to see how it tasted.........needless to say, they didn't like it.
• Trying to stuff papers, little lunchboxes, and Mother's Day presents that we made, into very small backpacks....
• Having 20 little kids, all picking their noses at once, come up to me throughout the day to tattle on their friends for "making weird faces".....

TGIF makes all the difference. Well, that and a little wine to mellow things out. Because, until you've experienced a full day of teaching little ones, you never truly understand the demand that it has on your sanity.

We, as teachers, are like the JEDI knights of education. We battle with our composure on a daily basis and always have to beware of temptations to cross over to the dark side.....hahaha.

Allow Me to Introduce Myself..........

Hello blogger world! My name is Amber and I'm a mommy, a wife, a teacher, a writer, a poet, a history buff, an organizer, and a people person. I'm very into music and I love to read and travel as well.
Also, in giving credit where credit is due, I'd like to thank my friend Leann for giving me yet another place to write!! The art of venting has become crucial in my daily living and without venting we'd all just spontaneously combust sooner or later.
So, to all of you bloggers out there I say, "hello!!" I look forward to making this a weekly ritual.....