Some good things

[badseed1980]

1. Today was the last day of the "Power Lunch" program this year. This is the mentoring program where I go to a public school in Cambridge once a week to read to a kid. This year I was with a first-grader, a tiny little thing who was sort of the runt of the litter. She was a bit quiet in the face of all the noisy kids and mentors at the big party we had, but I made her giggle by telling her about my cat's antics from last night. We bring the kids a book as a present at this last-day party, and I had wrapped hers. She was DYING to know what I got her, and was shaking it, asking questions, and poking around at the wrapping paper, but she declared she wasn't going to open it until she got home. I hope she likes it. It looks like a cute book: it's sort of a mini-chapter book, crossed with a book of short stories. It's like the animal version of the Arabian Nights: this rat gets trapped by two cats, and keeps telling them stories and baking them cookies in order to save his life. If all goes as planned, I'll read to her again next year, and she can tell me how she liked it. :)

2. Late last week, I heard from a friend who'd sort of dropped off the face of the earth. It had been quite a few months, but now we're actually going to hang out next week and have dinner. Yay! It's always good to realize you haven't been forgotten.

3. Tomorrow's my last day of work before my little vacation with pierceheart. I'm looking forward to that. I have my new bikini to wear on the beach! It is neither itsy-bitsy, nor teeny-weeny, nor yellow, but it DOES have polka dots. I also have some knitting to bring with me.

4. Seriously, my cat's antics last night WERE hysterical. We have a bunch of those plastic Easter eggs (I got them to hold while I practice dance to help improve my hand positioning). Well, shortly after we got them into the house, Lucy got into them. Last night, pierceheart gave her one to play with. She was batting it all around the house, and it was just FLYING, especially on the hardwood floors. It was so funny watching her bat it away, then crouch down, wriggle her butt a bit, and pounce on it, sending it skittering away again.

5. My man, gods bless him, put the air conditioners up last night. Hooray.

Comments

Enjoy your vacation

[drwex]

The "power lunch" program sounds great, too.

Re: Enjoy your vacation

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Yeah, Power Lunch is great. The program partners with workplaces in the area to have people sign up as mentors, and once a week, we spend our lunch break at the school. I'm a BIG proponent of any programs that improve literacy and love of reading for kids, so of course I jumped at the chance to participate.

[hippie1025.livejournal.com]

Oh I like that book a lot. Good choice. :)

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Oh, great! It's good to get the recommendation of someone who reads to kids. :)

[she-of-emeralds.livejournal.com]

Cats + toys is an unfailing lol.

Glad you reconnected with the friend. I kind of fell off the face of the earth myself recently, topping it off with actual physical absence from the face of the earth Boston. But I'm back now.

I'm a firm believer in earliest possible literacy and applaud you for helping out. My parents read to us all the time when we were little, and Dad is now a volunteer reading to little kids who are in the hospital.

[delirifacient.livejournal.com]

I know I've said it before, but I have to say it again--you are awesome:-) That is so cool that you're a volunteer reader. And hooray for A/C w00t w00t!

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

I love the program! I got a little verklempt when they brought in some eighth graders who'd been in the program four years ago (it goes from first through fourth grade), and those kids were talking about how great it felt for there to be someone there who spent time with them every week because they WANTED to, not because they had to. Awwww.