I love being a piano teacher. I really, really do. Yesterday at 5:00 my student jumped out of his family’s Surburban and raced up my front steps, unzipped his backpack with gusto and said in a loud, vibrant voice, “You’ll NEVER guess what my grandma sent me in a box!”…

Ms. Crazy Preschooler has been busy with mud. I gave her permission to play in my flower pots since I have to empty them of mud before we move anyway. She’s taken to replanting last year’s freeze dried flowers and watering them profusely. She can’t quite figure out why they…

The Banana loves jumping. She likes it so much she can’t stop when she’s in her jumping seat. She can’t stop even if she’s tired, even if she’s screaming, even if she doesn’t want to jump any more. So after awhile, I just simply have to remove her.

Music class Music lessons Trips to the dentist for kindergarten registration Trips to the doctor for kindergarten registration Volunteering in Preschool class Entertaining kids cooking (yuck) laundry (double yuck) changing bedding twice a day on all cribs contemplating the necessity for better disposable diapers Assisting in space creature scuplting cleaning…

Ms. Crazy Preschooler decided that she was ready to try having someone who actually knows how to cut hair have a hand at her head. I thought this was magnificent since I am really very uncomfortable trying to hack away at what few tresses the poor child is blessed with.…

Ms. Crazy Preschooler, yesterday: “Mom, I’m not going to Africa. Ever.” “Really, why not?” “Because we don’t have a cell phone, and if I ran into a crocodile in Africa with great big teeth, how would I call the police? I think it would be a bad choice.”

Last Sunday I took a walk in the arboretum at the university all by myself. Alone. The snow crunched. I could actually hear it crunching because I wasn’t being lambasted with whining, crying or preschool conversation of any kind.