Oh, I wish I could hide under the covers. He's up getting another colonoscopy for test purposes. And we haven't even gotten started on the drugs. Bah.

I was going to put off taking a vacation till later in the year, when we knew how it was going, but I need a week where I'm not juggling work on top of everything.

I'm leaving for a conference tomorrow. I've got at least one job interview there. Plus a class I'm taking, and seeing friends. I still need to pack my suitcase, and probably do some other stuff that I forgot about. I've got gas in my car so that I can get to Baltimore, and a stash of Larabars so that I'll have something to eat if I get hungry.

A timer for my bedroom lamp is an easy and cheap thing to try, thanks.

Hil, good luck on your interview!

Connie, continued good thoughts for you and your DH.

Fifteen minutes early two days in a row! BAM.

Fifteen minutes early two days in a row! BAM.

Go you!

I have a really bad habit of being late. And in this job, I am just forcing myself to not being that person in this office. I leave my window curtains open so dawn coming in wakes me up usually before my alarm Or starts the process. The window faces mostly east and the desert rarely mutes dawn.

It's not as easy as that sounds. But I find the light won't let me sleep without realizing the time and I really want a different reputation in this office. And it's an easier habit, the longer that I do it. I hope you find it easier too, smonster.

This mama bear is broken hearted.

So one of the writing prompts for the MEAP (standardized state test) this year was "If you could change anything in your school, what would you change?" Emeline wrote about changing bullying. It got flagged by Lansing and sent to superintendent and then her principal. I got to go to the principal's office today and talk about Emeline's essay. She is still getting bullied. She feels alone and scared. They make fun of her for being the smallest and the youngest. The principal gave me a copy of what she wrote and I read it in his office and started crying. My poor baby.

Some of it was from 2nd grade and some was from earlier in the year before they got the permanent gym teacher, but my heart is broken.

What kills me is that she knows to not be alone because "bullies won't be mean to you if you are with someone else because they'll be afraid to do it in front of other people because they might tell." Why does she have to know that? It breaks me that she has to know that. And has to do it.

I made sure when we talked about it that she knew she was NOT in trouble and NO ONE was mad at her for what she wrote and that she was so brave for putting that down on paper and that she is probably helping other kids to not get bullied. We have scheduled a meeting with the principal for next week. She is upset about the meeting with the principal. She thinks the kids will make fun of her for "being in trouble".

But being her awesome self, she wants to do an anti-bullying project and make posters to hang up in the school and talk to kids about how bullying makes other kids feel. She doesn't want other kids to feel alone and scared.

Joe and I told her that we were so proud of her and that she was so brave to write all that down.

Maybe I'll just home school.

One of the things she wrote, "Nobody likes me and I try to be myself but they still make fun of me."

Oh, jeez. I just want to hug Emeline forever.

Oh, Aims. That is so heartbreaking. Kids can be so awful.

Aims, do you think it would help if Buffistas sent Em notes or cards of encouragement? Or is she at an age when grownup kudos isn't cool?

It might. I honestly don't know. She's in such tween-mode that she could get some tomorrow and be all, "AWESOME!" and then the next day I'd get yelled at for telling other people about what she wrote.

She does love getting mail though and keeps it all. And I love you for offering. I wish I could fix it for her but I need to support her and give her language and tools to stick up for herself. And, okay, starting karate lessons was Joe's idea which I'm totally down with.