I am following in the footsteps of Ms. J. over at Bottles, Barbies and Boys to make sure that I set aside time on Fridays for a little comfort.

Questions 4-6 are courtesy of Sherry...


1. I believe whatever doesn't kill you presents an opportunity for growth.

2. If you're good at something, capitalize on it!

3. Why so many people fall through the cracks is worth some analysis.

4. Something is out there, it's my destiny.

5. If my life were a sitcom, it would be titled Going at it Alone.

6. Sitting on my back porch [if you don't have one, use your imagination] I see happy little faces running around and coming down slides.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to pampering myself, tomorrow my plans include studying for a midterm and Sunday, I want to stay in bed, but can't because I will be writing a couple of papers!

B.

As you may or may not know, I am the mother of a beautiful, free spirited, bright personality having, blossoming 5 year old little girl. She is none other than the fabulous Miss J. She is getting ready to trade in her preschool days for more grown up ones as she prepares to join some of her friends in kindergarten next month. Yesterday, as I stood around the table watching her wait not-so-patiently for her turn to scoop out some bright red strawberry halves on her napkin, as a part of the late snack routine at her preschool, my concentration was shattered by the sound of,

"LOLLI LOLLI LOLLI LOLLI, LET ME SEE YOU POP THAT BODY!!"



As my attention shifted from Miss J., onto her bff, respectively known as Miss M., and then shifted again toward her teacher who was accompanying them at the table, I was overcome with a tsunami of embarrassment. If I was not as chocolately complexioned as I am I could have easily turned beet red. If Miss J. had been the one to belt out this tune I would not have been so shocked. But because it was not, it was evident that my little Miss J. had been successful in transforming her bff into a straight urbanista.

This isn't the first time that she has taught the kids at school a popular R&B/Rap song. The first lesson was none other than Rihanna's Umbrella. I remember the day that her teacher told me, with excitement in her eyes, how Miss J. had known the whole Umbrella song and how she had shared this knowledge with everyone.... and how it was the cutest thing. I wonder if she was as equally excited about learning how to "pop that body". I wonder if that was equally as cute or what the hell Miss M's parents thought about this new "circle time" song that was a part of the day's curriculum? And why was I so embarrassed? Don't I listen to this music? Don't I allow my daughter to listen and dance to this music?

I think my reaction was based on the fact that hearing the song dancing on the lips of a child whose parents probably don't even know what rap music is. It made me a little nervous. It wasn't even the content of the song itself, it was the content of the song coming out of "that" particular mouth.

I am sure that there will be many more songs that will be taught by Miss J before the summer is over. On our way out the door she made sure to leave Miss M with some overnight homework "SHE GOT THEM APPLE BOTTOM JEANS, BOOTS WITH THE FURRRRRRR..." These words rang in the ears of an excited Miss M up until I closed the classroom door behind us.

I now remember why I stopped wearing my flip flops on campus: Wearing flip flops while walking up hill is not fun!! I seemed to have forgotten how much my calves burn while power walking from class to class over the ever changing terrain of the UCB campus. If I had forgotten, yesterday I definitely was reminded. I don't know why I never took advantage of all the platform flip flops that Avon had while I was still selling, and while I still actually knew people who were selling. I am not trying to over work my muscles, I need to still be able to zip my knee high boots. There is nothing more frustrating than destroying the zipper of your favorite pair of boots all because you knew before hand that your legs were obviously not going to fit once the zipper got stuck mid leg, but being the determined person that you are, you decide to keep pulling and tugging until the zipper is no longer attached to the boot.

Also, it seems that people have a problem NOT stepping on other people's flip flops, or was it just my day to damn near be tripped by the idiots walking too closely behind me??

Word to the wise:
You don't have to bum rush the door, there are enough seats in the classroom for everyone!!

Second word to the wise:
When riding the bus, if the person on the inside seat wants to exit, then, get up, and MOVE YOUR ASS!!

Trust me, some things can be made a lot easier if we'd all just use a lil' bit of the sense that God gave us.

B.

Since this is A Place of Comfort, I thought that maybe I should sit down, kick off my shoes and dig around in this extra baggage that I have been carrying to see if I could find a pillow, or perhaps even a nice cozy blanket. After about 6 hours of continuous searching I did manage to discover this blanket, but this is not just any blanket, but a security blanket. One that became mine eight years ago, and that contains many memories of my childhood, and that I just stashed away... out of sight, out of mind... Why don't you come over here and sit down next to me, and kick off your shoes too if you want to, so that you will be able to hear what this piece of fabric has to say...