A Little More Wisdom Each Day

Disclaimer: Sometimes I process things by talking/writing them out. This post may or may not be one of those times.

I think all of my adventures make me a little wiser at the end of each day...and maybe a little more crazy.

Metro Transit provides more adventures than I really care for. Yesterday, I was resting with closed eyes on a bus between St. Paul and Minneapolis when a man behind me had a short seizure. Long story short, the man was okay, but some of the men who were on that bus were so disrespectful, uncaring, and mean that I was MAD. By the end of the bus ride, I was fuming in my seat while convincing myself that I would keep my cool. I never expected people to show so little concern for someone in obvious distress or that my concern would make me the brunt of their jokes.

After that morning, I've thought more about how all of this relates to me as a child of God. Whether or not there are maddeningly stupid people in my midst, events such as this are an opportunity for me to love as Jesus loved and thank God for the ability to do so.

Tuesday's Bus Adventure...

Storytime:

On the way through Dinkytown, a man gets on the bus. He's one of those people who talks whether or not anyone is paying attention. Although, he was talking so loud you couldn't help but pay attention. Among the more entertaining quips:

• "I'm a Metro Transit Police Officer. See my badge?"
• "The rivers are pretty high...this bridge is going to collapse."
• "The Metrodome was named after me. I should get a 134 million dollar contract."
• "The Vikings should just go to LA. Minnesota has a new football team: the mosquitoes and wood ticks. Mosquitoes and wood ticks can kick a**."

Just another morning on the bus.

"I'm Gonna Be a Sheep...because I'm Gonna Be Fat"

Out of the mouths of babes. That quote was one of the highlights of this very long day.

Today was one of those days. Not one of those days where you think, "I can't do this for the rest of my life." It was a day where you think, "I can do this, but if tomorrow is like this, I might lose my sanity."

For a variety of reasons, there were no toddlers for the first 45 minutes - a nice start to the day. Then the head teacher and I found out that we were getting 4 toddlers from another room with no teachers. 4 strange children + a strange room + stranger anxiety + attachment issues + mom sightings + crying instead of sleeping = WHOA. That about sums it up.

One of my personal victories was getting one boy to sleep for longer than 30 minutes, the amount of time he normally sleeps. Yeah!

So now, I am unwinding by watching Sister Act, and hoping that tomorrow will be better than today.

Happy Thursday!

As I Gaze Upon 4 Sleeping Toddlers

I was considering writing a post all about why I disliked my weekend, Daylight Savings Time, etc. Then I decided that such a post would benefit no one. In lieu of my complaints, I will leave you with a positive note:

There are only 4 toddlers to chase around in my post-weekend haze. Praise the Lord!

With Each Passing Moment

• Last week was chaotic. Thankfully, it flew by. Almost every day, I left work thinking, "can I really do this for the rest of my life?" I'm trying to anticipate toddler-esque chaos each day, and to have more love ready for them. Today, instead of trying to stop the chaos by telling them what to do (which, at this point, doesn't work very well), I tried to pull the most worked-up child away to just sit with them and read or do whatever. I like that better. :)
• Thanks to a certain sister of mine getting minor surgery, I have been able to drive to work for the past 1/2 week. This has cultivated an extreme appreciation for all things vehicular. Tomorrow, I go back to the bus. This will likely cultivate very little that is positive. I need a better attitude.
• Drafting AND sticking to a budget is not easy...or fun. But it will be worth it. It will be worth it. It will be worth it.
• What I wanted to do after college was driven by my passion for young children...as a variety of family/health issues have started surfacing, my "passion" is starting to shift to the point where I want to get in a position where I can put family first, job second. I want to have the freedom to drop everything and go help someone, but my current situation does not allow that. I don't know yet if I will make the decision to leave this job for another, but I have definitely been thinking about it.
• I am tired from a very long Monday. Good night, world.

Maybe I Need to Chuck My Rose-Colored Glasses?

I did not sleep very soundly last night. My brain was occupied with the many ways that I could be late for work. I literally dreamed all of these during my 7 hours of sleep:

• Oversleeping (average)
• My mom driving around the parking lot in circles (wouldn't surprise me a ton. :o )
• A drug bust at our apartments...little gummy candy drugs to be exact. (not unheard of)
• Getting lost in our apartment building (one of those dreams where a place that you know magically morphs into something different)
• Falling down a bottomless stage pit (this occurred after I failed to jump far enough off the stage where people were studying. I hope this one is highly unlikely.)

Thankfully, this is the point where I woke up to the pestering sound of my alarm. Interestingly enough, none of my dreams included missing the bus. Wouldn't be a bad idea if this morning's events continued...

This morning, was a first for me. The first time I was ever hit on, as in a random guy trying to chat me up and get a phone number. At 6 AM on a Monday morning, I was not in the mood for that. Not that I would ever be in the mood for it. I'm not the type of girl that gets hit on! I've been trying to find a happy balance between my desire to assume every person I meet on the street is innocent until proven guilty and the fear-driven desire to be a little hermit that talks to no one. It may not be the best attitude, but I would be perfectly happy if I never saw that man again. I'm at least hoping that he won't be at that same bus stop every day - and that I will be coherent enough to give the "right answers" to the questions these men ask. Answers that say, "I'm not going to treat you like a jerk, but I'm not interested in anything."

I was talking with one of the maintenance men at work today, and when I told him I was one of the new employees hired with the stimulus money, he called me an "Obama teacher." I thought about that later and realized, no matter how much I dislike that Obama was elected president, I got this job because of decisions he made in office. No matter how long or short the duration of my first real job is, God blessed me with it in part through our current president.