Throw the book at me

Well it was bound to happen...just never thought it would be so literal. I started substitute teaching not too long ago. I mostly work at the middle school level 6th- 8th grade. I realize you just can't please everyone all the time but sheesh! After an incident last week I found myself just wondering about a few things...Does throwing a book at the substitute really make you feel better as a student? Have better methods of communication not been covered at this point of one's education? Is that kind of behavior tolerated at your house around your family? Is a trip to the bathroom during class that important it makes getting suspended for two whole days worth it? What kind of adult will this student turn out to be? Have I failed to acknowledge or appreciate some hidden cry for help in this random act of violence? Is it someones grand plan to put this student in my path everyday? Why on earth do I keep going back for more?
Hope you aren't holding your breath for any of these answers because I really don't have them. But I am sure you guessed that.
In other news... I took a much needed day off from subbing just to go to the zoo with my daughter and over 100 kindergartners! Wheee! what was I thinking? It was two days ago and I still haven't fully recovered.
If you want a good cry, I suggest you check out a good video on a Blog called Cheeseburgers in Paradise written by a fellow Army spouse blogger here in Hawaii. She's awesome and does a much better job at blogging (and losing weight I might add) than me. We are both missing our husbands. I think MTV should pull the yucky video they have for Chris Daughtry's song and put this one up instead. Of course, if they do, then every time I see it I'll be a wet slobbery mess. yuk I know...just don't throw a book at me please!

Where in the World is Jack Army?

I know I know...opsec and all. But sheesh man I am over here waiting and waiting for some sort of news. An email or a phone call would be awesome. Snail mail is ridiculous from there the girls and I got a letter on April 14th that was mailed by Jack on Oct. 12, 2006!!!
I realize "no news is good news" but I would really love some news. Some one commented over at Jack Army about a blanket order not to blog or email with out commander approval. What the hell? Like the commanders don't have enough to do over there that they gotta be the email police too? This is crazy! Here's part of that comment...ugh

Army Squeezes Soldier Blogs, Maybe to Death

Noah Shachtman 05.02.07 2:00 AM AP

The U.S. Army has ordered soldiers to stop posting to blogs or sending
personal e-mail messages, without first clearing the content with a superior
officer, Wired News has learned. The directive, issued April 19, is the sharpest
restriction on troops' online activities since the start of the Iraq war. And it
could mean the end of military blogs, observers say. Military officials have
been wrestling for years with how to handle troops who publish blogs. Officers
have weighed the need for wartime discretion against the opportunities for the
public to personally connect with some of the most effective advocates for the
operations in Afghanistan and Iraq -- the troops themselves. The secret-keepers
have generally won the argument, and the once-permissive atmosphere has slowly
grown more tightly regulated. Soldier-bloggers have dropped offline as a result.
The new rules (.pdf) obtained by Wired News require a commander be consulted
before every blog update.

can't figure out how to turn off indention but ... pretend it's off.
So...now I am a bit concerned. If I have to go the next 7 months (thanks
to the extension) with no communication I am going to have myself a little meltdown. I don't know how my mom took care of 3 babies and had her fourth (me) while my dad was in Vietnam. They did get to talk on the phone but the telephone
connection was so bad my dad thought my mom named his fourth daughter
Baron after him. I guess he thought she was so distraught after having yet another girl no boys. HA So at least I'm not having any more babies. My three are quite the handful themselves. Having them makes the separation all that more 'in your face' though. Like when the littlest one just out of the blue says "I can't remember daddy's face" That's enough to send me right over the edge. I started crying the poor little girl. Even though logically you can't escape all the pictures of Jack in our home. Screen saver on the computer is Jack, refrigerator has Jack all over it...pictures on the bulletin board...maps of where he is...he's everywhere. but for a four year old to just come up with that is just so heartbreaking words can't describe. Her older sister sleeps with Jack's T-shirts at night and when they "lost his smell" we spray a little of his cologne on. I do the same thing to my pillow. I don't know if that makes it better or worse. These are the things the politicians in Washington need to think about when they extend the troops. Fifteen months is an eternity to a preschooler, not to mention the moms of those preschoolers. I know we all appreciate our troops and know we need them there. But I still miss Jack and hope some politician somewhere lets him get back on the internet soon.

Jill's thoughts for the day...

I don't want to take away from all the pain and suffering the families of the Virginia Tech Students are recently experiencing... BUT ...I was passing by our huge flag on post the other day watching it fly at half staff. I stopped and prayed for those families it was flying low for. The country nationally recognized and mourned approx. 30 students who died in a extremely horrible way. That's great. I thought it was good of the President to do this. Then I started thinking about all the soldiers over there with my husband and all those who have come back in those flag draped coffins. I wonder why our flag isn't flying low already. Certainly our country is in a constant state of mourning for these families as well. Maybe it's because these soldiers chose to make the sacrifice they did. Does that make it any less horrifying or painful for their families and friends? Maybe it is because these kids at VT were innocent and unsuspecting. I don't know. It made me just a little bit sad for our soldiers. I don't need low flying flag to help me to remember these soldiers and their sacrifice for this country, but maybe others might. Maybe if the shooter had joined the Army instead of going to college he would have felt included and found camaraderie instead of persecution he got from the clicks in college. I don't know. Maybe not I don't know... How about if we send all the crazies out there who have some sort of grudge toward whomever over to Iraq to go out on patrols. Have them take their anger out on some insurgents who deserve it before they get shot. Just a thought in my head, feel free to disagree. Aren't you glad you live in a country where you can? Good! Now go out and thank a soldier!