When it rains, it pours....

When it rains, it pours...

That is basically how the week ended.

The week started off slow. It seemed to drag on. Isnt that typical of a Monday? Tired and cranky was the mood forthe whole week. And my daughter as well. My feet have been bothering me more and more and I really need to take some time to rest them. I cant take the time off from work to go to the foot doc. I will have to tough it out til Im on vacation again. So that means I have to suffer til the end of June. I can handle it. I mean, I did go over a year with the pain. I just dread the two big field trips that I will be on in the beginning of June. Both will require a lot of walking. I might have to bring some ice for the trips home.

Tuesday and Wednesday nights were my TCI refresher classes. Im already certified but I have to take this refresher yearly to keep my certification. Some would say that Im definately "certified" but thats another story. This is something that I need to use in my job. I dont have to take the courses but it does help to have this knowledge to back you up in case its needed. In my school and the one I was in, its needed daily.

Let me define this class. Its called TCI which stands for Theraputic Crisis Intervention. Its the training you get for when a child loses control of himself and you have to make sure that you, the child or anyone else doesnt get hurt. That you can talk the child back to normal and also be able to safely restrain the child if needed. Trust me, these kids are strong and when they get full on fire, the adrenaline goes through the roof. But at the same time, you dont want the child to get hurt.

So this was a fun time for me and the others in the class. I want to thank those that were there with me for the fun and the laughs. They know what Im talking about. I nearly peed my pants Tuesday night. Wednesday night was a little stressful for me. The physical part nearly ripped my legs and feet off. Both of these nights had me exhausted.

The rest of the week went off without a hitch. It wasnt so bad. Thursday was interesting. Yeah, thats a good word for it. Interesting. Dean Davis came to the school. Most of you wouldnt know this man. But around here, he is a sort of legend of his own kind. This man has to be the wildest person I have ever known. Ive known him for a few years. Actually, I think some of those reading this would know him. He is from that small town area where I grew up. And some of my readers are as well. You know who you are.

Well Dean is a sort of, how do I put it, zoologist in his own right. He really is one but not like the typical one. This man likes the animals that no one else likes. He has quite a collection. Most of his pets come from homes where they couldnt be cared for anymore. Some are exotic pets that people should not have had in the first place. So he has them now and he takes care of them. He brings them to places to show people. Mostly schools to educate the kiddies on howthese animals help the environment. But also why they are best left in the wild. They wouldnt make good pets.

When he shows these beasts off, he tends to be talking about them at the same time. He holds them and wont let them loose so there is nothing to worry about. Also he is missing a finger so that shows how much he loves these critters. And yes he does love them. Its weird how they respond to him like its nothing new to be held and moved around. He tends to talk with his hands to the animals get a fun ride around in the air. Interesting is the word, remember?

The lizards were cool. The snakes were awesome. The turtle was just about as amazing as it gets. I grew up with these things in my yard so that was nothing new. But the reaction that the kids had was priceless. He got that baby snapping and looking around. The head alone was huge. It would have taken off his arm in a snap.

The scorpion was trying to pinch him and he was telling the kids that the stinger was like getting stung by a big bee. Well he was stung at least 30 times while it was being moved around in the air while he talked. If I was moved in the air that much, I would have stung someone too. Well, that is if I had a stinger. That would be cool to have huh?

The one thing that I just couldnt handle was the spider. We all know how much I hate spiders. I know they are a benefit to the environment and that they eat the things that freak me out. But they need to do it when Im not looking. I dont want to see them or the food supply. Thank you. But Im sitting about five feet away from this man and when he brought that spider out, I nearly pissed my pants and vomited.

I excused myself to the bathroom but when I came back, he was still waving that hairy Godzilla thing around the room and I had to pretend not to be afraid of it. You know, for the sake of the kids. Yeah, ok. I can suffer it. Now put that damn thing away. To make it worse, there were pictures being taken so Im sure that somewhere is one of me with a freaked out look.

Today was the cream of the crop though. The morning was really stressful with Cami. She was a bit off the hook. Somehow she had sneaked into the kitchen and stole the last of a can of frosting that was used on some brownies that she couldnt get to. Yep, sugar. And unmedicated. This is not a good thing. She was flipping out on me because she got busted. Yeah, that seems to be her logic.

So the whole day was pretty much shot for me. I was in a miserable mood all day waiting for the bombs to hit later on. But it ended up on an entertaining note with the kids flipping out. It was actually funny. Im learning to adapt fairly well now. I just love a friday with wild kids. But at least they dont come home with me.

Friday was fun. Just to let you know, I forgot that I started this post and am now just picking it up again before I write a new one. Anywho, after school on Friday, I went to my fathers as usual. He wanted to go shopping but wanted to eat first. So we went to a chinese buffet. There is nothing like eating at one. Im sure you all have at one time or another. I love them. The only sad part about chinese food is that you can stuff your face and then feel hungry again in about an hour.

After this we went to BJs. I prefer to shop there because I can stock up on the things we like to eat. Also laundry soap and things like that. Everything was fine and dandy til the end. I should also add that we ran into some friends there as well and Cami ended up hanging out with them.

After we cashed out, Cami wanted a drink and I needed to go to the optical dept to order some contacts. They are a lot cheaper there. And of course, I needed them. So grandpa and Cami sat down and waited for me. This gave him a chance to rest a bit. I no sooner got back to them and I heard the rumble of thunder. Shit. I dont like the sound of that. We moved pretty quickly to the door on that note.

I looked outside and it wasnt raining yet so I told my father to wait by the door and I will load the car and then pick him up. He walks slow and this was not the time to wait for him to catch up. So Cami and I raced to the car. About half way there, the thunder rolled and the lightning flashed. Shit. We all know how much I hate this. Especially since I had that weird dream about being struck by lightning.

So we ran a little faster. Pushing that heavy cart filled with stuff wasnt easy but I managed to get there. But not before the sky opened up and drenched us. When I say drenched, I mean it was monsoon. I opened the door and told Cami to just get in the car. I opened the trunk and she decided that it was a good idea to help me put everything in there. Ok. I can use the help and she really did a great job. No, Im not being sarcastic either. We had that truck loaded and the back seat too. It was so quick. I didnt bother to sort anything. I heard the car door slam and thought she had gotten in anyways. Nope. She was standing next to me. I dont even remember leaving it open and there wasnt any wind. I looked in and there was my father in the front seat. Guess he didnt want to wait.

I put the cart away and got in the car. Cami obviously got in before me. We were both soaked. My hair was matted to my face and my clothes looked like I just ran them through the washer and put them on. Good thing I wasnt wearing white. That would have been a hell of a show. Of course my father was quite wet too. And he was bitching. Sometimes I think he does this stuff just to find something to complain about because he sure did a lot of it on the way home. I told him to wait at the door.

There is nothing like the smell of wet hairspray. And it was running down my face. The drive home was interesting because of the wind and the rain. It was coming down hard and I wasnt liking it. We pulled up in front of his house and it was still coming down hard. I backed right up to his door area because I knew that bringing all that stuff inside wasnt going to be fun. I told him to wait in the car til the rain slowed down but he wasnt listening to me. He got out and went inside. Of course he got a little more wet. Of course I was going to hear about that too.

I decided that this wasnt going to happen so I got on the phone to call for back-up. There would be at least 6 trips in and out for me and also the sorting of the stuff first. I wasnt about to do this alone in the storm. So Bill came about 10 minutes later to help me carry it all in. Of course when he showed up, the rain slowed. It was a drizzle by now. But still, it was a lot easier on me to have help. What would have been a lot of loads ended up being about 3. I was able to sort while he carried. Worked for me. It also made it easier carrying it all into my place as well. I took a long hot shower after that and felt better. I was like a drowned rat.