Nothing like starting your Friday with a bang... crash.... traffic...

I love my job - but days like today remind me how much responsibility my job entails... and how sometimes, I wish I didn't have to have that responsibility.

Sigh Sister Betty is in town and was going to come to work with me today. We left a bit late, stopped at Sonic for drinks, then stopped to pick up a donut. As we turn on the street to my school, I say to her, "I'm never this late in the AM for school."

We move down the road a bit and cars are stopped. We sit for a second waiting. I pull my car around and head up to the stoppage. I can tell something is wrong. I see a bus and a SUV, it looks like maybe there has been a wreck. I don't have kids and I don't understand the maternal instinct, but this feeling forms in the pit of my stomach. What if kids are hurt? What if, God forbid, someone has died? How am I going to stay strong? I have to stay calm and be strong........

...... which takes me back to a place where almost 2 years ago to the day I had to tell a friend and co-worker that her husband had died. I'll never forgot sitting there, telling her, feeling that every time she saw me from then on, I'd be the person who gave her the news that changed her life forever.....

I push up to the front where there are police and the EMT. I tell them I'm the principal and I need to know what is going on. They tell me there has been a head-on collision but no one is hurt. I rush over to the kids and check on them. They seem fine. As I go back to my car, I fall into the mud. I get up and keep going -no mud is going to stop me!! The bus driver is shaken. I see my AP and immediately I feel better. My AP is a great person and has become a good friend, but one of her many strengths is her ability to stay calm. I'm the firecracker, she is the calming force.

The bus and the truck are totalled. We get the kids inside where there are a few teachers there to feed them breakfast and take care of them. Our Deputy Superintendent shows up to help coordinate efforts and supervise the details of this situation. Our nurse rushes up, we get her and her kids square so she can go medically assess the situation. Our other teachers as soon as they can get parked and get inside.... go to work..... some are unloading cars, some are in the cafe, they are everywhere and doing anything that needs to be done. My aunt takes over the front door greeting duty since my office staff is handling phone calls.

The next hour and half goes by in what seems like a minute. The scene is cleaned, the vehicles are towed to our front drive, we get traffic reflowing, kids dropped off, fed, and delivered to class. By 9:20 AM, you'd never known what had happened.

Unless you could hop in my brain. I'm exhausted, but so grateful for everyone to be safe and for us to continue the day on as if nothing happened. Thank God for my office staff - they just jump in it and hit it full force!! I'm blessed to have an AP who is awesome at her job and teachers that really have a "Whatever It Takes" attitude. And they do it without creating all of this drama.... they are truly the best of the best... no lip service at all!!

We had a great rest of the day, including our weekly Mustang Corral..... where we did a Red Ribbon Week fashion show where I looked like Uncle Sam meets John Wayne Gacy. I think that may have frightened more children than the morning events.......

Our New Season of Dallas Summer Musicals is revealed!!

I just got my renewal for my Dallas Summer Musical season tickets in the mail today. I can't wait!! So here's the new list:

1. The Phantom of the Opera - February 17-March 14 - This is the first one in our series and I'm surprised by how early it is. But I can't wait - I've seen the movie, but never the musical... I'm excited!!

2. Xanadu - April 6-18 - The last time I was in NYC in July 2007, I wanted to go and see Xanadu, but it didn't work out. So now I'll get to see it!! I'm so excited about this one!! Xanadu was one of my most favorite 80's movies!

3. Little House on the Prairie - May 11-23 - Melissa Gilbert is starring as Ma, but I think this will be the throwaway musical for this year (like Happy Days and Cash in the previous seasons). But who knows, maybe it'll be really good!! Maybe......

4. Wicked - May 26-June 27 - I've never seen Wicked, so I'm also very excited about this musical as well. It should be so much fun!

5. Dreamgirls - June 30-July 18 - Another one where I've seen the movie (and loved it), but haven't seen the show. I'm looking forward to this one as well!!

6. Shrek The Musical - Sept. 28-Oct. 16 - This is the State Fair one which is usually geared toward kiddos. I've never seen any of the Shrek movies, but I'm sure this will be a cute musical as well.

In addition, Rain is coming back! This is the Beatles tribute band, and one of my favorite shows from last season. I'm taking my Dad for his birthday because it's right around his birthday and I know he'll enjoy the music.

All in all, I'm very pleased by the upcoming season. This season had some highlights (Legally Blonde, The Wizard of Oz) and some disappointments (Happy Days, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), but I think next year will be even stronger!! Woo hoo!!

Only 4 months until Phantom!!

What the fork!?!?!!?

Think back to when you were in junior high..... for me, it's 1982-84 and I'm at Forest Meadow Junior High..... what did you like to do late at night on weekends? Why, wrap houses of course! How many houses did you wrap? I wrapped many in my time. I also like the status that a few stray strands of TP high in the trees would bring to you, letting everyone know your house was the chosen house.

Flash forward about 27 years, it's Friday night, and you are bored.... so what do you do? Wrapping houses is too expensive, plus with the threat of rain, you don't want to make a huge mess.

You fork.

Forking is the art of using plastic cutlery to create festive yard art in the front yard. My two partners in crime and I forked 8 houses on Friday night. We started at 11 PM and ended about 2:15 AM. We forked in Denton County (Little Elm, Pilot Point) and Collin County (McKinney, Frisco). Some people got forked because they skipped a get together (MW and NG), some got forked because they wouldn't go with us forking (TK, CE, and HH), and some people got forked because we liked you, we knew where you lived, and we thought what the hell (S&MB, DM, and KR).

My mom tried to give me grief that a elementary principal shouldn't fork houses, but why not? I'm not a cloistered nun - I'm allowed to have fun. We didn't hurt anyone, we didn't do any damage, if anything... we aerated some yards for people!!!)

I haven't heard from all of the victims, but I'm not worried. Oh, they say payback is hell and all that.... whatever.....

Hit me with your best forkin' shot!!