Somebody's got a case of the Mondays...

Alright, I admit it, that would be me.  It's Monday.  Monday is stupid.  Monday morning is just about the nastiest idea ever invented (if You invented it, God, then I take it back...) because it's pretty much got nothing going for it.

Now, I'm a big fan of the whole tabula rasa deal, and I totally believe that each day is a fresh day for new experiences and renewed expectations, and Monday is the high point of this fresh-and-clean-ness.  But that doesn't change the fact that Monday is still pretty darn awful.  I think one of the worst feelings in the world happens when I'm sliding out of my bed in the morning, before the sun has even thought about crawling into the sky, and I realize that no, I do not have just two more days with the kids.  I have FIVE.  And even though I'm exhausted and my eyelids still have that sticky sandpaper feeling, it will be a whole twelve hours until I'm able to go back to sleep again.  If I am lucky enough to take a nap, that is.  Holy.  Purple.  Stinkerface.  I hate that feeling.

There are certain things that can knock me out of the Monday rut pretty quickly, though--seeing a dear friend or a new friendly face, hearing the perfect song on the radio, remembering happy weekend times, and consuming a mocha or some form of chocolate.  And occasionally, laughing my face off at the folly of my children.

Here's what I mean:  I'm in the middle of grading papers right now, and the kids had to write in an example of a book or topic that would be covered for the listed genre.  For example, they are given Mystery, and they could write in Nancy Drew or something.  So here's how one of my kids interpreted the assignment--

1.  Folk/Fairy Tale.....................................The three little bears
2.  Mythology............................................Hey Hey fat girl and boys
3.  Historical Fiction..................................learn more
4.  Science Fiction/Fantasy........................go go natural life
5.  Realistic Fiction....................................eating grapes
6.  Mystery.................................................chips go
7.  Nonfiction.............................................talking dogs and cats
8.  Fiction...................................................real people can talk

Oh.  My.  Gosh.

Did you have to excuse yourself to use the bathroom during all of that?  If you didn't, read it again.  I'm serious.  Read it.

Now try to figure out the thought behind it.  Maybe there's a theme...no.  Maybe they're trying to make a poem...no.  Maybe they're trying to send me a secret message in paragraph/answer form...no, unless I'm not smart enough to understand the code.  And then, what kills me too is that "talking dogs and cats" part would have been appropriate in almost ANY GENRE OTHER THAN NONFICTION.

Shoot, y'all.  Almost everybody else got a high B or an A on this assignment.  And then there's THIS.  What the heck?!

And so, my case of the Mondays has been slightly alleviated.  Because if this is where this kid is right now, then I'd better be praying for EXTRA days of the week by the time state testing rolls around.