It began last night. My first official wedding gig — baking cake pops for a bride and groom’s reception.

Last night, I baked the three cakes and refrigerated them. Tonight I shall make up the cake pop recipe, put in the sucker sticks, and freeze ’em. Tomorrow night after my concert, they get a chocolate bath, and Friday afternoon, on go the finishing touches and packaging.

Friday night, I go to bed early.

Is it the 28th yet? Just axin’.

…than a 2-hour delay at school due to there being no water. I mean, I guess the school could have imploded or there was no electricity anywhere. But a 2-hour delay because of no water? I’ll take it.

The bad part: we were notified at 6:45 a.m., long after most staff are already on the road. I was getting ready to grab the lunch and head out the door when the call came in.

In no way does this suggest I am absolutely bathing in schadenfreude this morning, but…yeah.

Actually, it’s nine (kids don’t have school on Thursday; teachers have an inservice day), but really…who counts? Besides me, I mean?

I hope everyone had a fantastic Moms Day here in the US yesterday. Did you? What all did you do?

I was treated to three visits throughout the day, with some gorgeous flowers that are sweetening the air in the house, making it smell like spring really has arrived. I saw all three of my grandsons — it was a marvelous afternoon!

One month from today, we will be on the road from Mississippi to Dallas, where we’ll spend an awesome weekend with BoomR. He’s having me sit in for a couple numbers at his gig at swanky Chamberlain’s Steak & Chop House too, which will be more fun than I’m sure is lawful.

But first: the May Funnel. Performances this Thursday, next Monday, and the Sunday after that. Then we can think about other stuff.

It’s go time. Have a goody.

Fink, TCB

…you wake up on the weekend, thinking it’s Sunday, but it’s only Saturday. Have you ever done that? It made me want to weep with happiness.

I would be happy spending the night here. I’m experiencing some major wanderlust feelings — it’s getting closer to hitting the open road.

Speaking of the Odyssey, we’re awfully close to the 30-day countdown. Unfortunately, I can’t think much about it because I have to get through the next 13 days first. Three performances, baking for a wedding, grandchildren’s birthdays, a preschool graduation, eleven high school graduation gifts to wrap and cards to write, two academic awards ceremonies at which to present, end-of-year meetings, auditions for the fall musical, writing final exams, grades, preparing to shut down the choir room…all by the 26th. Then I try and squeeze in some family/friend time before we take off on the 12th of June.

I hate the “May Funnel.”

But I must admit it’s cool when you can see the end from here. I’m really not depressed about it, even though it seems like I’m complaining (which, I guess, I am). La vie est belle.

I hope all goes well in your world today. I hate bringing up the mundane subject of weather here in Ohio, but if the weather here in Ohio would improve, so would my ambition level. Or maybe not.

Happy weekend, fiends. It’s only Saturday.

This having been Teacher Appreciation Week and all, I’ve seen some really nice comments throughout social media, and received some kind gestures from my bosses at school. How fun! It is humbling and sweet to be remembered, although I must say I feel “appreciated” quite often in my job, because I’m surrounded by nice people: my students, their parents, and my colleagues, family and friends. I hope all teachers experience that support.

Still, I think we all feel like we’re in a thankless job from time to time, whether we’re teachers or truck drivers or office workers or homemakers. When one feels unappreciated, one can resort to unhealthy means to get by. In a teacher’s case, maybe it’s been a bad fit for years (and by “bad fit,” I mean you weren’t cut out to be a teacher, or you hate kids in general), and that adds to the misery. It’s a vicious fight in those cases, and we’ve all seen them.

I read a disturbing collection of teacher horror stories last night. Ouch. It did make me think of a bad experience of my own, back in high school.

I won’t give the teacher’s name or the subject he taught, but one especially stressful day at school, I was late to his class, which met after choir. I had a late pass from the director, and upon entering his class (I was no more than a minute late), I whispered “I’m sorry I’m late,” and gave him the note.

He looked at the note, crumpled it up and threw it away, and said, “Young lady, you may be the star of the musical this year, but I assure you that you are no star in [name of subject] class, and you know what I’m talking about. You’re no more important than anyone else, so get here on time from now on!”

I felt everyone was laughing at me, even in the dead silence. Now everybody knew I was a below-average ______ student. I was completely humiliated, and spent the rest of the class trying (unsuccessfully) to choke back tears. That experience stuck with me — to this day, it’s stuck with me.

When I started teaching public school, I swore I’d never do to any other kid what was done to me. That’s why I will go out of my way a hundred times to not single out a student who is struggling with the music, or to not get angry or frustrated and pass harsh judgment on a kid who enters class late with a pass, on account of his interrupting rehearsal. Not saying I’m always successful in that effort, but I consistently try to put my students’ feelings and situations in a healthy perspective. You never know what someone else is going through.

Choose kindness first. I try to live by that, although I fall down from time to time. I try never to pull the “teacher is perfect” routine, although I’m sure some of my students see me as a tyrant. It’s all a work in progress, you know? I’m never done learning.

I’ll end this rambling treatise with a memory of my favorite teacher from my childhood. And while you’re there, read some of the other tributes in the comments section. Excellent bunch of memories.