Shut your mouth.

I was told.

Go to work and close your mouth.

You see, I've been grumping at school. Agitating. Feeling misused and unappreciated. Almost looking for a fight.

Ok. I do feel like fighting the new district negotiations. To meet the budget, we all need to take a small pay cut for the next 3 years: Two days w/o pay.

But I'm not misused, no, I'm simply asked to do my job. Disliking that job is not the same thing as being misused.

And I am appreciated. I hear it regularly. "Thanks for your help today."

And the whole city, state, country, world is cutting back. I'm just part of a very big financial crisis.

My brain cries, "No FAIR!" just like the kids do. "Life is not fair.", we tell them, just like our mothers told us and our grandmothers told our mothers. Two days w/o pay out of 180 days is a small request.

I'm antsy, I guess.
Only 15 days left of school.

I'm having a hard time taking one day at a time, doing my best, a hard time giving my all. Just like the kids. We're all a little grumpy and antsy. Life.

"Relax.", I'm told. "Just breathe."

See the soft green hills turning light green while I clop around bareback on a soft, warm, sweet old horse named Frankie? Did I even notice that I was loping? Bareback. When was it scary, I wonder? That seems years ago.

...