NoJoMo 29: I Don’t Like Mondays

Today was definitely a Monday.  Slept horribly.  One of the problems was it took me forever to get to sleep and then when I finally did I was woken up by Sara, who now sleeps in a loft bed and her blanket fell out of the bed and she can’t haul it up the ladder by herself.  Fair enough and I cheerfully, yet sleepily, helped her out, but then I had to start all over again getting to sleep.  

So started the day tired.  And instead of my normal easy entry into the week that is my normal Monday, I get my morning swimming cancelled in order to take over as an assistant in the third grade because the assistant was sick (along with half the rest of the teachers in the school apparently).  The third grade is crazy!

I talked about this before, this one kid who will not sit still, walking around disrupting the class the whole time.  And he was at it again today, refusing to do any of the work, laying on the floor kicking desks, interrupting the teacher, bugging everyone.  Then we get to lunch.  Here in Norway we do not have hot lunches at school, everyone takes their own lunch, primarily sandwiches or the common thing here, a slice of bread with something on it, an open faced sandwich I guess.  Common stuff is sliced meats (duh!), liver pate, cheese (brown and otherwise), jam, and unfortunately for schools, Nutella.  Basically, chocolate on bread.

Our kids usually get good stuff.  Sara refuses to eat cheese on bread, though will eat it plain (because she is weird), so she gets nothing but meat.  Emma gets a variety.  Never Nutella, unless it is like the day before Christmas break or something.  They get it at home during vacation weeks or summer. 

So I look in hyperactive boy’s lunch and here is what he has: 4 slices of plain white bread (the worst kind.  Our bread over here is baked fresh every day and you slice it yourself.  We have awesome bread here) with Nutella.  All four.  And he also has with him a package of store bought chocolate sweet buns.  8 in a package.  Seriously, what the hell are these parents thinking?  Not only is that not healthy at all, but the last thing hyperactive boy needs is nothing but sugar for lunch.  The teacher says that the parents struggle trying to get him to eat anything, but frankly he would probably be better off eating nothing.  Last week, the teacher said, one day he came with nothing but a package of Oreos.  Oreos!  For lunch!  WTF???

Apparently the parents are divorced/divorcing and they blame each other and the chaos and busy-ness.  Probably indulging him because they feel guilty.  But wow.  I have no words.  At least no more, hah!

The other thing I remarked on was that, call me old and all, but when I was a kid, even that young, I would not have dared to interrupt the teacher when she was talking.  I recall it being dead silent, and if we were talking it would bring down the wrath of God, literally (I went to a Catholic grade school).  Kids these days (Old Man Rant ahead!) have no respect for their elders!  HaHa.  But seriously, they don’t.  I see this all day long, not with all of them, but a growing number.  No respect for you as an adult. 

Videos!

Abrupt end, but I am tired!  Here are three random videos, no theme.

What a better song than Boomtown Rats with I Don’t Like Mondays.  Not the biggest hit Stateside, but huge in England and I remember hearing it all the time on Flashback Weekends in Los Angeles.

Possibly my favourite Talking Heads song.  And live from the amazing film Stop Making Sense even.  This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody).

One of my favourite old school Cure songs, again live because it is so good live!  A Forest.

Zaphod