A 'Fruit-Snack-Stuck-to-the-Shoe' Kind of Week

 I know. The picture is of a banana peel and not a fruit snack. That is perfectly fine, because it all comes from the same attitude. Besides, finding a picture of a fruit snack is extremely hard. Anyway, it gives you an idea of what I deal with all day: cookie crumbs, spilled juice, pieces of paper from art scattered everywhere, glue stuck to the tables and desks, glitter, glitter, and more glitter (will it ever stop appearing? Never again!!!!), small balls of brightly colored nerd candy, popcorn seeds, chalkboard dust, drops of hand sanitizer  that leave white spots all over the floor, and of course, fruit snacks! You would think after having five children so close together would have caused me to not care about messes, but my desire for neat rooms has not dissipated. I admit I have lightened up quite a bit, but when a lumpy piece of sticky fruit snack ends up under my shoe, sometimes even I cannot take anymore. It had been a crazy day  already with our field trip to the apple orchard. We went on a hay ride and got to see a petting zoo that really was not a petting zoo at all. The ponies cooperated and let me pet their ears, but the goats remained inside their barn and just stared at me through the door. The poor ducks and chicken in their small pens and muddy pool water only looked at me with sad eyes that said, "Please let us out to run!"
     Do not get me wrong - it was great to get out of the classroom. It was very enjoyable to view the beautiful autumn day and gorgeous leaves that dotted the landscape with a rainbow of color. Every so often I see a tree that takes my breath away with its vivid color that simply makes it pop. I have no idea when Connecticut will be at its peak color, but I am sure it will be soon, and then will come the drab, brown nakedness of winter. I am enjoying the last bit of vibrant color while I can. 
     So, I made chocolate chip cookies tonight. It seemed a fitting end to a long week. The first batch was gone before the last one ever hit the cooling rack. The children, and our neighbor Don, enjoyed them straight out of the oven. It was what we all needed. Comfort food. Kind of like the chicken pot pie I made yesterday  for dinner...cooler weather plus rough, sticky weeks at school equals comfort food. Especially after having to do art class with the kindergarten through second grade twice in a week...now THAT calls for some thing to ease the stress off my shoulders. Hearing twelve children calling my name at the same time every second they needed help with their Christopher Columbus boats was a bit nerve wracking. Usually I do art with the children on Monday afternoon's, but we have next Monday off, yahoo!, so we decided to do next week's project today. Glad that is over with! 
     I am so glad that even in the midst of craziness and artime chaos I can be sure that my Lord is with me, waiting for me to call on His Name for help any moment of the day. God's love for me is so deep that nothing can separate me from it; not even a fruit snack stuck on my shoe can ever change that.      

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