Dear Friends,
On the whiteboard this morning there is a question:
Can a day really be unlucky? Why or why not?
I think this is an interesting question at any age, but I'm very curious to see what my students say. I can guarantee there will be some that put a great deal of thought into it. Some may be heartbreaking, but I hope not. They might also be hilarious.
Sometimes there is both.
One day when I was in fifth grade, I'm guessing, I was riding home from either school or my grandparents and I had to pee really badly. It was terrible. Much of my ride was uphill enough that I had to put enough effort into pedaling to push on my full bladder a bit.
I remember making the executive decision to avoid going up the little hill on Butler, but that meant taking the long way around. The extra distance put additional strain on what has typically been a very reliant and resilient bladder. It occurs to me that this day might have been instrumental in learning to control my bladder with an almost yoga-like precision.
But that day, if I would have noticed a sprinkler in someone's front yard or a saw someone spraying something with a hose, I would have lost it all over the pointy seat on my ten-speed. The thought of a waterfall would have soaked my corduroy pants, probably OPs.
When I got to the apartment my dad and I shared, I had to carry my bike up the stairs. It wasn't heavy, but it was also enough to make the flight of semi-steep stairs a tough one. I made it to the front door, though, and started fumbling with my key.
By the time I got it in the lock and started to turn it was too late.
That was the day when I learned what the expression "pissing like a race horse" meant as I stood in the doorway. There was no chance of pinching that stream off after the first warm blast left my body. I was humiliated. I was relieved.
There's something, though, that I feel fortunate about when faced with these types of situations when alone. No one has to know they have happened if you just think clearly and act quickly to rectify, and in this case, quickly get into the washing machine. I did know how to do a load of laundry.
Embarrassment or not, it taught me to listen better to my body more. At very least, I learned to find a bush somewhere if you really need to go. But the question is still there...
Was that an unlucky day?
See you soon and happy Friday the 13th.
I found this so randomly in about 30 seconds after looking at the first google page I had open.
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