Imagine you're walking down the street when a smell tickles your nose. Are you being followed by a young man fresh out of gym class who is not yet wearing deodorant even though it really is prime time to start? Though you try to resist, you take another sniff of the air. You catch a touch of banana peel left in the car for a week with a hint of day old peanut butter and jelly crust.

You start to look around for an overflowing trash can causing the attack on your nasal passages, but instead you find some sort of creature. You quickly snap your eyes forward. Was that Medusa?  No, a pinch on your wrist confirms you have not turned to stone.

You shouldn't turn around; mother always said it wasn't polite to stare. But out of a valid concern Godzilla is following you, you take a quick peek. It appears to have human eyes, though the sunken eyes have dark circles under them. Realizing this is just a vagrant, you sit on a bench and allow yourself a long look.

Sometimes you just know
a kid is going to grow up
awesome!
(copyright Lauri Meyers)
It's a woman, you decide, with her long hair sticking out wildly on every side. Looks like an odd tattoo on her arm - no, it's just a streak of ink. Her lips are moving, and you hear her mumbling something like, pick up the tap shoes, get a size three soccer ball, smock for class, permission slip...

It's back to school week this week! I have been shuttling both kids, packing enough snacks and lunches for a short voyage, and signing more papers than the president. I didn't follow the advice about getting into the sleep routine before school, and the kids have been up at night all week. And I look like it.


I'm too embarrassed to take a picture of my harried self.  Luckily, I have no problem selling out my five-year-old self! Just age the picture to the right by a few decades and you get the picture. 

I hope we settle into routine soon, so I can actually get a bit of writing done. First, I seriously need to go take a shower. 

How is back to school going in your neck of the woods?