Pencils Make Great Hair Accessories

Hello world! Did you miss me? Boy, have I missed you! It's been an interesting couple of days. Now that I think about it, I can't remember a day that I've had that could ever be dull. I think I actually DO some dull things but maybe the flair with which I do them makes them more interesting...I don't know.

I feel like I've had the fun sucked right out of me. This is manifested in my inability to come up with unique and interesting topics. Really....who wants to hear the mundane details of my life? It's the quirky things that I think about that keeps you coming back for more, right? So without further ado, here is my latest topic.

Pencils. They are the staple of my profession. I tend to be idiosyncratic in this area. (I say that like I'm "normal" in any area!) I write a lot in my job....notes to parent, comments on graded papers, forms to fill out, lists to make....the paper trail never ends. Most grown-ups like to write with pen. I do too, but I don't really like the part where you can't erase the mistake you just made. I know, I know....they make really good erasable ink these days, but I'm old school. I don't trust an ink pen that can be erased. If I want to erase, I'll just use a pencil. Which I do. Lots. At any given time, I am carrying around 3 or more writing utensils. On my lanyard, in addition to my classroom keys, police whistle, and ID badge, I clip on two pens: black and blue. I keep a colored one for grading and the black one for signing my name to forms. But other than grading and signing my name, I'd much rather use a pencil.

The issue doesn't end there. Although I like writing in pencil, I don't like writing with a dull pencil. I've tried using mechanical pencils, but the erasers give out before they should and the leads break pretty easily. So I stick to your regular #2 pencils. Which leaves me in a quandary. Where can I hold my pencil as I'm darting about the classroom and throughout my school? I've tried to tuck the pencil behind my ear. Doesn't work. I'm blessed with ears that don't stick out so keeping a pencil there doesn't always work. I've found that I can easily keep my pencil in my hair. I won't go into the hair issue now, that's another post for another time. Let's just say that I don't wear my hair down while I'm working because it keeps me from thinking. I have this wonderful hair clip that I use to keep my hair up and thus, creating a nest for my pencils.

It's nice to have one handy there for those times that I need a pencil and I'm away from my desk (which is quite often.) What kills me is that I unknowingly put several pencils in my hair each day and forget about them until I'm driving home from work. As I take out my hair clip and shake my hair loose, pencils fly everywhere. Multiple pencils. Everyday. So I take the pencils and put them on the passenger seat of my car. I've got quite a collection going. Soon, I'm going to be able to fasten them together and build a log cabin or something. You'd think that eventually I'd just take the pencils in the house or into my classroom. Yeah, I keep thinking that too but it doesn't happen. If I ever give you a lift somewhere you'll see my handy collection of pencils that keeps growing daily.

My pencils must multiply, because I haven't run out of them yet. One day, I will run out of pencils because they will all be in my car. When that happens I'll get into my pencilmobile and ride into the sunset while making my lists, and checking them twice. And if I make a mistake I'll just reach up, grab the pencil from my hair, and use the eraser---just as God intended.