AAAGH!

It was 7:30 this morning and already Sweet Pea was in rare form. She is a fairly independent kid and generally wants to do it "self." This morning was no different, except that the intensity with which she wanted to do things hit a 7 on the Richter Self scale. As my husband rode off on his bike to work, all I could do was wave and pray. Pray that he arrived safely, as he does ride through some less that safe places, and pray that Sweet Pea would settle down.

Needless to say, that was not meant to be. The papers that I was supposed to grade and the class that I was to prepare for. . . not completed. Apparently, while she has begun to say that she would like to sleep by herself at naptime, that does not really mean that she wants to sleep. It actually means that she would like to close her door, and hang out in her own room; have privacy. I thought this began in adolescence. I had no idea that this 'privacy' thing was going to begin at two years of age.

So, when 3pm rolled around, I said enough. Sleep is a necessary ingredient for a happy Sweet Pea and after some cuddling and reading, her eyes were shut. I was so smug. Her eyes were shut, I had a note downstairs on the buzzer asking NOT to be buzzed since we were expecting a delivery, a cup of cider was within my reach. I was ready to grade some papers.

And I could not believe it. My student had actually cut and pasted parts of a journal's abstract into his/her paper without the appropriate citations. Now the ironic thing about this particular individual is that he/she has not only failed this course last spring, but they have had to complete two assignments on what constitutes plagiarism. How could they not know? I was flummoxed, flabbergasted, highly insulted, and a plethora of othe adjectives that are too numerous to name. In the midst of all my silent fuming, the buzzer rang and the delivery people were here. Of course, Sweet Pea, called me urgently, fear in her voice, as the buzzer really throws her for a loop. One look at her and I knew, this frightened little kid, who so needed a nap, would not be going back to bed any time soon. Hair was sticking out in sweaty ringlets all over her head, hands were shaking, and her eyes looked like she was going to cry.

"Buzzer, Mommy."
"Yes, Sweet Pea. That was the buzzer."
"Sweet Pea no like buzzer."
"Yes, Sweet Pea. I know. The delivery people did not read the sign."

Which is when that dawned on me. Most likely they were unable to read the sign as it may not have been in their native tongue. This thought, then lead me to think about our educational system, which then re-opened that plagiaristic wound that I had so recently experienced and I became all irritated again. Well, enough of the negative mumbo-jumbo. With this opportunity to solitude, I should actually use it for something productive such as completing my assignments for students or actually going to bed. Cheers.