Slow down, you crazy child.

I got compared to Amelia Bedelia today. I'm not sure how I should feel about that. She's a cute character, but...

One of the benefits of working with little kids is that I get so many adorable homemade valentines. :) A few of the older kids and I went around and passed some cards out to patients. All in all, it was a very nice day. That's what I think Valentines Day is about, Charlie Brown.

You know, when I first learned that I'd have to be camped out at the hospital during this snow storm, I was upset and having flashbacks of the anxiety I felt last time I was forced to stay here for a prolonged period.

But then I thought about the kids that I'll be teaching and looking after. I'm glad I can be here for them. :)

I have a strange bodily complaint. I guess I cross my legs too often. Lately, my right knee has been sore and kind of stiff. So I've been trying to teach myself to not sit with my legs crossed. It's weird how difficult it is.

It would be just my luck to get early arthritis or something. :(

I was just decorating my front yard. Pretend tombstones I made in high school, pretend spider webs in the bushes, pretend ghosts hanging from the trees. I may or may not have scared myself with an old mask in the bottom of the box of decorations and screamed like a little girl. But then I just laughed.

I haven't carved my pumpkin yet. I want to think of something perfect before just hacking away.

Benny, I don't know if you've been reading these journals... I know I'd be trying to avoid them... but I'm in isolation now. I feel horrible. You'd think, as someone who works here, I'd be used to seeing blood. Even in day care, because bloody noses and owies happen.

But I'm not. Especially not my own.

I usually don't like modern adaptations of classic cartoons (Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, The Smurfs, etc) but we just got a DVD in of the new series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and, gracious, it is amazing. It's colorful and funny and it's got enough quirkiness to be entertaining for adults as well as kids.

I feel like such a geek for being excited about a silly cartoon show, but it's part of my job description, really. I need to spend more time with adults, probably.

The cashier at the drugstore was being strange today. He said he'd never seen me before and asked me if I lived here, then he said I need to shop there more often because he wants to see me more. But I feel more like avoiding that place at all costs now.

Lily Potter looked an awful lot like me. I may have pretended, for a little bit, that she was me. Except not when she died, of course. And I don't have a baby. But... she gets the love of my favorite character...

J.K. Rowling has ruined books for me. I don't think I'll ever be this caught up in a story.

So, what is everyone doing for the 4th of July? I see that Charlie Crawford is having a barbecue party. I'm trying to decide what I should do. The fireworks over the lake are always so pretty, but that feels like such a routine, probably because I've been watching those since I was a kid. With Jessie Jo off on her honeymoon, I don't know who might want to celebrate with me.

I make a pretty good potato salad. Word to the wise.

It's my birthday! So far, I've just relaxed. It's nice to have a birthday on a Saturday, but I didn't really plan anything. I have no one to plan things with... Going someplace this summer might be nice, but I have no idea where I would go.

You know that one stoplight that stays red for all eternity? Well, while I was there today, "Hey There Delilah" came on the radio and, heaven help me, that song always makes my heart hurt. So, there I was, singing along and crying in spite of myself, when I looked over and realized that a truck had pulled up beside me. Whoever that man was must have thought I was either completely crazy or deeply depressed.

I am now actually just monstrously mortified.

I need to stop singing along to music in the car.

Can I just say that I am excited to hear about new babies? Not only would I not have a job without them, but they're just so cute. Congratulations to all those involved!

...Well, it only takes two people, but you know what I mean. Congratulations to the families!

I rented The Prince of Egypt to watch today. I know it's a Passover movie, but still. I haven't seen it in so long, but I still remember most of the songs. "When You Believe" stays stuck in my head all the time, no matter the holiday or season.

♪ Though hope is frail, it's hard to kill... ♪

Animated movies are still some of my favorites. I guess that's what comes from working with children. :)

The children and I watched A Bug's Life on Friday afternoon, and what the stick bug said is so true. "Spring is in the air, and I am a flower with nothing interesting to say."

All of this excitement is buzzing around me. My baby sister is getting married. Visitors to the town are here on their honeymoons. Babies are being born. It truly is nice to just sit back and watch the world go by sometimes. But I wish that I could say that something exciting is happening to me personally.

Spring always kind of makes me feel this way. What do you do when you don't know what to do but you want to be doing something?