I can see one ship through the haze. Looks like it is going to be another cloudy and/or rainy day. That is fine with me as it makes the temperature a bit more bearable at Montessori. Yesterday I didn't feel like I had melted into a puddle of sweat by the end of the day. Even had energy to catch up on a bit of my email and grading when I got home last night. It was weird - although there was a ship in traffic was almost non-existent in the morning. Even in RedHook at lunch time - there were lots of parking spaces, which is really unusual. The end of the day was a bit busier, but not a whole lot. Maybe it was the rain as it came down in torrents and flooded the streets. Made me think of Bay Area Blvd. in Clear Lake when it would rain heavy. I'd leave UHCL and "float" down Bay Area in my Trans Am. Oh how I miss that car! Too bad they don't make them anymore or I might buy one of those in Greenville rather than another little SUV. I have gotten spoiled with sitting up a bit higher in the RAV4 though.

Chose a quick read for my last book - I Don't Want to Be Crazy by Samantha Schutz. It is a Scholastic Push title. It is the true story of the author's battle with anxiety attacks, written in free verse and one of the rare upper level YA titles I keep looking for. Excited about the freedom of being away at college turns out to be a frightening roller coaster ride of increasing numbers of anxiety attacks and the use of a variety of different prescription drugs, prescribed by a variety of psychiatrists, to keep the attacks somewhat in check. The fear and the frustration of not being able control that flight reflex that an anxiety attack brings on are raw on the page. It hurts to read about the repeated trips to the bathroom to sit and hold her stomach to her knees as the waves of anxiety roll through her. But Samantha does has a group of friends who eventually realize what is happening with her and a good friend, Rebecca, who helps her deal with the attacks, especially during their trip through Europe. My heart goes out to Schutz and I thank her for sharing this part of her life with readers. There are many people, of all ages, who suffer from anxiety disorder and this book will help them realize they are not alone and that it does get better. A gotta have in HS collections.

Sophie is being a major pill this a.m. and she knows when I am up this early she gets no mommy/kitty time in bed reading in the a.m. She has yowled and fussed and let me know how she feels about it, but that must have taken too much of her energy as she is busy eating to make sure she keeps her Rubenesque kitty shape! :-)