Thursday, you didn’t do right by me…

Thursday, you done did me wrong…

Ohhh, Andy....

To say that my Thursday took a dump on my week would be an understatement.  My Thursday left me on the curb with nothing but my blankie, a luke-warm bottle of milk, and a sign that says “Free to a good home.”  My Thursday betrayed and left me on the battlefield, heartbroken, blue-faced, and in a kilt.

LOUD NOISES!

To sum up:  Thursday Lando Calrissian’ed my ass…

NOT how my Thursday went down...

It just wasn’t a good day, for many, many reasons.  I woke up feeling blue.  I had to deal with snarky girls in school.   I nearly got kicked out of my church choir.  My hysterical crying made my mascara run and transformed me into a raccoon.  I didn’t have time for dinner.  And to top it all off, my dog peed on my pajama bottoms.

You're lucky you're cute, Piss Dog.

Days like Thursday make it hard to function, let alone do ANYTHING nice for anyone else.  Those are the days that really prove challenging when you’re on a quest to perform one act of kindness per day.

Why is the rum ALWAYS gone?

Thankfully, I was able to perform my RAC for the day before my Thursday plunged into a whirlpool created by The Kraken.

At my student teaching placement, I help out with a music theory class.  Currently, the students are covering solfege, the system of syllables which correspond to scale degrees.  Learning this system (as made famous in “The Sound of Music”…remember?  Do, a dear, a female deer…re, a drop of golden sun…) helps the students sight-read a piece of music.  They are able to refer to sheet music and sing songs without ever having rehearsed or heard them before.  This is an extremely hard practice for students who are just beginning to learn how to sing, and even harder for those who do not previously read music.

A new student was added to our class, three weeks into the quarter, and needless to say, she falls into the category of “Solfege Challenged.”  It’s not for any lack of trying:  she is an extremely hard worker…but I’m afraid yesterday, she would have been more accurate if she just sang “blah, blah, blah” rather than “do, re, mi.”

To add to all of this, when she arrived in the class on Thursday, she was informed that there was going to be a sight-reading test the following day, giving her precisely one class period (and time on her own) to prepare for a topic she has never had any experience with.

I helped her as much as I could during the class period, but it was quickly apparent that while the wheels were turning, the hamster was dead.  She just wasn’t getting it.  I could have very well patted her on the back, gave her a thumbs up, and sent her on her way…but I couldn’t. It was like having prior knowledge that the Titanic was going to flounder.  I couldn’t just let her sail away when I knew she was doomed to sink to the bottom of the ocean.

Nope, no Leo on this cruise.

*DING*….my RAC Radar went off.  I was halfway between settling at my desk for coveted down time during my lunch period when I realized that I had to help her out the best I could.  I had almost two free hours between classes, and it was the very least I offer to her.  I approached her, quietly, and offered my free time to her, which she gratefully accepted.

And to be quite honest?  I really didn’t want to give up my lunch period.  I was having a crappy Thursday (note:  see above images of Lando, William Wallace, and The Kraken), and all I wanted to do was de-stress on my own.  I wasn’t in the right mindset to offer help; I knew any advice I’d give would only be half-hearted.  This reasoning almost convinced me to not follow through with my intentions.

That’s how I knew I had to do this RAC:  it was an action I wouldn’t normally do, and it required a bit of a sacrifice from myself as well.  And you know what?  In helping her out yesterday, I temporarily forgot about my bad mood and channeled my energies somewhere else.  The clouds partially lifted, and I could see sun, if only for a bit.

Let the sunshine in...

It was only then that my Thursday took a complete swan-dive down the toilet.  The rest of my day sort of felt like I had fallen down a flight of stairs into a pile of molten lava, only to be photographed by a band of paparazzi with my legs (and panties) over my head.  Yes, Thursday, you turned around and gave me the Kiss of Death…

Fredo, how could you?

The only good thing to come out of The-Day-That-Must-Not-Be-Named was the realization that there are people in this world that truly and utterly care about me.  Instead of backing down in a fight, these people encourage me to stand up for myself, and I didn’t even realize I was able to do this until yesterday when I attempted to.  I will, 99 times out of a 100, submit to a fight without so much as a whimper.  99% of the time, I worry too much about offending someone or furthering the conflict by defending my character.  The friends that count the most, however, are the ones rooting for you in your corner to fight back, even when you’re against the ropes.

And you know what?  Thursday was my 1 time out of 100 when I fought back.

RAC #19:  Helped tutor a student during my lunch period

Result:  She got an 8/10 on the quiz!

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What say you, readers?  What are some memorable moments when you’ve fought back?

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