first day of 2nd grade.

First day of 2nd grade: September 1. This is our 3rd year with the school+I love it. They've done renovations to the school. I'm not working both jobs+look forward to being more involved with the school this year. PTA MOM IN THE HOUSSSSE.

Images:

1: Excited. Nails painted white for her first day.

2. Trying to figure out who her teacher is. Her teacher is the one she was wishing for since last year. I met+like him already. Very kind.

3. Reunited with her best friend, Rachel.

4. The requisite, "stop taking pictures of me, mommmmm," photo.

mad libs give me mad anxiety.

I have to tell a truth. A truth that I am just now coming to terms with.

I don't know the difference between a noun, adverb, adjective, etc.  I don't know what grade you're supposed to have learned that but I was either gone that day or it just didn't sink in.

Thus, when people try to play that wacky, zany, "fun" game Mad Libs, I literally have to remove myself from the situation. Nothing screams "fuhhh-reak" like having a panic attack in the corner of a crowded room when someone whips out this:

I mean, it's not just this series of frightening books that gets me freaked out. The other day I was trying to get people to explain on twitter what the difference between affect/effect is. Some of the folks said that what affects something has an effect on it (see the visual). But then some of my other people were saying that that it's verb vs. noun (maybe the other way around... maybe not at all!)

Say huh say whaaaaa?!

When I was/am in school and take an English class, nouns/verbs/adjectives/etc. invariably come up. And when I'm asked to construct a sentence using them, I can't. I truly, honestly can't. It's pretty mortifying. I'm able to laugh at myself, so it's hilarious too. Also, I know that I'm smart. I can put letters together to make words and I can put words together to make sentences. But I can't disect those sentences. They either make sense or they don't. Not cus a noun and a verb don't go together, or whatever.

Content words make my brain cry.

I don't want a shortcut for learning what they are; I've tried that. I wish I understood a lonnnnng time ago. I wish it was a no-brainer whenever it came up.

By the way. Mad-libs, unless used for a learning tool, are NOT fun. They are not a game. They are school work. If you bust them out at a party, prepare to be pelted with those little pencils with no erasers.