>Yesterday, I was reminded of this beautiful song that I first loved a long time ago. It has been recorded by several artists, but my favorite (that I know of) to date is Susan Ashton’s version. Here are the lyrics (written by Pierce Pettis):

This is how it seems to me
Life is only therapy
Real expensive
And no guarantee

So I lie here on the couch
With my heart hanging out
Frozen solid with fear
Like a rock in the ground

But you move me
You give me courage I didn’t
know I had
You move me on
I can’t go with you
And stay where I am
So you move me on

This is how love was to me
I could look and not see
Going through the emotions
Not knowin’ what they mean

And it scared me so much
That I just wouldn’t budge
I might have stayed there forever
If not for your touch

Oh but you move me
Out of myself and into the fire
You move me
Now I’m burning with love
And with hope and desire
How you move me

You go whistling in the dark
Making light of it
Making light of it
And I follow with my heart
Laughing all the way

Oh ’cause you move me
You get me dancing and you
make me sing
You move me
Now I’m taking delight
In every little thing
How you move me

The audio is on my page here, if you would like to hear it for yourself!

Today, I am staring down an awesome task. I have to stand guard over a 3rd grade girl named Heaven and a 5th grade girl named Carrie who are taking the TAKS exam. It just occurred to me that it is no accident that “TAKS” has earned just as unsavory a reputation as its diabolical homonym “TAX” here in the great state of Texas. If you do not know, or are lucky, like me, to have not been subjected to life-sucking state-mandated minimum skills exams as an elementary, middle and high school student, “TAKS” stands for “Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills.” It also stands for jamming kids’ heads full of test-taking skills. Maybe it should stand for “Texas Assassination of Knowledge and Skills” or “The Antichrist of Knowledge and Skills.” Well, Christi, how do you really feel? Anyway, I get to sit in the doorway between these two girls who have to be separated from their classmates because they cannot comprehend anything unless they are reading it aloud. So, I will be hearing two students read out loud from two different tests all day long, for as long as they want to take to finish. Yum. The principal says I can bring a book. I wonder if I can read aloud, too? I’m reading a book called “Unhooked: How Young Women Pursue Sex, Delay Love and Lose at Both.” I bet they would stop reading and listen to me, huh? Better choose the silent route. I think it’s some security violation for me to have a computer there that is connected to the internet, so I suppose that option is out. We are not even allowing parents or other visitors on our campus today. Crazy huh? Due to testing day security restrictions. I bet the CIA couldn’t even worm their way in today.

Anyhoo, there is no quiz in my Counseling Theories class this week, so I am feeling like I actually have the right to read a little for pleasure. I have tried to continue that favorite thing whilst committing myself to my studies so that I don’t reel out of balance completely, but it’s been difficult. I am going to read a novel over spring break.

Last night, I negotiated (on behalf of half of my Basic Counseling Skills class) a change in our syllabus. The change resulted in our not having class the week of March 12th (when our spring breaks were for our teaching jobs) OR the week of March 19th (the UNT spring break) and now we get three weeks to do our take-home mid-term exam instead of just one week. Don’t know how that happened. That was not one of my requests. The good news is that I will actually feel like I have a spring break now, instead of a few days off during which I had to do a lot of homework. Chris said, “You’re such a powerhouse.” I laughed. A powerhouse I do not want to be. I just wanted to see if there was a slight possibility of not having to muck up the whole spring break. I kind of want to go somewhere, even if just for a few days. Maybe Nashville, maybe Los Angeles. Was trying to think of places I could go where I would not have to pay a bunch of money for a hotel. Somewhere I could crash in a friend’s guest room or even on their floor or sofa bed. I don’t want to be out of town the entire time, just a few days of “away-“ness. That’s all!