the significance of the female anatomy through the eyes of an 8-year-old boy...

when 8-year-old dave walked into class today, he sat down at the table with a semi-awkward grin on his face that hinted he had something interesting to say.

before i could even get the chance to ask, he excitedly announced to the other kids at the table that he learned two new words today at school in science class. standing short and proud in front of everyone in the room; with his loudest, most triumphant third-grader voice, he shouted these words at the top of his lungs: "BREASTS AND VAGINA!"

my jaw fell to the floor, shortly followed by loud snickering and giggles that resonated throughout the classroom - and the fact that the kids who were at the same table were all adolescent boys under the age of 12 did not help much at all when attempting to settle everyone down.

eventually once the laughter subsided, i felt a tug on my arm. i turned to my right, and dave's semi-awkward grin had expanded into a gargantuan smile that revealed a slight mischievous gleam in his eyes. he then whispers to me, "... are you embarrassed? because you shouldn't be," which was appropriately followed by a left-over snicker or two from the kids sitting across from him.

stupidly, i asked him why i shouldn't be embarrassed, to which he then replied with a humorously scholar-like tone to his pre-pubescent voice, "... because it's part of growing up... breasts and vaginas are a part of growing up."

i wasn't sure of whether i should have been amused or disturbed by that. but frankly, it's kinda scary how kids are just getting waaaay too smart for their own good these days. :oS

and then may happened...

as per chris' request, i'm going to "post more" - perhaps it has been *slightly* long overdue. :oP

it certainly has been a while, though - all of a sudden, it's may and the familiar smell of freshly cut grass outside hints to me that spring is in full-bloom. lately, i've been feeling rather distracted and pre-occupied by a myriad of things; and so my regular blogging habits have also somehow faded into the backdrop of life's crazy busy-ness and chaos in the process.

i finally made the decision to quit retail and handed in my 2-weeks notice last week. may 15 marks the day of my emancipation :o) as much as i did enjoy the whole experience of it all (for the most part - mind you, the discounts also helped :oP), the stress of "SELL! SELL! SELL!" along with the constant "whirlwind-ness" of literally running/driving from one job to the next from monday to friday was becoming a little too taxing for me, leaving me on the brink of losing what was left of my precious sanity. to say the least, 'twas anything but a good thing. i'm hoping the time regained will open up opportunities to find some balance and help me seek the serenity and solace that i've found myself so desperately missing these past few months.

and now with with the warmer climates kicking into full gear with summer not too far behind, i'm looking forward to taking some quality time to really take in and appreciate the little things that make life so wonderfully beautiful - of which also includes spending some time writing up a storm, a whoppin' load of road trips and bbqs with folk of the fantablous kind, a euphoria of camping wonderment, catching the odd sunset; and of course, indulging myself with a bowl of green tea ice cream every once in a while. :o)