Rachel Gilder's

The Prince and the Tattoos

Ever heard of the old saying, “That came from out of left field?” I’ve got a new saying… “It came from outer space.”

Life has a funny way of throwing you a curve ball when you’re expecting to bunt, nice and easy. It wasn’t too long ago that a Prince came to my door through the terrible storm brewing in my life, searching for a person to join his union of strikers against dating. Without hesitation I asked, “Where do I enlist? Do I sign on the dotted line?”

While marching in our circle of strikers, shouting out chants and hoisting our signs of “Just say NO to dating,” our eyes locked. The small spark behind his eyes burned instantly into my heart. I wasn’t expecting this. “Now what?” I thought. Now what am I supposed to do? Ignore him? Pretend I didn’t see what I just saw? Pretend I didn’t feel what I just felt?

So time wears on, and what started as a spark began to flame. One night the Princess met the potential Prince for dinner. After many hours of talking, smiling, laughing, and eye contact across the table, it was time to hurry home before the clock struck midnight. While walking out to the awaiting chariot, the Prince did something that no other Prince had done before. He gently grabbed the Princess’ hand and placed it within the nook of his tattooed arm, and led her into the night. It was at that precise moment that the Princess opened the gate to the great walls she had built around her heart and let the Prince in. Fireworks exploded in the night air. While nobody else could see the brilliant, colorful display in the dark sky above, the two watched as the sky erupted into color.

The tattooed Prince and the Princess drove into the night happily ever after.

Hans Christian Andersen’s
The Princess and the Pea

Once upon a time there was a prince who wanted to marry a princess; but she would have to be a real princess. He travelled all over the world to find one, but nowhere could he get what he wanted. There were princesses enough, but it was difficult to find out whether they were real ones. There was always something about them that was not as it should be. So he came home again and was sad, for he would have liked very much to have a real princess.

One evening a terrible storm came on; there was thunder and lightning, and the rain poured down in torrents. Suddenly a knocking was heard at the city gate, and the old king went to open it.

It was a princess standing out there in front of the gate. But, good gracious! what a sight the rain and the wind had made her look. The water ran down from her hair and clothes; it ran down into the toes of her shoes and out again at the heels. And yet she said that she was a real princess.

"Well, we'll soon find that out," thought the old queen. But she said nothing, went into the bed-room, took all the bedding off the bedstead, and laid a pea on the bottom; then she took twenty mattresses and laid them on the pea, and then twenty eider-down beds on top of the mattresses.

On this the princess had to lie all night. In the morning she was asked how she had slept. "Oh, very badly!" said she. "I have scarcely closed my eyes all night. Heaven only knows what was in the bed, but I was lying on something hard, so that I am black and blue all over my body. It's horrible!"

Now they knew that she was a real princess because she had felt the pea right through the twenty mattresses and the twenty eider-down beds. Nobody but a real princess could be as sensitive as that.

So the prince took her for his wife, for now he knew that he had a real princess; and the pea was put in the museum, where it may still be seen, if no one has stolen it.
There, that is a true story.

Easter 2009- Part 2

Easter 2009- Part 1

You Might Be A Teacher If...

To all of you who share my passion...enjoy this list I found online.

YOU MIGHT BE A TEACHER IF...


1. You can hear 25 voices behind you and know exactly which one belongs to the child out of line.
2. You get a secret thrill out of laminating something.
3. You walk into a store and hear the words 'It's Mrs./Ms./Mr._________' and know you have been spotted.
4. You have 25 people that accidentally call you Mom/Dad at one time or another.
5. You can eat a multi-course meal in under twenty-five minutes.
6. You've trained yourself to go to the bathroom at two distinct times of the day: lunch and prep period.
7. You start saving other people's trash, because most likely, you can use that toilet paper tube or plastic butter tub for something in the classroom.
8. You believe the teachers' lounge should be equipped with a margarita machine.
9. You want to slap the next person who says, “Must be nice to work 7 to 3 and have summers off.”
10. You believe chocolate is a food group.
11. You can tell if it's a full moon without ever looking outside.
12. You believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says, “Boy, the kids sure are mellow today.”
13. You feel the urge to talk to strange children and correct their behavior when you are out in public.
14. You believe in aerial spraying of Ritalin.
15. You think caffeine should be available in intravenous form.
16. You spend more money on school stuff than you do on your own children.
17. You can't pass the school supply aisle without getting at least five items!
18. You ask your friends if the left hand turn he just made was a 'good choice or a bad choice.'
19. You find true beauty in a can full of perfectly sharpened pencils
20. You are secretly addicted to hand sanitizer
21. You understand instantaneously why a child behaves a certain way after meeting his or her parents.

Title Track To My Life (For Now)

Chrisette Michele
"Good Girl"

[Verse 1:]
What Can Really Make A Man
No Gold Or Money, Clips And HoneyDips Don't Make A Brother Know
No Don't Make A Brother Golden
What Can Really Make A Man
Is He Really Real
Let Me Let You Know The Deal
What What What

What Makes A Man Golden? (What?)
Is Not What He's Holdin' (What?)
I'm Pass All His Dough N' (What?)
And How Fly His Clothes Is (When?)
When Brothers Impress Us (When?)
Attractions Just Natural (When?)
Just Good Conversation (When?)
Ain't Got To Be Packin', No

[Hook:]
Simple Love Money Cant Buy
Simple Loves' Hard To Come By
I Don't Need No Sugar Daddy
I Can Be Ya Sugar Mommy

[Chorus: x2]
I'm A Good Girl
Ain't To Many Good Girls,
NoAin't Too Many Good Girls
(Who) Got They Own Dough
(Who) Got They Own Flow
(Who) Ain't Looking For Sugar No More

Simple Loves' Hard To Come
ByI'm Just Trying To Live The Life
Trying To Be A Lady
Brothers Holla At Me
If You Love A Lady Who Don'tNeed A Sugar Daddy

[Verse 2:]
A Man Puts His Time In (Where?)
You Usually Find Him (Where?)
'cause That’s Where His Heart Is (Where?)
So He's Steady Grinding
Oh Why Do My Sisters
Steady Find Misters
Who Swear What They Give Us
Is Better Than Quality Time

[Hook:]
Simple Love Money Can’t Buy
Simple Loves' Hard To Come By
I Don't Need No Sugar Daddy
I Can Be Ya Sugar Mommy

[Chorus: x2]
I'm A Good Girl
Ain't To Many Good Girls,
No Ain't Too Many Good Girls
(Who) Got They Own Dough
(Who) Got They Own Flow
(Who) Ain't Looking For Sugar No More

I'm A Lady And I'm Hard To Find
I'm Just Living My Life And Now
Trying To Be A Lady
Brothers Holla At Me
If You Love A Lady Who Don'tNeed A Sugar Daddy

When A Brother Tried To Get The Goodies
With The Bling Out Chain, Let Me Hear You Say
"Hey! I'm a Sugar Momma"
When A Sugar Daddy Tried To Get The Digits
With The Same Old Game,
Holla Back"Hey! I'm a Good Girl"
If Ya Gotcha Own Dough
Yeah Ya Got Ya Own Money
Let A Brother Know"Hey! I'm a Sugar Momma"
If Ya Gotcha Own Whip And Ya Money Ain't Funny
Ladies Let 'em Know
"Hey! I'm a Good Girl"

I'm A Lady And I'm Hard To Find
I'm Just Living My Life And Now
Trying To Be A Lady
Brothers Holla At Me
If You Love A Lady Who Don'tNeed A Sugar Daddy

[Chorus: x2]
I'm A Good Girl
Ain't To Many Good Girls No
Ain't Too Many Good Girls
(Who) Got They Own Dough
(Who) Got They Own Flow
(Who) Ain't Looking For Sugar No More

Simple Love Hard To Come By
I'm Just Trying To Living My Life And I
Trying To Be A Lady
Brothers Holla At Me
If You Love A Lady Who Don'tNeed A Sugar Daddy

Playing Games

Why is it that when we’re trying to find our next partner that we feel the need to play games? Are we all just grown five-year-olds pushing each other on the playground and then ignoring each other the next day?

I was speaking with “B” last night, and he’s been having a hard time. He’s hung up on a girl that won’t give him the time of day. I’ve bit my tongue long enough, and last night I shot my mouth off like a .45 at a gun range. I told him that the girl he likes is stringing him along…keeping him at arms length so she can have him whenever the “lonely bug” rears its ugly head, but otherwise totally ignore him when she has better things to do. I gave him a huge pep-talk and my best advice: ignore her. I told him that ignoring her would get her attention. If he could ignore her, she’d come crawling back to him because as humans we always want what we can’t have.

Was that the best advice? The more “B” and I talked about it, the more I realized that ignoring someone is a “game” in itself. We all know what the probable end result would be. She would come back into his life seeking the attention she craves. But is this the end result we really want? Yeah. Sure. Maybe. Well, sort of. It could possibly be what we want…right?

Let’s think about it for a moment. Say she does come back. Say that “B’s” game did draw the girl back to him. What then? He’s already done a little song and dance to entertain her. Now what? As the honeymoon phase of the relationship wears off (quicker than usual), they’ll find themselves bored. So what now? More entertaining. They’ll begin to play more games. Push the envelope, if you will. They’ll begin to fight just to keep from being board. As they fight, they begin to enjoy the entertaining feeling of being on a rollercoaster with its ups and downs. Pretty soon they’ll be so addicted to the entertainment that it’ll spiral out of control like a tornado, wrecking everything it touches. And in a blink of an eye, what started out as a game will soon become deadly, leaving their broken spirits in the wake.

That leaves one asking the question: should we do a little song and dance to draw the crowd we’re looking for? Or do we step-up to the mic on Karaoke night, choose our favorite song, and hope that someone else in the crowd likes it as much as we do?

Patience is not my virtue...

I’ve been thinking a lot today about my life. There are just some things I don’t understand. I can’t help but certain questions run through my mind constantly: How did I get here? Why did this happen to me? Why do I keep putting myself through this? Why? Why? Why?
For the past weeks I’ve tried to focus on (in the words of Chris Brown), “emerging a better person.” I finally realized something sitting in church tonight. When bad things happen, it gives God the opportunity to do things on His behalf….BUT He’s going to do them in His time.
The kicker is that last part. “His time” is not the easiest thing to understand or accept. Speaking as a control freak, I can tell you that giving up my “plan” to someone else, even if it is the Almighty God, isn’t the easiest thing in the world to do.
I continue to struggle with one thing. Anyone who knows me knows my #1 goal in life: be a wife and a mother. That’s it. Is that too much to ask for? I mean, I work at my relationships. I work hard. I’m a die-hard in relationships. So tell me why is it that so many people are out there getting engaged/married/having kids when they aren’t even looking to, or trying? That really irritates me.
But it’s weird. Most days I’m okay with it. It only bothers me when I have the time to stew over it. Usually I keep myself busy. It’s like my mind knows what is best for me, but ever now and then it slips into a coma and I get frustrated with where my life has been going.
While sitting in church tonight, the speaker said something that really hit home for me. He kept going on and on about how we should be thankful for the bad times. He said over and over that it’s during the bad times we should come expecting. That God can use the bad times to glorify his name. The he said it…he said something that hit me like bricks. Allow me to paraphrase a bit: You’re going through what you’re going through for the benefit of others. There is a purpose because people are always watching…watching for God to show Himself.
I felt like I was anchored to the chair. I began to feel the weight and gravity of what he said throughout my whole body. Maybe all of this negativity swirling around me is because He’s using my life as an example for someone else. Or maybe He’s using this moment in my life to add to my testimony, so when the time is right I can speak from experience rather than opinion.
Many times we ask God, “Why? Why me?” My personal favorite is, “Answer me God. I’m stuck at a fork in the road. Answer me.” The hardest thing in the world for me to do is wait. I am not a patient person. I’ve always been a “go getter.” When I want something, I just go out and get it. While writing this, I can’t help by think to myself, “Silly girl. This is just God’s way of showing you who’s really the boss. Who’s really in control.” I guess that’s enough said. God’s found a way to put me in my place while writing. Funny how that happens, huh?

Beating Heart Before Spring Break

I have to say, I'm glad Spring Break is here. While I love to work, I needed a break.

There was a low buzz amongts the students. It was almost as if you feel the tension mounting. It grew louder and louder as the week drug on. We all could feel it, but I refused to recognize it. If I did, the students would cut loose and go insane.

Like waiting in the blocks at the stating line, the students and faculty were zoning out to everything, waiting for the boom of the gunshot, to dash out of the blocks and into a week-long break.The normal rhythmic heartbeat of the building became like Bolt's heartbeat after the gunshot start of the 200-yard dash at the 2008 Winter Olympics.

Finally the final bell rang out through the building. Students and teachers alike broke into the parking lot as if it were ToysRUS 5am the day After Thanksgiving. We all knew what we wanted, and we were going to make sure we didn't waste anytime getting it. The drizzling, dreary, cold weather didn't warrant our desire to leave the building behind. We had better things waiting for us, and like the postal service...come rain, snow, sleet, or sunshine, we'll get there.

First order of business: sleep. Yes ladies and gentlemen, this teacher made her way to her bed and found solace under the warm, luxurious covers while the rain pitter-pattered on the window above my head. As for the rest of the break, I'm not sure what my plans are. I do know that I plan to get as much time at the beach as Mother Nature will allow. We'll see what happens.