A message for me and my students... compliments of Mr. Sinatra

Last night I had a really good run. 70 minutes, 11 miles, 6:30 min/mi pace. When I got home, I wanted to have some well deserved celebratory TV... oh well. I thought to myself - "Well I'm going to have to find a new way to celebrate good workouts..." I didn't. At least not long term - but as I lay there on the floor with my feet leaned up against the gynormous credenza that used to hold our TV, pondering my reward, God provided me with a little diddy of a musical treat... have you ever heard the song "Swinging on a Star"???

The first time I heard this song, Bruce Willis was singing it in a very silly movie called "Hudson Hawk." It's an oldy, but a goody - I think actually it's currently a "watch instantly" movie on Netflix. But I wouldn't know about that any more. (Our Netflix account is now officially frozen.) Anyway, I think this song is one of the reasons that I really like to movie. It's light, silly, and cheerful - puts me in a good mood. But last night I got a chance to really listen to the lyrics, and I found it to be a really good message to me and my students. (We're all a little grumpy about being back in school this week.)

Would you like to swing on a star, carry moonbeams home in a jar, and be better off than you are, or would you rather be a mule? A mule is an animal with long funny ears, kicks up at anything he hears. His back is brawny and his brain is weak. He's just plain stupid with a stubborn streak. And by the way, if you hate to go to school, you may grow up to be a mule. 

Or would you like to swing on a star, carry moonbeams home in a jar, and be better off than you are, or would you rather be a pig? A pig is an animal with dirt on his face, his shoes are a terrible disgrace, he ain't got no manners when he eats his food, he's fat and lazy and extremely rude, but if you don't care a feather or a fig, you may grow up to be a pig.

Or would you like to swing on a star, carry moonbeams home in a jar, and be better off than you are, or would you rather be a fish? A fish won't do anything, but swim in a brook, he can't write his name or read a book, and to fool the people is his only thought, and though he's slippery, he still gets caught, but then if that sort of life is what you wish, you may grow up to be a fish.

All the monkeys aren't in the zoo. Every day you meet quite a few. So you see it's all up to you, you can be better than you are, you could be swingin' on a star. 

So there you have it kids - stop being stubborn, have some manners (and respect for your teacher for that matter!), and quit trying to fool me into thinking you're not cheating, because "though you're slippery, you'll still get caught! I'll try not to be a mule, pig, fish, or monkey too. Well... maybe I'm one of the monkeys... :-)

Aaannywho... this fun song helped me get over the fact that I couldn't celebrate with a little TV last night. Good times.

Today's temptation rating: 4.2

Days without incident: 16

PS As once of my students informed me the time stamp on these posts often reads 5AM or something ridiculous like that. I assure you I'm sleeping at that hour. :-)