Krystal Wade is hosting the Wildest Moments Blogfest in honor of the release of her latest novel, Wilde’s Meadow. This is something anyone, anywhere can participate in.
All you have to do is blog about a time you did something wild, something life changing. Jumped from a perfectly good airplane? Quit your job to write full-time? I’m looking for fun, heart-pumping, or inspirational stories that you have experienced. “Wilde” things you’ve completed on your quest to grow up or move on. Anyone who posts their Wildest Moments between November 12th-23rd can enter to win a Kindle FIRE ($199), Kindle Fire Skins, or a $15 Amazon Gift Card.
Well, this blogfest really caused me to think . . . something I try not to do too much of. Hmm, should I blog about almost drowning myself in a septic tank (nah, played out–who hasn’t done that before, am I right or am I right? Oh, no one? Okay, moving on!), meeting my husband (first day of h.s.–only time I literally heard a voice in my head & it said & I quote, “You are going to marry that boy some day” WHAT?!), the misadventures with my sweetmates my freshman year of college (during which I unknowingly joined a cult), having a baby at 20 when I was a full-time college student (yep, didn’t plan that one but yep, I’d also been married since 18 so stop judging me. Oh, now you are judging me & calling me stupid for getting married so young. It’s okay, I still love you;-), totaling my car in a wreck on Dec. 11, 2007 resulting in my first ambulance ride and ER visit (I love me some ribs, but not when they’re mine & they’re broken), being a contestant on The Love & Marriage Show on our Royal Caribbean 7-night cruise (I think our friends, Luke & Cheri Thomas, hired government spies to erase the memory of our answers–TMI!), running a marathon (post-race tip: CHECK BEHIND YOU BEFORE YOU LAUNCH A SNOT ROCKET!!!), traveling around Ireland for 2 weeks performing street skits as part of a college missions trip (and discovering why the Irish don’t celebrate St. Patrick’s Day–b/c they don’t need an excuse to get drunk like that EVERY DAY!), or even becoming a writer (and finally discovering an up-side to being a pathological liar).
All those things have helped form me into the wild chick I am today (which you’ve probably concluded is a rambling doofus by now), but I’d say the wildest thing I ever decided to do is become a teacher. I always had the desire to teach and write, but after I stayed at a orphange in Jamaica the summer after my freshman year in college, I knew I had to change my major to education. It was calling me. In the past 12 years since I started educating the youth of America, I’ve become all too familiar with AIP’s, IEP’s, PDP’s, PMP’s, RTI’s, ESE, ESL, SLD, ADD, ADHD, OCD, ODD . . . is your head spinning yet? I know mine is! It’s hard to keep up with everything I need to do for each student, individualizing their education when there’s such a limited amount of time in our day. We call it the constipated curriculum because they just keep piling on more and more! Pretty soon we’ll have our own TV show, “Teachers Gone Wild.” But we won’t be topless. We will be in a bunch of padded rooms where all the shiny objects are safely hidden away, sniffing glue bottles and new Expo markers;-)
I’m Miss Viola Swamp–the meanest substitute in the world! With my co-worker, and one of my biggest cheerleaders:-)
How about you? What’s your wildest moment? Which one would you say is more wild: becoming a teacher or becoming a writer?? Don’t forget to sign up for Krystal’s blogfest!
Jamie Ayres 
Oh my! I feel soooo boring. Oddly, I want to hear more about the septic tank incident. 😉
Eww – you should have a sign on your back to warn other runners.
And that wasn’t the only bodily fluid flying around! One of the grossest experiences of my life, but still rewarding:-)
i’ve led a very boring life compared to you. I can’t think of anything wild and daring I’ve done. I’ve always played my life pretty straight. Sad. Also, I don’t know anyone who’s tried to drown in a septic tank. You take the cake on that one. 🙂
Well, I didn’t ‘try’ to, lol. I had the story as an anecdote in my novel, but I had to cute it down to three lines *shakes fist at Krystal;-) hahaha
Aw, sounds like you’ve had a great life! Not too wild at all. Love that you felt the call of a teacher. It’s such an important job!!
Yes, I just wish it didn’t pay like a ‘calling’ to ministry, especially when our governor insists on running our education and kids like a business, ugh!
You’ve certainly had a lot of wild moments. I love your reason for becoming a teacher. And I really want to know more about that voice in your head! Seriously!
It was strange. I walked into my 4th period Word Processing class on the first day of class and I saw him sitting in the back of the room and I literally heard that voice. I wasn’t even a Christian then so I didn’t believe in hearing the voice of God or anything. On days I’m mad at him I tease him that it must’ve been the voice of the devil;-)
I was going to be a teacher too! A PE teacher to be exact, until my husband came along. MEN! That’s a cool little story about your husband. Fate *sigh*!
PE would be so fun!! I am ready for a change and hope to be our school’s media specialist next year, b/c the one we have now is retiring *fingers crossed*
There was a time when I thought I’d get married at or around 18 too, and have kids soon after. I didn’t realize how uncommon that is these days, and had gotten that idea from all the old books and old films I’d read and seen. Congratulations to you on making it work! I recently attended a girls’ sleepover with my rebbetzin (rabbi’s wife) and some of my university friends, and one of the things we talked about was how much things have changed in regards to the average marriage age these days, not necessarily for the better.
I’d love to hear the story of how you accidentally joined a cult! That sounds like it could make an interesting novel.
I should blog about that cult some day . . . thanks for the idea!
Wow, that was funny, and warm, and icky — all at the same time!
Love that you’re a teacher who takes into consideration the learning styles of your students, can’t be easy. Good for you.
Great stories all! Can’t wait to read your memoir.
Can’t teach any other way!
haha…loved this post !! And congrats on being a teacher–very admirable job. And on getting married at eighteen and making it work. I got married at that age too and we just celebrated our twenty-five year anniversary and are still going strong. 🙂
Awesome! We celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary this past August~CHEERS!
I’m thinking someone needs to write a biography…hint hint. I know I’d read it!
Thanks for sharing. 🙂
rEAlly? I’m afraid a biography would cost me most of my family members, lol
That was hilarious! Won’t ask about the snot…
You’re a smart man not to ask me questions:-)
Was it your snot and you’re sorry you didn’t look behind you?
So funny that you say teaching is your wildest thing! I love it–probably because I’m a teacher too. It does take a special kind of crazy to teach and to love doing so. There’s so much to focus on, sometimes the least of which is your actual curriculum, and I always think the most important part of the job isn’t curriculum. It’s teaching the hearts of those in our class.
I totally agree, Barbara! THis year alone I’ve had to call the social worker 3x, DCF once, and file a police report on behalf of a child! Geez, too bad the state of Florida does not understand the real world and think our kids are robots who should be tested 24/7, ugh!
I loved it! Teacher’s are a very special breed : )
I may be more ‘special ed’ than most . . . but other teachers I know are:-)
I’ve done some pretty wild things, but I don’t know if I could write about them as humorously as you just did! Great stuff.
And I’m not sure which is wilder, a teacher or a writer! Either way, following your heart and achieving your dream is always the most daring stunt of all. Congrats on doing both! 🙂
I bet you could do it even better than me . . . not too late to sign up for a post this week on your wildest moment:-)
Hey Jamie,
Just wanted to stop by to say thanks for signing up for the Cheers, Cavanaugh BlogFest, or what we are now nicknaming “AlexFest.”
Looking forward to reading your entry 🙂
PS… I grew up in Dublin… loved your explanation of Paddy’s Day 🙂
Ah, LOVED Dublin! We visited 5 different cities. Thanks for stopping by!
What a hilarious post. I love that you’ve done so many crazy things, but you feel that teaching is the craziest. It certainly is the hardest job out there. I am intrigued by your septic tank story, wow. There is just so much funny stuff in this post. Loved the picture and Ms. Viola Swamp. Was that your Halloween costume? Maybe I will try to do a last minute post for the hop. I’ve done a lot of crazy things, myself.
It was my Halloween costume for school:-) Hope you post your wildest moment–would love to hear ’em!
Haha that ‘rambling’ looks like some of my voicemails (the new phones that convert them to text don’t like me much’ but that is who I am. Sure sounds like you had a lot to choose from!
Perhaps too many! I don’t think your phone would like me either, lol.
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