1. Things kids said yesterday at work, within a span of ten minutes:

“When are we going to go where the muffins are? When are we going to go there?” Jonah was referring to the cornbread muffins we had baked the day before for our Thanksgiving lunch.

I overheard a couple of kids having a competitive conversation, not necessarily an argument. One went, “Carissa is bigger than you!” and the other retorted, “Carissa is bigger than you.” They managed to find a source of agreement when they started pointing out all the objects in the room I am bigger than besides themselves.

Then a second later as I scrubbed the sticky leftovers of cranberry sauce out of a pot another kid approached me and said, sounding entirely bewildered, “Why is your hand in there?!”

Sometimes kids are so freaking funny.

2. Last night I woke up what felt like every few minutes, realizing that I was dreaming of swarms of children and piles of chopped vegetables. Essentially, what the last couple of days had been. They were anxiety dreams. At one point I woke up, thinking there was a pot of boiling potatoes in my lap, but I had just gotten too hot under the covers.

3. Today is the day before Thanksgiving and the mood from what I could tell was pretty high. Most people were smiling.

4. And some were so happy they handed out complements like they came so easily. One woman standing outside the co-op watched as I parked my bike and then yelled over to me, “You look so great like that with your bike!”

I really don’t know what she meant by that, but I did look down and realize my floral skirt matched the plastic flower I’ve got attached to the panier of my bike. That could have been what inspired her kindness, but it was more likely the holiday.

5. On the flip side, some folks are distraught. I passed by two homeless folks today who looked dismal. The first was literally weeping as he walked by. The other was moving at a snail’s pace with a frown that looked weighted down with sandbags.

6. And I’ve got to mention this musical fact I learned just now from the radio. Apparently Talking Head’s Psycho Killer took inspiration from Otis Redding’s Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa, or Sad Song. That’s of particular interest to me because Psycho Killer holds a strangely significant and mysterious role in my life. It’s a song that pops into my mind on average once a week for no apparent reason. And, Otis Redding is just great.

7. And this. I’m going to see The Muppets tonight. So stoked to see these guys on the big screen.