Last week, I was tagged by Candace Ganger to participate in the 5 Question Tag Game. I needed to give 5 answers to each of 5 questions, and I actually had some trouble with it. Apparently I come up short in the “5” department, since I was able to supply 4 answers for each question quite readily – but struggled in each case to find a fifth. Gosh, I hope the answers are interesting enough to warrant the effort!

1.Where were you five years ago?

a.Moping over a landmark birthday that had a -0 in it
b.Fetching a pre-schooler from daycare after school every day
c.Learning the ridiculously impossible mandates of the No Child Left Behind program
d.Beginning the manuscript that would become We Hear the Dead
e.Looking forward to a Disney World trip that involved meeting a heck of a lot of princesses

2.Where would you like to be five years from now?

a.Teaching in a well-funded school that isn’t forced to assess success by the single measure of a standardized test
b.Watching my oldest daughter graduate from high school
c.Helping that daughter choose between numerous, really good scholarships
d.Enjoying the DVD release of a highly successful We Hear the Dead movie
e.Overhearing people ask for “the newest Salerni book” in a bookstore

3.What is (was) on your to-do list today?

a.Make a dent in the stack of reading journals needing grading
b.Assess student oral presentations on their favorite authors
c.Take a walk with the dog
d.Write lesson plans for Wednesday morning, so I can take daughters to the dentist
e.Pry daughters off Zelda for dinner, homework, and possibly some fresh air

4.What 5 snacks do you enjoy?

a.Cheese and crackers
b.Semi-sweet chocolate chips
c.My husband’s homemade vanilla ice cream
d.Artichoke hearts right out of the can
e.The olives at the bottom of my martini glass

5.What 5 things would you do if you were a billionaire?

a.Pay for my daughters’ college education
b.Take my husband on tour of Italy
c.Build a sunroom addition on the house with bookshelves and window seats
d.Retire from teaching and write full time
e.Finance the campaigns of politicians committed to funding quality education that is not measured by standardized tests

Phew! That was harder than you think! Now I’m supposed to tag 5 more bloggers and pass the buck. This part makes me a little worried the people I tag might smack me on the arm and say, “What’d you do that for?” But only one of these people can physically reach me to smack me, and she’s too nice to do it. So without any further whining, I tag:

Donna Nordmark Aviles
Al Past (answering for Ana Darcy, of course)
Kristen Lippert-Martin
Claire Dawn
Helen Ellis