Happy New Year, Blog Readers! May 2015 be full of good things, and changes, and cool people and stuff like that. All the New Year stuff. 2015 promises to be a good year on my end for many reasons – another Uganda trip, new friends, new music, and probably a few surprises. Letting go of old stuff that was done, and making room for new, better things.

OK – so much for the appropriate (albeit true) New Year’s greetings. But here’s the problem, the challenge, the twist you’ve come to expect from charleysblog… I can’t make 5’s.

Whenever I have to handwrite the numeral five, aka “5,” it doesn’t look good. It either comes out looking like an “S,” or something else entirely unreadable. If I try to modify the top half of the 5 to get rid of the curvy “S” thing, then I go overboard and the whole thing looks too boxy.

A “5” should look natural; not boxy like you’re trying too hard to avoid the “S,” but you definitely don’t want the “S” either. It’s a tough situation for me. For a few years a long time ago, I worked in a bank (and when I say a long time ago, I mean Moses banked with us). Since this was before things were automated to the extent they are now, I had to write a lot – especially numbers. Including 5’s. And to make it harder, I had to write dates on things – including 5’s. Like when it was the 5th, or 15th, or 25th of the month. And the month of May was problematic, because every freaking date began with a 5. And don’t even get me started on the years with a 5 in them, like 1985.

Well, I don’t expect you to really do anything about my problem; it’s my problem, and just something I’ll have to put up with the rest of my life. It’s a huge challenge, an enormous difficulty, and I’ve prayed many times to be delivered of this burden, but it still haunts me. I still struggle over the fact that I can’t make a decent 5. Yet, I’ve had to come to terms with it. I have Sloppy Five Syndrome. There. I said it, and I’m owning it.

It’s not likely that most of you will have to read anything handwritten by me this year, so you’re safe. But it’s the people who have to see my handwritten dates who will suffer, and that of course means those poor school children. Those poor kids who already struggle enough with other things, will now have to raise their hands and ask “What’s that?” when I write a date on the white board in my room. I feel for them, but there’s little I can do about it. And to be perfectly honest, the first time one of those little people says something negative about my 5’s, I’ll be tempted to say something like, “Oh yeah??? Well then get up here and write it yourself on the board, if you’re such a 5 expert! Let’s see how well you do!”

I’ll be tempted, but I won’t actually say it, because let’s face it, you really want to try to avoid saying mean things to kids in the classroom (unless you’re one of the kids, and then it seems to be acceptable occasionally). And not only that, chances are each of those kids are rockstars when it comes to making 5’s, because they actually spend time, believe it or not, practicing making 5’s in the classroom. As though they don’t have more important things to do.

Well, I just wanted to share my heart – my burden for 2015 if you will – please be sympathetic and even offer up an occasional prayer for those of us to suffer from Sloppy Five Syndrome.

And Happy 2015!