Sarah Jett Rayburn

Writer, mom, Jeopardy! champion, ToC class of 2021. Check out Sand Between Me and the Sky, the 4th novel in my Limitless Night series, available on Kindle.

[Sarah Jett Rayburn @SJettRayburn]

@KESA1224 Congrats to you, as well! I remember that we both play by the random word method! I stopped posting mine because I got overwhelmed with social media for a while. (Unfortunately for me, I sometimes think picking all different words each night is how I play Learned League, too!)

[Sarah Jett Rayburn @SJettRayburn]

What?! This never happens to me!

Wordle 882 1/6*

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[Sarah Jett Rayburn @SJettRayburn]

My sister (leaving the Duncanville/Hutto playoff game, at random): Do you know the president, Chester A. Arthur?
Me: Yeah.
Her: Did you know his favorite food was snapping turtles?
Me: Why, no.
Her: But John Adams liked boiled potatoes.
Me: Sounds like him. That John Adams!

[Sarah Jett Rayburn @SJettRayburn]

Me: That's because you made me read all those books!
14 yo: You didn't read ALL of them! (mock tantalizing) The fifth one starts thousands of years in the future! I know how you love that! This guy gets superpowers, but they make him real tired, so he has to eat a bunch of soup!

[Sarah Jett Rayburn @SJettRayburn]

14 yo: Look! Leto Atreides is in my book!
Me: (reading) Turn giddy, and be holp by backwards turning
14 yo: And always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom!
Me: It's fun reading this with you! I'm glad your teacher suggested it.
14 yo: Yes, no one else gets my Dune jokes!

[Sarah Jett Rayburn @SJettRayburn]

@TulaneTerry Monday Man, Tuesday Dude, Stay-at-Home Uncle, Wildcard Among Champions! Three cheers for Lawrence Long, a man for all seasons!

[Sarah Jett Rayburn @SJettRayburn]

6 yo: I like that man.
Me: You do, huh? Why?
6 yo: Because he is a Monday man.
Me: What makes him a Monday man?
6 yo: Because this is a Monday. Do I have to spell it out for you? I know a Monday man when I see one.
#Jeopardy

[Sarah Jett Rayburn @SJettRayburn]

Me: I don't always know everything. No one does.
8 yo: Not even Google. But people think it does! They say, "Hey Google! What's the meaning of life?" And it's just like, "24."
Me: 42. Your Google is exceptionally bad.
8 yo: Well, you see, I can't afford Google. So I use Goggle.

[Sarah Jett Rayburn @SJettRayburn]

Me: I'm intrigued by the ghostly figure in this illustration.
8 yo: I see a spider holding a pitchfork.
(Later)
Me (reading): Her eyes looked into his eyes--and she vanished. (Seamlessly) And in her place was a spider holding a pitchfork.
8 yo (gasps, peeks): Hey! You tricked me!

[Sarah Jett Rayburn @SJettRayburn]

8 yo: (bangs the piano twice) That was my song I'll teach you! It has words, too! Did you catch them? It's (bangs again), "Shut! Up!"

[Sarah Jett Rayburn @SJettRayburn]

8 yo: Now I can play the piano!
Me: A few years ago, mice built a nest in the piano. I saw a movie where they played a piano, and it was silent. Then I had a nightmare about it. To make sure it wasn't true, I touched our piano keys the next day, and they didnt make a sound!

[Sarah Jett Rayburn @SJettRayburn]

Me: If you can play this, we could play a song together. And I'll teach you the words.
8 yo: What are these gold pedals for?
(I show him, then rise slowly singing intensely)
Me: Oh but your lips were thrilling, much too thrilling! Never before were mine so strangely willing!

[Sarah Jett Rayburn @SJettRayburn]

@TommyZee81 He fears death! ("I love Moonstruck! It's got comedy! It's got romance! It's got Cher! I love Cher!") (Do you remember that commercial?) My mom and grandma watched Moonstruck all the time!

[Sarah Jett Rayburn @SJettRayburn]

14 yo: I might name a baby Rose. But I'd be willing to consider a Greek name.
Me: Rose is a Greek name! Well, it comes through Latin...
8 yo: Rose originates from Rose Nylund, a hero from ancient times.

[Sarah Jett Rayburn @SJettRayburn]

@FederalLoaf Rowan is great! My husband loves that name! We were going to name our youngest Rose (after the cat). I thought about Persephone Rose but worried it sounded too much like a sentence. Penelope convinced us Rose was perfect, "like my Rosie Kitty!" But he turned out a Gideon!

[Sarah Jett Rayburn @SJettRayburn]

(As we begin book 22)
14 yo: Wait! Did he just say, "Dinner is served," and then jump on the table and start killing them?
Me: Basically. (Reading) They scolded Odysseus in words of anger, saying: "Stranger, it is badly done to hit men. You will never achieve any more trials."

[Sarah Jett Rayburn @SJettRayburn]

(As Odysseus turns his bow over in his hands, inspecting it)
Me: (reading) And thus would one of them say as he looked across at the next man: "This man is an admirer of bows."
(We all burst out laughing.)
8 yo: This is like you telling the barista, "My son is a scone fanatic."

[Sarah Jett Rayburn @SJettRayburn]

Me: Uh oh. She forgot to brush her eyes.
8 yo: No, this is what happens when you do brush your eyes, remember?
Me: No, the other guy brushed his eyes. She looks much worse! She doesn't even have eyes!
8 yo: She brushed too hard!

[Sarah Jett Rayburn @SJettRayburn]

Me: Your 20 minutes are up.
8 yo: Let's keep reading.
Me: Look at this great illustration! That's what'll happen if you don't brush your teeth.
8 yo: Hmm. That looks more like what'll happen if I do brush my eyes!
Me: Never brush your eyes. See why reading aloud is so important?

[Sarah Jett Rayburn @SJettRayburn]

My #Jeopardy rival @Ryan_Bilger11 and I are back for your listening pleasure. Make sure to listen as I face off against my dear friend (and bitter enemy). This premiered last year, so if you've already listened, be sure to tune in again!

[Sarah Jett Rayburn @SJettRayburn]

Me (laughing in horror) "The walls bleed, & the fine supporting pillars. All the forecourt is huddled with ghosts...as they flock down to the underworld & darkness. The sun has perished out of the sky, & a foul mist has come over."
8 yo: But...is there a pigeon? Is he tremulous?

[Sarah Jett Rayburn @SJettRayburn]

Me: (reading) The suitors were compacting their plan of death and destruction for Telemachos, and a bird flew over them on the left side. This was a high-flown eagle and carried a tremulous pigeon.
14 yo: A tremulous pigeon?!
Me: Seems inauspicious. Omens were clearer then.

[Sarah Jett Rayburn @SJettRayburn]

Me (reading): Now they laughed with jaws that were no longer their own. The meat they ate was a mess of blood, their eyes were bursting full of tears, and their laughter sounded like lamentation.
8 yo: Well this sounds horrible!
Me: Yeah! You thought the tremulous pigeon wad bad!