Back in the day, I was a pro at staying home from school “sick” or cutting 6th or 7th period due to a sudden plague just to get home in time to watch my soaps. The last months of Stone’s life on GENERAL HOSPITAL were probably the sole cause of my giant case of senioritis in 1995! But like many weary soap fans these days, I feel like there’s a dearth of good, school-skipping moments. Let’s face it, the writers’ strike sucked a lot of life and momentum out of our shows. Not to mention the fact that a lot of fan faves have been killed off and the death toll for beloved couples is pretty high, too. Fear not, though! I have given this at least ten minutes of thought, and here are 10 moments in 2008 that I would cut school for. (Yes, I know I’m employed at a soap magazine and have a TV in my office. Work with me here.)

(They’re not in order of importance, I promise.)

1. Jesse’s return from the dead and his reunion with Angie on ALL MY CHILDREN. When they saw each other again at the train station it gave me chills.

2. Grayson McCouch’s last week as Dusty on AS THE WORLD TURNS, (RIP, Dusty. RIP.) and Martha Byrne’s last day as Lily. Those just aren’t days you miss.

3. The day GENERAL HOSPITAL’s Carly dredged up all her history with Sonny, blaming herself and him for Michael’s shooting. Kudos to the writers and Laura Wright.

4. Snoop Dogg performing on ONE LIFE TO LIVE. Need I even explain that one? Snoop is off the hook!

5. Jonathan and Sarah returning to GUIDING LIGHT and that whole awesome, tangled story with Bill and Lizzie.

6. YOUNG AND RESTLESS’ Cane and Lily making love on Valentine’s Day. It was adorable.

7. The hilarious sequence with Donna as a jungle cat on the prowl for a snoozing Eric on THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL. Meow!

8. Any episode of DAYS OF OUR LIVES where Philip had something to do. (What was that, five episodes this year?)

9. Sarah Brown’s first full episode back at GH. (Cutting English or math for shots of her shoes would just be lame.)

10. Brad and Katie’s wedding on ATWT. Henry is always a good reason to play hooky.

11. As a bonus, I would have scored a detention or taken up an after-school activity just to miss the gut-wrenchingly awful death of Gus on GL.

So tell me…what soap moment this year would YOU cut school for? Leave it in a comment here or go visit our forums and post about it!

originally posted on soapoperaweekly.com