FF: Things No One Said to Me this Week

Want a fragmented look at my week?  Think about the things that people thought about me, but just didn't say..to my face.

"Things would be better if Checkered could buy another phone charger or two."

"Don't be misled by any rubber band holding her pants closed or blouse gaposis; she's probably toned somewhere in that body."

"The extra clutter looks really good around her laundry room and kitchen and bedroom and..."

"The $3.29 watered-down sweet tea she just bought at Max and Erma's? Such a bad decision."

"I really wish that the Flag family would ask me watch their dog when they travel.  I'd do it for free if they would just ask."

"We know that it's the last week of summer term, but we love you,  Dr. Caution, so much that we've asked the dean to extend the class another week or four so we can spend more time with you."

"You'll be a much more consistent blogger and better meal planner now that your kids are out of school for the summer."

 

"Your Hibiscus is amazing!"

"Don't worry about the open zipper fiasco!  I hear it's all the fashion rage these days."

For more chaos, check out these sites (while I try to figure out just how many people saw my open zipper and never said a word):

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: Sand

http://www.wordlesswednesday.com/newhome/

It was such a fun idea until his brother put sand in his mouth....

The Happiness Project: Medic!

What makes me happy?  Camping with friends who are also paramedics. It is very handy when:

Child #2 decides to break rocks between his bare feet and cuts his ankle nearly to the bone.

and

Child #4 is bitten by a dog.

Poor Lt. Matt.  He may have to vacation with us for years to come.

Now fly over to Leigh's place, and tell us what makes YOU happy.

FF: Help for the Sincere Wife

There are some things the modern wife and mother must know in order to run her little universe in the most effective way.  Fortunately, I have mastered these lessons recently and am now willing to impart them to you.

Lesson 1: When the dishwasher no longer gets anything clean, and no one can find the problem, the best solution is to buy rubber dish washing gloves for each of your children OR a supply of plastic/paper kitchen products OR go to Tim Hortons often enough that the manager greets you like an old friend each time.

Lesson 2: Those film marks on the inside of the windshield which you don't notice until you are driving your children to school against the sunrise?  Erase them with a dry erase eraser. The eraser will also do wonders for wiping smudges from the screen of your phone.

Lesson 3: No time to gardening with that annoying attention-seeking fertilizing and weeding and pruning and watering?  Just plant some Knock-out roses and check them in a year.  You'll be amazed at their cooperation.

Lesson 4: When your husband asks you for 16 years what you would like for Mother's Day/birthdays/Christmas, do NOT say, "Nothing" because there will come a Father's Day where you ask him in desperation what he would like and he will say, "Nothing" - but he won't mean it anymore than you meant it
 when you said it.

Lesson 5: If your neighbors have paid $1,300 for their pool heaters and spend $100/month to run them, tell your husband a secret!  He, too, can have a solar heater for the pool that he will take great pride in because he will build it.  After spending $50 on materials and one hour of his time, the heater won't work.  Don't feel guilty!  A few days later, he will say, "Let's go camping again," and you will answer, "Um...sure."  If you say it just right, he will think your grimace is a smile and all will be well.

Now go!  Visit these people who are so much smarter than I am.

Dear Michigan,

You owe me.  Big time.  This year, in the midst of our nation-wide budget crisis, you presented one solution to local school districts who are scrambling to balance their budgets: a retirement incentive for teachers.  The hope was that with enough retirements and expen$ive teachers gone, layoffs could be avoided.  An additional benefit was that these older, burned-out, wizened teachers would be replaced by more affordable, younger, enthusiastic teachers.  How could a district lose?

I'll tell you how they lose.

They lose a career's worth of experience.  They lose 30 years of having learned what works well in a classroom. They lose years of having learned to read each student and the knowledge of how to respond to that student.  They lose  understanding of how to go around red-tape to find help for a student.  They lose the courage experience gives in how to communicate confidently with an administrator, angry or frightened parent, defiant student, and more.

There will always be teachers who need to go - teachers whose attitudes and abilities are better-served elsewhere.  But the teachers who are retiring this year?  Well, some of them are dearly loved by our family.

We'll miss the way she helped our child gain confidence and discover talent.














We'll miss the way she taught our child that the best effort is the only effort worth giving in any task.

We'll miss her even-temperament and how our child's face lit up when he saw her in the audience of his musical.

We'll miss the way she got to know our child who didn't think he wanted anyone to know him, and the dream he had of one day marrying her.

So, Michigan, you owe me.  Let's do the math:  approximately $75,000 per year times the 27 cumulative years my children have left in school, less the $35,000 per year the newer teachers might earn. That leaves $1,080,000 of career experience your incentive owes my family.

We'll gladly take our incentive in the form of a check or cash.

The Right Decision

The Happiness Project: Summer School

You know what makes me happy this week? Getting the closest parking spot at work.

Now go spread a little happiness of your own!