Category: Parenting

Balancing Parent-Teacher Communication

As a single, very young working parent, one of my biggest struggles is finding the right balance of involvement. I fear the perception that my daughters’ teachers will have of me. Our culture seems to have decided that two parents are always better than one, so it appears our family is already working from a disadvantage. Single parents are presumed to be involved in their children’s lives until proved otherwise. So let’s see how we can be balancing parent-teacher communication.

I make it a point to come in late to work on the first day of school so I can meet the teacher face to face, and I immediately ask for an email address. I prefer email because it allows both of us busy people a chance to read and respond in our own time. I think it’s reasonable for both of us to do so within a day or two. If a teacher tells me he/she only checks their email once a week, then I usually leave notes with my child to give to the teacher if something comes up.
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Cleaning out

My parents are trying to sell their house and move to Florida. This is looking like a long-term goal instead of a short-term one, but that’s not relevant.

In getting ready to eventually move and to make sure their house is presentable to prospective buyers, they needed to clean up. Now, my parent’s house was already fairly neat. A point my mother would emphasize anytime someone left a paper out, “I’m trying to keep this place clean.” But again, I digress.

We’ve all moved at some point in our lives. And there are some pieces of crap things that we are shocked made it through so many transitions. There are some things D and I currently own that I’ve told him are not making it another move.

So my parents are cleaning up. They are going through boxes in the basement, bookshelves, and our (me and my siblings) bedrooms to determine what they can get rid of.

Now get rid of can have a few meanings. When going through something we usually have two three four piles: keep, trash, recycle and shred. My parents have added a fifth:

GIVE TO OUR CHILDREN

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That’s Why I hate Christmas

I hate Christmas and the whole damn holiday season. Here’s why:

    • They start stocking the store shelves with all the Christmas froufrou at the beginning of September. By the end of November, I am so tired of looking at all the shit that I want to stick toothpicks in my eyeballs and serve them as cocktail onions just to keep from having to look at the crap a minute longer.
      • I used to wonder how people justify spending so much money to decorate their homes for one stinking holiday, but now I know. They start putting the shit up after Halloween and don’t take it down until the end of January. They spend a quarter of the damn year celebrating a holiday that is only one day long. Then, of course, there are the real lazy asses who never take their damn lights down. Someone needs to yank those lights down and choke the sh.. out of them.

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5 Golden Rules So You Don’t Get Screwed

Don’t trust anyone. Even your friends, family, and pets are subject to this new clause.

Basically, this week I realized that I am not going to be seeing an ROI on a job I’ve been doing over the last month. I did not ask the person for a contract, because we had a verbal one, and I know him. I considered him a friend; you know, one of those friends who isn’t your blood brother or whatever, but a vague sort of friend. I charged him with an unbelievably low rate because I’m that nice.

And now I’m assuming he’s on crack because there is no other excuse for his dramatic, MIA behavior.

In the future, some 5 Golden Rules to Not Get Screwed: Continue reading “5 Golden Rules So You Don’t Get Screwed”

Why I curse public transportation

Well, it’s really not all that bad. I discovered yesterday afternoon that one of my friends at work coincidentally happened to have her car in for service this week, too, so we were able to T it together which took the sting out of it a bit, though it was COLD…

We also then conspired to both get off at the same stop and hit Ann Taylor. Again, all in the name of reducing the sting of taking the T.

I managed to pick up a pink cashmere sweater that had originally been $158 for $39.99 – go me. As my friend said, you just can’t afford not to take advantage of a deal like that.

She got 2 sweaters and some excellent shoes. Then we ventured home, agreeing that we really needed to get our cars back, since we could not afford to take the subway together every day. Bad influences.

This morning was not quite as fun. It is absolutely freezing here. I wore the heaviest cable knit sweater I own and I was still so cold. The sidewalks aren’t exactly shoveled on my way to my office so navigating the slippery street was an exercise in anxiety. Continue reading “Why I curse public transportation”

Don’t even think about talking to me…

I have always been kind of a small town girl. I grew up in the little town of Andover, Vermont, and was very sheltered my whole life, only venturing to Rutland and Burlington for shopping trips and later when I had my own transportation, to check out the immense thrift stores in Concord, New Hampshire.

But a few years ago I started going to school in Rutland, and not wanting to pay for the gas I started to bus it. My friends were all horrified by this new aspect of my life. Riding the bus into and around Vermont did nothing other than putting a bad taste in their mouth. But for me, it was a newfound freedom. It is basically pointless to have a car in Rutland.

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Why Your Self Confidence Is So Important

Change. Funny how that one word can be so intimidating isn’t it? I think it’s a given that most people would agree that being exposed to something completely foreign would induce some people to break a sweat or step on a few toes. But many people don’t want to change anything.

Staying in your circle of comfort is nice, comfort means safe, and safe means no stress. And who likes to be stressed needlessly, right? I recently visited one of my friends who is teaching adults who want to pass the GED test. And she is frustrating with her work.

Her adult students get free classes, free online tools and they know that passing the GED exam means earning a better salary, yet they usually don’t finish a prep course, they don’even try to pass the GED test and go back to their circle of comfort. So we talk about how well designed online resources such as online prep tests can help these students earn their GED and restore their self-confidence.

I think that pushing yourself to do things that you normally wouldn’t do is very important in growing as a person, spiritually, emotionally and financially.

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Teachers cheating! OMG !

This is usually a headline during the examination season but, today’s news confirms that teachers are also cheating. Four schools had their results wiped out in three subjects and a fifth school was stripped of its English results in national curriculum (SATs) tests for “altering” the test papers of children. So unethical, the same teachers help with career choices. I have more trust in online career tests than in these teachers. There are many well-developed career quizzes that show you all the options and you can judge yourself without any pressure for you or your teen. I don’t want to be manipulated by some random teachers.

This is a fraud which is damaging not only to the schools but, also the pupils at the school and the whole system of testing in our schools. It’s the sort of scandal which prompted many US schools to outsource testing of students and I suspect we may be headed belatedly in the same direction.

As soon as the Government used test results to publish school league tables and also to determine school funding, it was inevitable that some teachers would find ways to influence individual pupil and school test results. I’m sure the vast majority of teachers would not even contemplate this but, just a few can damage the reputation of many.

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Half of what I say is meaningless…

…but I say it just to reach you, Julia. ~John Lennon

I haven’t talked about this in great detail here, but Julia has had a very difficult time with tonsillitis and throat infections this year.

She had a bout of tonsillitis a little while ago and her tonsils like, tripled in size, and never went back down to normal. It’s affected her breathing, especially at night – she wakes up choking and literally gasping for breath several times a night and has started snoring like a trucker, something she never did before.

The broken sleep leaves her tired throughout the day and people often comment on her pale face and raccoon eyes. Her eating habits have also been affected, and when she had the flu last week her bulging tonsils egged her gag reflex on and really added fuel to the fire.

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Should I live with a high school friend in college?

When choosing a roommate for your first year away at college, many people will consider living with a friend from high school. Perhaps the friend is your best friend or perhaps it’s someone you think you’ll get along with. Either way, living with someone you know offers you that sense of comfort of knowing that you’re still connected to home in case you get homesick. It also might prevent a lot of the awkwardness of meeting a new roommate.

But do you end up missing out on the college experience of meeting new people by living with someone you already know? Here’s how to decide if rooming with your high school friends is the best choice for you:

LIVING WITH A NEW ROOMMATE

When you live with someone who you’ve never met before, you definitely take a gamble on how well you two (or more, if you’re in a triple or a quad) will get along. Many roommates get along incredibly well and end up best friends, others simply co-exist, and some hate each other and clash.

However, when meeting a new roommate, your social circle expands. If you two hang out together, you begin to share friends, and you meet many people you otherwise would not have. You’re also exposed to new ways of life, whether through sharing different cultures, coming from a different area, or having different tastes.

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