Memorial Day

Does anyone else remember when Memorial Day was the day when you went to the cemetery and put flowers on the grave site of deceased loved ones? Growing up in a small military town, it was also a day of parades and patriotic songs and remembering fallen soldiers. Now it seems that it is a lot about barbequeing and beer-guzzling. Now, don't get me wrong. I can put away my weight in Texas BBQ. And a cold one can really put out the fire set by my uncle's blazin' hot salsa. And maybe eatin' and drinkin' is a balm for painful memories to some.

All this talk of fallen soldiers makes me wonder... is it possible to hate war and still respect and appreciate our service men and women? What do you think?

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

"Let's switch servers," he says. "It'll be a pain to switch email accounts," I whine. "No it won't," he insists. "Okay, fine!" I acquiesce. So here I am starting over because I can no longer sign in to my old blog with my now defunct email address, and I am not savvy enough to figure out a way around it. Hope folks can find me.

It is the last day of school for my not-so-little one, and I just returned from attending the award ceremony. She really racked them up, boy. The most important award, in my opinion, was the citizenship award. Go ahead and gasp, all you overachievers out there, but if she accomplishes nothing else in her life, I am proud that she knows how to get along with others and be a support system to those around her.I had to sit through all of the classes, and unfortunately it was evident that some of the children will not be advancing to the next grade level. Major bummer. It made me think about the kids who will not be graduating from high school due to not passing the TAKS. How exactly does this happen? How do you get all the way through 12 grades and not learn the basic skills necessary to graduate? Is the TAKS that hard? Is it a parenting problem? Do the teachers suck that badly? Do these kids have neurological disorders? I'm sure the No Child Left Behind campaign has something to say about this.

Catching Up

The thing about counseling is that you really don't learn how to do it until you are doing it - sitting in that chair across from that human being who is trusting you to do something helpful. That's when it all becomes very clear that you have no idea what you are doing! But it is really challenging and really fun. And the other counselors that you go to for guidance want you to succeed. That's worth a lot right there.
Mikel and I took the girls to Scarborough Faire Saturday. Mikel rented a kilt (he has the legs to pull it off) and the little one rented a Fairie costume, complete with wings. The not-so-little one and I opted out this year. We had a great time. The weather this year was sheer perfection. Didn't get to see the jousting as the little one and the not-so-little one have discovered shopping. They are becoming great consumers, let me tell you.
Just got back from the little one's school. Sang a song for the teacher (teacher appreciation day) and the kids performed choreography that I taught them. I have a tremendous appreciation for folks who can spend all day, every day with second-graders. Whew... I'm exhausted!
Until next time,
Anita