Breaking the Ice

Every year Abby's high school has a winter formal dance. It's called the "Snow Ball". Abby usually just goes with a group of friends, but this year has decided to accept the offer of a date from (gasp!) a boy!

I actually have to give the kid credit for being clever. He handed Abby a zip lock bag that had been filled with water and then frozen. He told her to unzip the bag and then slam it to the floor. The ice shattered and chunks were everywhere. Amongst the ice chunks was a smaller baggie with a note sealed inside. Abby opened the note to find the following message:

Now that we've broken the ice, do want to go to the Snow Ball with me?

Quite an imaginative way to request a date, don't you think? He must be a nice kid. Abby only likes the good boys. I'm sure they'll have a good time.

Less than a car payment

Have you ever heard the expression, "Driving a car until the wheels fall off"? This pretty much sums up my approach to cars. I've never owned a brand new car (and probably never will). I have always bought quality used cars when possible and have purchased a few beaters when that's all my finances would allow. We currently have three cars and they are all in some stage of disrepair. Honestly, money is so tight right now and the economy is showing no signs of improving, that completing all necessary repairs to the cars is just not going to happen.

Tami took her car in for a front end alignment and tire rotation today. She is getting the tires balanced soon and she is in desperate need of new brakes. All of those repairs are going to require a sizable chunk of money, but when you look at the price of buying a different car, those repairs probably total less than a few car payments. I'd rather make the necessary repairs a little at a time than get a new (used) car. Michael's car needs some work and mine does too. Those repairs will have to wait. As long as we are getting from point A to point B safely, that's all that matters. We literally drive these cars until the wheels fall off (or at least until the car costs more to repair than the value of the car itself).

I honestly don't understand how some people are constantly upgrading their cars. It's like they always have a car payment. I can't imagine that. Of course, people who are single are totally different. With only themselves to provide for, having nicer cars is okay for them. For we married folks, we're just happy if the car starts and stops the way it's supposed to. Where some folks have fancy stereos and a lot of luxury features, my cars have old french fries under the seats and coffee stains on the carpet.

I guess fancy cars just aren't that important to me. However, if I ever find myself unexpectedly wealthy, my dream car is a Jaguar. They are fancy and sporty, yet sophisticated. I don't need some pimped out hotrod chick magnet. I don't drive fast and the gas is too expensive as well. Besides the only chick I'm interested in attracting would already be in the passenger seat anyway. By the way, no french fries or coffee allowed.

Filling in the blanks

I read my Bible regularly. Notice I didn't say I read my Bible daily. If I said that, I'd be lying and I don't want to do that. I'm working toward that goal, but haven't quite gotten there yet. I'd also like to tell you I've read every word of the Bible, but that would be a lie too. That's another goal I'm working toward and God willing, I'll get there in the near future.

Anyway, in working toward that second goal, I have employed a strategy I call "filling in the blanks". Essentially I am searching the Bible for books I've never completely read or maybe never read at all. I'm happy to report I'm having difficulty finding passages I've never read before, but admittedly there are some. For example, I recently read the entire book of Revelation. I know I've read bits and pieces of it, but I have never read it in its entirety. I did the same thing with the books of Ecclesiastes and Lamentations in the last few weeks. I am currently reading Song of Solomon and rereading the book of Job. Obviously some books I've read many times over. The Gospels, Paul's epistles and the Pentateuch (i.e. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy). In the meantime, I will continue filling in the blanks and will soon be able to say I've read the complete canon of God's Word.

Sorry!

Sorry! It's a powerful word and we've all had to use it. We've all done things we regret and had to apologize for. When used properly the word sorry can have an impact like few others. In my marriage, being willing to admit I was wrong and apologize has helped smooth over many a rough spot. I'm sure Tami would tell you the same thing about herself. Apologies have worked wonders in our married lives.

At school, I have always tried to emphasize to my students the importance of being honest and being willing to apologize. I have apologized to my students on many, many occasions. Sometimes I falsely accuse a student of doing something he/she didn't do. Sometimes I forget to do something I said I would do. Whatever the case, I am not above apologizing to a child. I've always told my students if they do something wrong they should admit it, apologize and assure me it won't happen again. If they do those things, there will be no further consequences from me. I consider the matter closed. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be the way the 6th grade mind works. More often than not, 6th graders lie about doing something wrong. Sometimes they admit their wrongdoing, but are unwilling to apologize. For some reason, apologies come hard for these kids.

In recent years I've noticed a difference in the use of the word "sorry" at my school. It used to mean a person felt bad for what they did and would genuinely try to avoid repeating the offense. Now the word "sorry" has come to mean something entirely different. It means, "Quit talking to me, Mr. Meyer, and leave me alone!". Most times when I correct a child, they quickly (and almost without thinking) say, "Sorry!'. A minute or two later the same child usually repeats the behavior and I repeat my correction and I hear that famous word again, "Sorry!". It's a sad state of affairs when the word "sorry" becomes empty. It means nothing. Saying you're sorry and actually BEING sorry are two different things. Sadly, very few of my students are actually sorry. Most of them use the word to deflect attention from their misbehavior and to attempt to get me off their cases. I'm onto them though. I refuse to let them get away with empty, meaningless apologies. Maybe one day the word "sorry" will carry meaning and weight again, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

   

Not Forgotten

With all the photos and videos of Elliott posted recently, readers of this blog may think I have forgotten Sveta. Nothing could be farther from the truth. We had a really good time with Sveta last night too. She's always good for a few zingers when we see her. In fact, one of the things that makes her so much fun is never knowing what might come out of her mouth.

Last night when we arrived, Sveta was quite a distance from us and yelled, "Hi Grandma!". Because we were kind of far away from her, Tami thought she yelled, "Hi Goppa!" and told me to say hello in return. Sveta corrected Tami and told her she had indeed said, "Hi Grandma".... and then added, "you need to get your hearing checked!". In print it doesn't sound so humorous, but in person it was so funny!

Usually I'm the one being told to get my hearing checked!

The Water Boy!

I mentioned last night that we went to Greensburg to babysit the grandkids. As always, the night was filled with fun moments, but the highlight of the evening was watching Elliott play in the water. He was as good as gold, but only got a little fussy when he got got hungry. Sometimes he would get himself too worked up to take his bottle. Thankfully his mommy gave us the solution to that problem before she left for the evening. She said he loves water and to simply take him to the kitchen sink and turn on the water. Well, the first time Elliott got into a screaming fit, he seemed inconsolable. We walked him over to the sink, turned on the water and he instantly quieted down and became mesmerized by the flowing water. It was AMAZING. We had also been told that he loves getting INTO the water. I'm sure you can guess what happened next. Off came the clothes and into the kitchen sink went our little water boy. In a word.... CUUUUUUUUUUTE!

Click the link below to see the video for yourself:

Water Boy

Worn Out!

After a long day of work, we drove to Greensburg to babysit the grandkids. It was an absolute blast, but we are worn out. More to report tomorrow. Happy weekend, everybody!

Listen!

We were all young once. I'm sure you all remember older people giving you advice and telling you what to do. I'm sure you also remember thinking those older people were full of hot air and pretty dumb. And I'm guessing you ultimately found out those older people were right more often than not and gave some really sound advice. I admit it. I didn't put much stock in what older people were telling me when I was younger. I thought the world had passed those folks by and I had everything figured out. You all know how that worked out. I quickly learned I had no idea what I was talking about and all those older people got really smart in a hurry.

Now I am one of the older folks and I'm the one trying to impart my knowledge and life experience on younger people. As you may expect, my words usually fall on deaf ears. I guess the youngsters think the world has passed me by and THEY have the world figured out. It's a vicious cycle.

The lesson in all of this (at least for me) is that older folks don't know everything. They've just had more time to make a lot more mistakes and the chance to learn from them. Trust me. I've done a tremendous amount of screwing up in my life. If these kids would just listen, I could help them avoid so much trouble.

For the record, I did notice the grammatical error in the graphic below. There should be an apostrophe after the "s" in the word elders.

Money!

What's the difference between real money and Monopoly money?

One has been fought over, destroyed homes, and torn families apart. The other is the American dollar.

Ha! Gotcha!

Heat Wave Approaching!

This is not breaking news. It has been the lead news story for about 4 days. The United States has been ambushed by record cold temperatures and is in the midst of a deep freeze we haven't seen the likes of in twenty years. Just about every place in the country is experiencing temperatures at or below freezing. Obviously points north are in the deepest freeze. Some wind chills in places like Minnesota and Wisconsin registered at 40°, 50° and 60° below zero. Interestingly enough, the temperatures the last few days in Minnesota were colder than the South Pole. There were also temperatures in those places that were colder than the planet Mars. You know it's cold when your hometown is colder than Mars for Pete's sake!

As cold as it has been the last two days, a warm up is imminent and temperatures will approach 50° this weekend. These temperatures have been brutal, but it all pales in comparison to the winters of 1977 and 1978. During those two winters snow was measured in feet and not inches. Temperatures stayed below freezing for an extended period of time and the Ohio River actually froze solid. I'm talking people walking on the river and cars driving on it. Now THAT'S cold!

Make no mistake. It's cold and it has been a tough winter so far. At least during those crushing winters of '77 and '78 I was a kid and had not yet learned to despise winter. As I grow older, I hope I never, ever have to deal with a winter like those.

Stay warm, everybody! More normal temperatures are coming soon! It's going to be a veritable heat wave by Saturday!