A hard lesson to learn -- jcarolek

I was always a “smarty-pants.” Well, not really, but I was an early reader and a whiz at math. In class I always had the answer before the teacher had finished explaining the problem. I zipped through my math problems, enjoying the challenge of finishing first, since answering all the questions correctly was never a challenge!

I was the “teacher’s pet” when it came to math. Or so I thought. One day, Mrs. Mault, my third grade teacher gave us a math test. I “won” by finishing first. Nobody else knew of the competition, but that mattered not to me, I had won again! At the end of the school-day my teacher asked me

I'm ready to share -- jcarolek

Come, take a little walk with me. I want you to enjoy hickory nut collecting on this beautiful November day. The woods are delightful. The yellows outshine the others right now and give a brilliant glow to the ground below.

With a little imagination -- jcarolek

This afternoon I took a stroll down to the newly built pier WITH the camera (finally). I had a whole seven photos snapped when the batteries gave up (can we say, “poor planning?”) But what I got, I was happy with. So, I thought I’d share. This is the current state of the “pond” awaiting completion of the dam and spillway rebuild so that we can once again enjoy water, and fishing. For now, this is a “dry dock”.

Approaching the pier, at the end of our path through the woods:

Ryan's Reality -- jcarolek

The little boy lived next door to us for about two years. He was just shy of five when he and his mother moved in with our neighbor, and we moved away just before he turned seven. His name was Ryan.

Ryan was one of those kids who is full of energy and cannot seem to find enough outlets to expend that energy. His daily routine included the sad faces from the kindergarten teacher, for some offense, and his sad face when he explained to us his failure to achieve the happy face. Nevertheless, for whatever reason, this little guy thought John and I were the best thing since sliced bread. Almost every day, after he saw me drive into the garage, returning from work, he’d ring the doorbell, and ask if either John or I could “play.”

One day, I was playing in the yard with Ryan, teaching him how to stand on his head. I have had this little skill in my repertoire since I was about four years old, so, to me it is second nature. I carefully demonstrated the method, as my father had taught me. With the crown of my head on the ground, and my arms,

Your daughter has the following defect -- jcarolek

Your daughter has the following defect. Yes, that is what the letter said, given to my daughter to carry home to her parents. Defect? What? Me? I have a defective daughter?? Is there a Lemon Law or something I can invoke right now? I don’t want to have to deal with a daughter that has already been deemed defective at age five!

Well, as it turns out, my daughter’s defect was her

A truly disturbing dream -- jcarolek

I read an earlier post that was a silly picture of a supposed dream...and that made me think of a dream I had....

The most vividly disturbing dream I ever recall having was 19 years ago. I still can feel that horrible sensation I had when consciousness dragged me from my sleep. In my dream my then hubby and I were getting ready to close on our house. We were in the middle of getting all of the inspections and approvals and such. And we were living in the house, renting before completing the purchase. So, the dream started off, well rooted in reality, for this was, indeed, what we were going through.