Spring has never been my favorite season, simply because Atlanta could be accurately re-named Pollen-ville, but this spring is already here and it's lovely. For the moment, I am glad to not be stuck in a cubicle all day every day.
I am enjoying the weather - highs in the 60's, sunshine. Michael and I spent a fair amount of time yesterday on the patio while he did homework and I puttered around with pots and dirt and seeds. We have been out there every day and it's so lovely, even when it's a bit windy, like yesterday.
My seedlings are flying out of their little pots, but they aren't hearty enough to stand up well yet. I re-potted some of them in tall paper cups yesterday. I still hesitate to stick them in the cold ground. I cannot bear the thoughts of the plant "babies" succumbing to the chill...
I went in for testing today for a job, and the building was right next to Home Depot. I cruised past the garden department to see if they had put out bedding plants yet and they had not. Still showing pansies, which is strange. I bet by April 1 there will be tons of flowers out.
The testing went well, although it was a little scary. I hate typing tests, but this was on a keyboard where you had to really mash each key on the keyboard and so it slowed me way down. Then I was typing a passage from a Hemingway book and he likes loooooong sentences. They said I did OK, though. The requirement is 50 wpm. Then I had to take a logic test, which was interesting. Lots of word meanings, which was mostly easy for me. Lots of sequences of numbers where they asked you the next number in the sequence. Also easy. I can'd do higher math at all, but I rock at doing simple math in my head. Fingers crossed they will call me in for an interview soon. It's for a company legal department, and unlike law firms they tend to be pretty slow in hiring. Took me 5 weeks and 3 different interviews to get hired at Home Depot.
Michael hates school. He makes good grades, but he hates it. Yet, if I homeschooled him I know he would be bored. So every time he asks why he has to go to school, I don't know what to say. I usually say "So you can get an education and you won't have to clean toilets and dig ditches the rest of your life!" Somehow, that doesn't inspire him. We have talked about the importance of an education endlessly. I don't know what else to tell him.
Early influences are always strong in a child's life. Mike's birth mom was a laborer. I think she did construction work, and his birth older brother was a juvenile delinquent and probably never worked. So those were his earliest influences. How do I counteract that? I've told him he won't be able to afford a cool car or a nice apartment unless he gets a decent job, and to get a decent job he has to get a good education. That's too many steps to remember. Plus, I don't want to foster materialism. I want him to love learning. I just can't seem to get him to see how important school is, yet.
I think a big problem is that Mike is so smart he is often bored in class. Mother and I were both smart kids and we were often bored. We both carried around books and read surrepticiously all through school. It's how we coped. Mike isn't that big of a reader.
If you have any ideas or suggestions, please let me know.
[A FUNNY] A DOG'S LETTER TO GOD
This thing came around on the email and I think it's so cute and funny, I wanted to share. I couldn't copy the cute photos, alas, so I stuck in some shots of Coco...
Dear God: Why are there cars named after
