The Halloween That Wasn't

This year Halloween didn’t happen. At least, not in the traditional sense.  We had a big nor’easter a few days before that wreaked havoc on trees that had not yet shed their leaves.  Thousands of people were without electricity.  Streets were dark and littered with downed branches and wires.  We went into survival, not haunting mode.

While some people got their power back within 24 hours, for many it took more than a week!  Communities sent out robo-calls updating the status of the power companies’ progress as well as-gasp-to cancel Halloween!  It just wasn’t safe.  I didn’t even walk the dog—I hibernated—and gained five pounds!  And no, those five pounds weren’t from the leftover Halloween candy.  I sent that to my son’s girlfriend’s house. 

We didn’t have much food in our refrigerator/freezer upstairs nor our chest freezer in the cellar, yet we didn’t want to lose what we did have so we packed coolers with snow and started cooking.  Because we have a gas stove we still could use the burners if we lit them manually.  We ate and ate. 

Hanging out at local warming centers during the day gave me a glimpse into my future.  The Senior Center in Agawam still had internet!  It was fun sitting in the computer room with the older folks as they checked their email and watched their soap operas.  It just wasn’t comfortable sitting home trying to stay warm with no source of heat.  Our oil burner uses electricity so we had no heat or hot water.  By boiling water on the stove, solar gain during the day, and candles at night we could get the house temperature up to a roaring 58^o F.

We were lucky, we survived the week.  Friends and family offered hot meals and showers.  Many people also showered at the YMCA.  I missed the coffee maker most of all. Coffee was percolated four cups at a time on the stove.  The quality was inconsistent—too weak, too strong, burned, etc.  It’s too bad we’re so dependent on these modern conveniences. 

Above all this week gave me a greater appreciation of our forebears who endured much bigger inconveniences to get us to where we are today.  

Jaywalking is NOT Cool

Chickens aren’t the only ones who cross the road. We all have to get to the other side eventually. The safest and smartest way to do that is to not only look both ways but also obey the pedestrian laws.

The other day I saw three young, probably pre to early teen, boys cross the street. Not just any street, a four lane state highway that runs through my town. Granted, the top speed for that stretch of the road is 30 miles per hour, but we all know that drivers often exceed the speed limits.

Anyway, not only were these boys sauntering across the road during rush hour traffic, they were about 20 feet outside of the crosswalk. Oh, and did I mention this crosswalk has a pushbutton to change the lights at the intersection so pedestrians can cross safely? It gets better: they crossed right in front of a police car that was traveling at a high rate of speed with the blue lights blazing.

Newsflash—cars can’t stop on a dime! At 30 mph with dry road conditions, it takes about 90 feet for a car to stop.

As a driver I make sure I stop for pedestrians. Not only is it the law, I would be devastated if I ever hurt or killed anyone. But pedestrians have to do their part, too. Cross in the crosswalks! If you push the crosswalk button, wait for the light!!! The rules vary from town to town. Obeying the traffic rules not only prevents you from getting a ticket, it can save your life.

Manners--A Thing of the Past?

The teenagers in my neighborhood don’t know it but they’re participating in a little experiment of mine. When I’m out walking Benny the Wonder Dog before school in the mornings the high schoolers are waiting for their buses. I don’t want to walk rudely by them so I say “Good morning” or “Hello.” The first time this happened not one of them responded to me. I thought they didn’t hear me. But when it happened the second time I realized they didn’t know that when someone says “Good morning” to you it is good manners to say “Good morning” right back.

So that’s when I decided to start my experiment. What would it take to get a teenager to say good morning to a middle aged lady walking a semi-neurotic dog?  (Or is it a middle aged dog walking a semi-neurotic lady?)

The next day I made a bit of a ruckus as I approached those three young ladies at their bus stop. They had their backs to me and as Benny and I got closer, two of them turned around. I greeted them with my usual cheery, “Good morning.” One girl responded with a polite, “Good morning,” one girl kept her back to me and the other one just turned back around. Progress, I thought.

The next day I upped the ante. Not only did I say, “Good morning,” I also said, “Have a nice day.” “You, too,” responded the spokesperson of the group. She smiled. I smiled. It was a good start to the day.

Manners make the world a better place. Let’s be a littler nicer to each other. We’re all in this together.

What do you think? Please me a comment. I’d love to hear from you!

Brat Factor

When I entered the grocery store last night, I knew I was in for trouble. An ear-piercing shriek emanated from the produce section. Wincing, it didn’t take long to discover the source of the ruckus: two rambunctious children under the age of six were playing tag around the fruit and vegetable bins. A tired looking mom and dad basically ignored their offspring occasionally muttering, “Quiet down.” But due to the lack of follow-through, those two hellions pretty much ran amok.

I love children, on occasion. I like children, usually. Last night, however, I had evil thoughts of tripping them as they ran past my cart. I envisioned hiding around a corner and jumping out as they dashed by to scare the-you-know-what out of them. I was even hoping they would slip and fall.  I wanted to say something to the parents, like, "Do your job!"

Spurred to action by the uproar, I grocery shopped in record time. I couldn’t wait to get out of the store and away from the misbehaving children. But wait, was it misbehaving? Is it unreasonable to expect children to be well-behaved in public?

Recently, on Dr. Phil’s show, there was a discussion on “Brat Ban.” Some restaurants are banning children under six. CLICK HERE  to read more about this topic .

It all boils down to expectations. I do expect children to be well-behaved when necessary. The only way they can do so is to be taught what is expected of them, consistently. There is a time and a place for everything. The grocery store is not a place for tag, in my opinion.

What do you think? What would you have done? Please leave me a comment. I’d love to hear from you!

Getting Organized

My second grade teacher had a method for dealing with students with messy desks:  dump them on the floor.  You guessed it; my desk was dumped almost on a daily basis.  Quite frankly, it didn’t make me more organized.   Embarrassed, I just picked up all the stuff and crammed it right back into my desk.  I often wonder where I would be today if I had been taught organizational strategies when I was younger.

               

In my classroom we spend a lot of time during the first few days of school organizing our materials and supplies in our desks.  I give the students zip lock ® bags and plastic trays to corral their belongings.  I even draw a diagram on the board as to how these things should fit into their desks.  But it never fails, every year I always have some students who struggle with organization. 

               

This year is no different.  Part of the problem is that when I say, for example, to put a math paper in their red math folders, they don’t do it.  I’m not sure why.  Perhaps they don’t hear me, they’re not paying attention, or they just don’t care. 

               

No big deal, you’re probably saying.  It is a big deal when I tell the students to get such and such a paper from their folder and invariably there’s one kid who says, “I can’t find it.”  The whole lesson or activity comes to a screeching halt while I attend to the needs of this one student.  I can tell it frustrates the rest of the class.  It certainly frustrates me.

              

I try to assign helpers to these less-than-organized kiddos.  Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn’t.  I’m just not sure what else to do.  

Do you have any suggestions?  I’m willing to try just about anything!  Leave me a comment.  I’d love to hear from you.

Letting Your Child Stay Home Alone

One of my favorite movies of all time is “Home Alone.”  It’s amazing how an eight-year-old boy, Kevin McCallister (played by Mccaulay Culkin), outsmarts the bad guys!  Unfortunately that doesn’t always happen in real life.

It’s important to stay safe when you’re home alone, no matter how old you are.  People think this is just something to think about for children, but it’s also something we need to keep in mind for our elders, too.

We thought our elderly mom would be safe in her own home.  She has a monitored alarm system, answering machine, and keyed deadbolts.  We told her over and over not to let anyone in.

It took a couple of tries—Mom told us that a man had come over and tried to talk his way into the house but she refused.  But then that one time, she let him in. 

The man said he had to check the water so he sent her into the kitchen and had her turn on the water.  In a flash he was back in the kitchen, told her she was all set, and left. 

It could have been worse—“all” she lost was some money, she could’ve been hurt or killed.  But all of us were robbed that day of our sense of safety and security for Mom in her home. 

Have you ever let anyone in your home and then regretted it?  Has anyone tried to gain entry to your home but you refused?  Please leave me a comment.  I’d love to hear from you!

Cutting Your Own Hair Can Be a Disaster

I don’t know why but I don’t like going to get my hair cut.  I put it off and put it off until my hair style is shaggy and all grown out with lots of dry ends due to all my pool time. 

One time I was invited to my niece’s baptism and once again I’d put off going to the salon.  I thought I would take matters into my own hands.   How hard could it be? 

My hair was short back then and cutting the bangs wasn’t so bad.  The sides came off next, one side was longer than the other so I kept snipping left and right until they were even, sort of, and really, really short.

I remembered how the stylist used the clippers to layer the hair in the back.  I felt confident that I could do it myself.  I started clipping the back of my head.  Bzzz, bzzz, bzzz.  The hair fell to the floor and when I looked in the mirror—I had shaved all the hair off the back of my head!

What to do?  What to do?  I wore a sequined hat to the event thinking no one would notice.  Hah!  Nothing escapes the eagle eyes of my older sister Cindy.  She noticed immediately and wanted to know what had happened.

After hearing my explanation, she shook her head and said, “Only you, Patti, only you.”  So I am no longer allowed to cut my own hair—my children forbid it.  I’m due for a trim—overdue, actually. 

I meant to get it cut last weekend but there was this hurricane…

Have you ever had a self-haircutting disaster?  Perhaps you cut someone else’s hair?  Please leave me a comment.  I’d love to hear from you!