Why are the Drawers Empty?

Mornings can be hectic--made more so when Chris is away. I gain a real appreciation for how many things just magically get done in my life--like laundry.  When the drawers get low, magically they seem to fill up.

It doesn't happen like that when she is away.

So this week I am again experiencing the joy of life alone--Orioles Baseball on the TV, laundry piling up in the hamper, cleaning the litter box, feeding the cats (why exactly do we have cats?), trying to keep a sense of normalcy in the face of abnormal activity.

The hardest part is trying to ensure Makayla doesn't have to goo too many hours without human contact--12 is about the longest I've ever pushed her bladder.

Wednesday could be a problem!  E-day.

Ethan may have to take a ride with me to fetch the dog. He hates going places after school. He would prefer to eat and veggie out after a hard day of Kindergarten learning.

I don't blame him, either. I don't really like going out after work. I become the world's greatest homebody.

Absence makes the heart grow finder, they say.

I find that I just have to work harder.

Oh, and did I mention the blasted rain? What another downer on life.

But the pile in the hamper isn't going to magically disappear this morning--so I need to get moving or the cats will probably take matters into their own paws and the dog may revolt.  I sense a coup coming on.

Monday Musings - May 16, 2011

1. Every week has its own rhythm--and this one is already off to a fast start.

2. It is sad that the weather has been too cold for pool activities--it is open and wanting people to play in it, but at 65 degrees--it is just a tad (OK 15 degrees) too cold.

3. Dogs are constants in life--they love and then they love some more no matter what craziness is going on around them.

4. The lawn got mowed yesterday despite the weather forecast--and I got sunburned, too.

5. The swing set saw some brief use yesterday--it still took me longer to trim around it than the kids played on it.

6. It was youth Sunday at church yesterday--how can I bottle some of that energy for later use?

7. Trains, planes, automobiles and buses--the winner in the NYC round-trip is: Bus at $17 each way. That is less than the tolls on the New Jersey Turnpike.

Staying busy

So the question is..how do you keep a three-year old busy while working on the pool?

Let him chase the pool cleaner. Was good for almost 15 minutes.

Something to brighten a gloomy day

So the day is pretty much a washout.

Rainy and overcast.

I saw this iris in my garden changing its whole area from gray to color and I realized that while the skies may be rainy and overcast, we still carry sunshine in our hearts.

O's Fantastic Finish

I just have to say--I had the joy of watching a 12-inning baseball game that lasted less that three hours Thursday evening which saw my beloved Orioles come from behind in the bottom of the 12th inning to win.

I saw, for the first time in my life live--two pitchers throw shut-outs for nine innings and neither got the victory or loss.  They were magnificent--although, and I'm biased, the Oriole pitcher Zach Britton was better facing only two batters over the minimum of 27 for 9 innings.

The game was scoreless through 11 innings.

And short--efficient and crisp.  I have suffered through nine-inning games that took longer to play.

Random Photos from Mother's Day

I Know It is Here Somewhere

Sharing!  Remember?

Got It Together

I Am Smiling

Don't Make Me Laugh--I'm Near the Water

Mothers

Mother and Children

Thinking of Sailing Away?

And Poppop gets Stuck Carrying the Driftwood

I was reviewing the many photos taken during our Mother's Day excursion to the State Capitol and decided to share some of them. They are all pretty good--but these were special. Chris took all of the ones that she is not in.  I took those.

Zero Tolerance is an Abuse of Justice

There, I wrote it.

I have written it before, although  maybe not so direct in Zero Tolerance is for Computers.

In the name of zero tolerance, mindless people in positions of authority blindly apply directives without regard for what makes us different from any other animal or plant on the planet: the ability to reason.

Today, I submit an article from yesterday's Baltimore Sun titled: Two Easton lacrosse players suspended under zero-tolerance policies.

Let me summarize the article for you--but I encourage you to read it for yourself.

Two high school lacrosse players were found to have contraband--a pen knife and a lighter in their lacrosse gear bags during a search of the players for alcohol before a game.  The items, as confirmed by the coaches, were used to repair their sticks during matches.  The boy with the pen knife, Graham, was handcuffed and charged as a juvenile with possession of a deadly weapon and suspended for 10 days.  The other boy, Casey, was suspended for one day for having a lighter which was classified by the school as an explosive device.

Another Baltimore Sun article summarizes the situation as follows:
"Talbot County residents are no doubt sleeping easier after the school system used a policy of zero tolerance for deadly weapons to crack down on two high school lacrosse players who were caught with a small penknife and a lighter used to repair their sticks. However, we feel it important to warn them that they still may not be safe. After all, we hear that the baseball and softball players bring dozens of long, aluminum clubs with them to games and practices. For that matter, children as young as kindergarten routinely carry sharp, wooden sticks, and there are even special machines in virtually every classroom to hone these "pencils" to murderous points."

Here is the problem--on the sidelines of lacrosse matches coaches and officials considered these to be tools of the sport. In the equipment bags on the bus headed to the game they were considered contraband by a school official.

The ramifications of the actoons of the principal on these boys' future college careers could be significant, by having to report a suspension on their applications.  Further aggravated by the school superintendent's letter to Graham's parents which read: ""Given the severity of this violation expulsion is warranted," she wrote to the family in a letter in April. But because of extenuating circumstances, she said, she would allow the student to return to school after 10 days."

Really?

This is mindless application of rules without engaging the brain.

And people wonder why educators (think about this for a moment), are held in low esteem by many people.  The very people who should be advocating for the application of reason and common sense are the very ones mindlessly applying rules without thinking--is a pen knife in a lacrosse bag really a dangerous weapon for which a high school senior should be suspended? Especially when it is used as a tool and has been approved for use as a tool by other educators (the coaches)?  And then the superintendent writes a letter like what was written.

And don't forget--Graham served the entire suspension (missing valuable teaching time) while his parents attempted to appeal after being given erroneous information about not being able to appeal. So whether he is cleared or not and ultimately gets his record expunged--the punishment was served.

Casey is also working to get his record expunged, too. The school handbook, reportedly, does not define a lighter as an explosive device.

What is the message here?

Maybe going to college makes people dumber?

No the real message is that we need to be able to apply rational thinking to situations and not hide under a zero tolerance policy.

Reflections on Annapolis

Annapolis Statehouse

Annapolis

Standing on the very end of the piers Sunday where Annapolis drops off into the river and out into the bay, I was reminded of the quaint beauty of the capitol city of Maryland. Looking back on the Capitol Building as the dark clouds were gathering behind it, yet it was still in bright sunshine we a scene to remember--and we snapped enough images of it to hopefully remember it anyway.

The streets were crowded with shoppers and walkers and the occasional Navy-whites clad academy students making their way through the crowd.

It was pleasant.

The traffic was snarled, as it usually is but no one seemed to mind to much--that is just the way it is. Annapolis is like that. Don't go there is you worry about getting snarled in traffic--you will.

Sunday, Mother's Day, a day to remember.

Monday Musings - May 9, 2011

1. A day to remember Mother's.  And I realized--for a lot of people there is pain associated with the day. Raw emotions of loss and emotions of not being able to have.  Yet we are all children and it is a necessary time to remember Moms.

2.  A week later and he is still in the news--Osama bin Laden-that just tells me how much he affected all of us in his hatred for our way of life and the threat he posed.

3. I saw the locust trees were in bloom along the road and I remarked to Chris that I hadn't seen them around the house yet. But, as we returned last evening after the day in Annapolis, I smelled their sweet fragrance on the breeze and knew that while I hadn't seen them, they were still there.

4. Chris and I remarked while driving yesterday that the leaves have fully filled in the blank spaces of the trees. Spring has done its job and we are ready for summer. If only the temperatures would cooperate.

5. I have to brag a bit, as Chris and I were driving to Annapolis yesterday with the top down on the convertible, she looked at me and remarked: "I love this car on days like this."

6. I love the car every day--yesterday was just the icing on the cake.

7. Another reflection on yesterday's adventure: the day had every marking of a catastrophe in the making, nine people in four different vehicles with occupants on four different missions all coming together in a small crowded city to spend time together shopping and wandering around. BUT--amazingly, it worked, really well. Congrats to all. And dinner was a good choice, too. Next year, let's try to be a bit more green! But, maybe it worked because everyone knew they could pull out at anytime and no one felt trapped in a bad situation they could not extricate themselves from. And as it turns out--it wasn't bad.

8. Just a note on the Orioles. That sucking sound coming from Camden Yards is the Orioles season going down the drain unless they can figure out how to score more than 2.3 runs per game (last three games). For the season, the pitchers ERA is 4.77 and the batters are only scoring 3.91 runs per game--someone tell me how that is going to work out at the end of the season. I'm not a genius--but I can see that the math does not add up.

9. Discovered while shopping yesterday: there is one thing I do like to shop for and that is wine. Especially when samples are offered!

10. Coolest thing discovered when shopping yesterday--Himalayan Mineral Salt--it is a nice shade of pink.

Annapolis on Mother's Day

A Mom is Always "On Call"

The crew was together enjoying the day. I got to buy some wine as we enjoyed the city.

Cameras flashing and the mothers in the group were enjoying their special day.

It was a beautiful day