Movin' On Up

For the third time this week, I'm staring down a blank page in Microsoft Word, trying to figure out where to start an article that's due in a hurry.  So I thought I'd get my creative juices flowing here first instead.  (By the way, recently read a blurb from a George Orwell essay in which he said you should never use in your writing a phrase you've heard or read before, so sorry about that "creative juices" bit. Getting creative isn't looking too promising...)

There's not much that's more creative than kindergarten, where learning is play and play is constant.  We went a couple of weeks ago to our baby's kindergarten orientation (yes, both our kids will be in school next year!), and the teacher kicked off the event by musing on independence.  She exhorted us to let our kids do as much for themselves as possible this summer, but then softened a bit, saying that while she'd encourage our little ones to try tying their own shoes or opening their own milk cartons first, she would indeed help them when they needed it.

That's the point at which our girl, from her perch on one of those tiny kindergarten chairs, leaned in my direction and stage-whispered, "It sounds pretty good so far."

Mars and Venus Go Shopping

Earlier this week, I enjoyed a glorious solo trip to the grocery store.  Yes, my standards for "glorious" have dropped slightly since I had children, but those of you who have taken kids under 10 up and down the aisles of Pick 'N Save or Wegmans of Kings know completely what I mean.

As I unloaded my heaping cart, I surveyed at the folks around me doing the same and noticed a fellow in the next check-out line over buying two packages of bologna and an industrial-sized bag of store-brand Berry Puffs cereal.  Pushing my cart out of the store, I saw an older gent carrying a single plastic grocery sack with nothing but a giant can of Maxwell House inside.  I imagined these fellows arriving home to their wives, who would shake their heads and sigh.