just a quick one tonight - of random, mostly useless stuff....read on

Kids are so freakin' honest. It kills me sometimes - as in, sometimes they are so honest that you want to smack them, others, you kind of have to envy them.

Take this evening for example. I teach a Sunday School class to grades 1-3 in our church. Now if you know kids, you know that there is a drastic difference between a grade 1-er and a grade 3-er...this creates a bit of a challenge in planning activities that won't seem babyish to my 9 and 10 year olds, and will also allow the 5 and 6 year olds to participate without thinking they have stepped into some grad-school theology class.

So tonight I lay out all these materials we will be working on - a glow in the dark angel, a fill-it-in page, and an activity sheet. I ask the kids to put their names on everything so that they will remember which is theirs when they take it home, to which one little girl replies, "It doesn't matter, my mom and dad throw out all this stuff as soon as I leave the class". This was a smackable moment. But on the other hand, it's not something that I didn't already suspect, if not know for certain. I mean, I myself have tossed my daughters' SS stuff before the night was through. Now that I am on the other side though, and know the time and prep it takes to be ready to entertain and hopefully teach these kids, I have a newfound appreciation for the things they bring home. Does this mean I will become an instant packrat saving every day-glo angel and verse memory sheet until they move out? No. It just means I may save it for more than an hour or two.

Back to the blatant honesty thing: Sometimes I wish I had no fear of hurting someone and just said what I was really thinking. How many times have I agreed to some asinine plan for fear of letting someone down? How many times have I endured HORRIBLE customer service in order to be tactful? How many gifts and misc other items have I accepted from people and said - I will get rid of it when they are not looking? Maybe I really do need to take a lesson from my SS kids and muster up some courage - say what I mean and mean what I say kind of thing. Hmm. Food for thought.

How's this for a radical change of subject? I shaved my legs yesterday - and when I say this, it is a very very monumental occasion - as I only shave about 3 times a winter (yes, I have a very loving and forgiving hubby). SO anyways, I decided to shave legs and give myself a much needed pedicure (hello, cracked feet - OUCH) and was quite pleased with the result - soft silky legs, feet that didn't get caught on the sheets, a nice surprise flash of blue nailpolish when getting up this morning.

I enjoyed it all, that is, until I went out in the frigid cold this morning. That is when the hair follicles, having become accustomed to the long-hairedness, all perked up to attention in a feeble attempt at insulation. This was a very painful moment as all the microscopic fuzzies immediately CLUNG to my jeans. It was almost like velcro. Yeah, not pleasant.

So, despite my husband's glee at not sleeping with a yeti-woman last night, I have to break it to him that I will not be shaving until the snow melts. Or I am surprised with an impromptu vacation to Maui. Odds are good it will be the snow before the trip.

Lastly, I will leave you with this: I officially am done with winter. We had another big dumping of snow yesterday and were snowed in from going to church. UGH. Seriously. Now before anyone tells me (not that anyone views this blog or comments on it) that I am Canadian and therefore should be used to the snow, I say this: If I had a choice, I would not live here. I love my little house, my neighbours, my church, etc. but I would love even more if all those things existed in someplace warm and dry. If I did not see snow again in my lifetime, I could most definitely handle it. This has given way to a renewed dream of living south - maybe Arizona? Who knows.

I do try to make the best of a bad situation, tell myself that without the snow I would not truly appreciate the sun, but honestly, it's not working very well. You will have to excuse me now as I go shovel the front walkway. Again.