I'm Still Here.

You can't get rid of me that easily.

I'm so overwhelmed with busy that when I get a chance to not be busy I seize that moment....and sleep.

I'm in full fundraising mode. The plans for the Spring Tea are well underway. We've sold 32 tickets for the first seating (I said it was sold out...it's not actually but we're trying to encourage second seating sales) and 15 tickets for the second seating. I'm hoping some more Red Hat groups come through and buy some more tickets. I've been purposely completely accidentally leaving copies of the flyer for the Spring Tea in public places like the change room of the gym, the ATM vestibule, taped to bus shelters, in hopes of getting a few more sales.

This is the part where the shameless begging begins.  If you've already pledged to our team....feel free to skip this paragraph. If not...please.....read on.  Come to the tea. Or barring that, buy a ticket and don't come to the tea. Or barring that, buy a tote bag. Or barring make a pledge to our fantastic team....in memory of my Dad or of someone you love who is fighting or has lost their battle with cancer. 

I've only got 8 weeks left to reach our goal of $3000. We're at $900 now. I'm hoping my brothers really come through. I can get us $1000 in pledges, surely together they can find $500. And then my Uncle has pledged to double it and Bob's Your Uncle...we have $3000.  (actually, Paul's my Uncle...ha ha)

And then it starts all over again.

I've been busy at work too. I'm finally starting to feel that twinge...when is summer....when is summer? Don't get me wrong, I'm still honeymooning over my job but I'm tired.  I'm ready for a break. I'm ready for some sun. I'm ready to sleep in. I'm ready to stop paying daycare fees.

There's a lot of bitching and whining going on with the ECE's about the union again. Apparently not everyone gets that collective bargaining is a process and doesn't happen overnight. So while we work without a contract (something we knew would be the case when we voted our union in) some are unhappy with the time it's taking to negotiate. So they want to oust this union in favour of joining one that will roll us into an existing unit - therefore an immediate contract.....and while that's all fine and dandy like wine and candy (shit I'm tired) it's forgetting the bigger picture and why we voted in the other union in the first place.

Whatever.

Next in my random post of posts....

My cousin had one of his short stories published (actually he's had a few published) but I kind of liked this one (not that I didn't like the others)
Feel free to enjoy it. It's not long (hence - a short story)


And finally - because this damned song has been going through my head for weeks now....a short video. My Canadian readers who were old enough in the 80's will likely remember this. Enjoy a bit of Canadiana

When Did I Get Old?

One of my Pumpkin Patch sisters commented the other day that her 3 year old son calls her "Mom" now instead of Mommy.

I remember that shift with Emily. Thankfully Mary and Connor still both call me Mommy but I remember how crushed I was when Emily stopped.

I see Emily now, 11 going on 20. She's a good kid. She's got good friends, she's got a good mind. She's not a follower in the sense that she gives into peer pressure - she knows right from wrong and more often than not makes the right choice (and when she makes the wrong choice it's not usually over something huge) She's not a leader in the sense that she's got a trail of kids behind her doing her bidding. She's got a few good friends and a wider group of more casual friends.  I'm proud of my pre teen.

The other day I was watching Survivor with Em. We both love the show still. I've made a wager with a co worker and each week I get closer to winning my bet.
This past Wednesday one of my people got voted off though. Afterward I texted a simple word to my co worker. "Shit"
He texted something back to me, I don't remember what but then I texted back "LOL"

Emily saw this and said "Did you just send LOL?"
Me: Yeah, why?
Emily: It's weird!
Me: What's weird? LOL? Is that 'not cool' to text anymore?
Emily: No! It's weird that YOU are saying LOL. That's for young people!

W. T. F.??? (Is THAT for young people smart ass??!!)

Upon further discussion I've discovered the following.

A: In Emily's eyes I'm old.

B: Just because other 11 year olds think I'm cool doesn't mean she does.

C: Just because I am in tune with the current young people trends (a perk of working in an elementary school) doesn't make me young/cool by default

D: Apparently, despite the fact that I was LOLing long before she was even born does not mean I'm permitted to use it in a text or IM because.....it's weird......I'm old.

So, I'm going to have to coin my own text-speak. One for us 'old people'

So, my dear online friends, the next time you post something I find humorous, I will not LOL you. I will post this:

PDOPC

Polite and Dignified Old Person Chuckle.