This is Dick, her (now) fiancé. He has been very good for my sister, and is a good man in any case. He is retired and they do a lot of travelling. He has also brought up some good kids who have welcomed Colleen with open arms. It took him long enough to ask her, but he is the kind of man who wants to make sure it is right before stepping off of a cliff.
Elyse, Kyra, Bradley and I all wish them the best of life in their future together.
A Blog is a place to discuss events and situations, allowing for the blog to form as the creator intends.
I intended and continue to intend that this be a photo blog of pictures I have taken. But for now, I'm going to use it like a Soapbox...
A mother who is actually one of my closest friends sent me her story about the Trials and Tribulations of outfitting kids for the start of school. What really gets me about the whole process was the lack of consistency from one school to another within the same district.
The high school which her oldest son attends has a dress code policy: you must be dressed. That's it. End of Policy.
The junior high has a very in-depth policy that even goes so far as to what STYLE of khakis are best (Pleated of course). They only accept four colors for shirts. Saywah? and only two of those are actual colors. The other two are grey and white. not the best colors for Polo’s. And no logos? The only Polo shirts I know of with no logo on the breast are Puritan, the cheap shirts from Wal-mart. Now, I’m probably the least fashion conscious person on the globe, but Puritan shirts are scratchy, stiff, and do not last long before they are stretched, ripped, or just unwearable.
Now, this is a single mother of two. Not the easiest job in the world and far from the richest. Also consider that she has just moved to this city from another in Texas with a much more laid back and cohesive policy. So expecting her to lay out additional money simply because the school was too lazy to advise parents of new students of these restrictions ahead of time is absurd.
I suppose the reasoning on this dress code is to eliminate gang violence. Well, I've never been in a gang, but I was around some gang violence in school. Oh yeah, it's true. In the early 90's we had to have police escorts a few times for our buses to and from school. You know what's really sad about that? My school was in Colbert, OK. Yep, Podunk Oklahoma. Had one student who brought a gun to school. I'm not talking about the kid who drove his daddy's truck to school and forgot to take the Winchester off the rack (that happened too). It was a 25-caliber semi-automatic found hidden in the boys locker room. I don't remember what happened to the kid, but this was before Columbine.
Don't even get me started on the Loafers....
So, without further Ado...
Subject: A rant from me....true story
It looks like it's time for a "Come to Jesus meeting"....I went clothes shopping in plenty of time for the boys to be ready for school....we got jeans, shirts, shoes, undershirts, socks....you name it.....and then to my amazement (and please let me add....not so enthused and not a bit amused!), Corey brings home a piece of paper that would send me into a tailspin.....
You see, apparently there was a bridge gap on the day that I registered him because that's all that transpired on that day....no discussion about what he needed, what to expect the first day....in fact, other than the necessary dialogue for the actual registration, there was none. Perhaps it was the excitement that the government would be supporting their school for one more child that it was not mentioned to me in error.
At any rate, the paper stated on it "The Dress Code" and it went like this....
"shirts -
t-shirts - plain cotton t-shirts that are not snug or clingy, must have ribbed collar and sleeves and be in good repair. Acceptable colors: gold, maroon, gray, white. NO logos or pictures are acceptable and all shirts must be unisex.
polo style - must have a placard with 1 to 3 buttons. Must have a knit collar and the above colors are acceptable. No logos or pictures are acceptable. Must be in good repair and unisex.
bottoms (aka pants) -
Solid color denim only- no fading, wash (acid, or other). Jeans must be in good repair with no tearing or necessary mending to the cuffs.
tan khakis - TAN only. Pleated khakis bring about the best appearance of the students.
shoes - business style loafers are best. White or black solid color tennis shoes are acceptable and must be accompanied by matching laces. Laces are required to be tied properly. NO logos, prints or designs on shoes will be acceptable.
Belts must be worn at all times. Acceptable belts are belts that are professional in nature. Acceptable colors are black, brown, gray."
Okay, now that you have the paper in front of you that was forced upon me last night, let me give you a bit of a feel for my "opinions". Dress codes are GREAT and necessary! Uniforms are wonderful. I have absolutely NO qualms with uniforms...in fact, I would prefer them. They make life so much easier day-to-day. BUT.....expect me to know that the school is on a strict uniform regulation? Through what means was I to learn this?
Um, why is all of this necessary to start with? I mean, if you went to the high school (which I did yesterday and can attest to this fact), there is obviously NO dress code other than that of "you must wear clothing". It doesn't even tell you how much to wear or what portions of the body should be covered. Obviously, carry over isn't of near the importance there as it is in say Algebra??
Another thing....could somebody PLEASE tell me where to purchase a pair of tennis shoes that do not have a logo on them? ALL shoes have these....at least tennis style shoes do.
Okay, so we make a run to the nearest Academy. They have everything you could possibly need there...shoes, clothes...and they seem to be the most reasonably priced in the area. Has anyone in the decision making department at the school REALLY priced this stuff? Do they have children???? I would bet not!!!
At the end of the shopping trip, which might I add will only cover a few days before washing becomes necessary, I had spent an additional $150!!! Not that washing is a problem since I wash most everyday...but is that really the point? No. The point is that I spent MORE money on school clothes when had I known then what I know now wouldn't have created a problem....and I will still have to go back there because I had only a certain amount of money last night.
School Lunches? Yes, they are served....for $3.50 per child per day.
.....and I haven't purchased the required supplies yet....
Has anyone seen the Time Warner commercial yet where the grim reaper and 2 little guys dressed like him are at a man's home? The guy looks up and says "Grim Reaper, what are you doing here...and who are they?" GR says "Nickel and dime....you didn't switch to Time Warner". Guy says "So, I've been nickeled and dimed to death?"......anyway, moral is that's how I feel.....
Oh, by the way....I choose to send this with some sarcasm and comedy behind it....LIFE IS SHORT...I am not going to live it in misery! :) Have a great day!
