In No Particular Order, The Week in Review:The Path Less Traveled
I had to make a delivery this week to a place I have been countless times. I always take 1 of 2 routes. As I was coming up to the section of road where I needed to decide which way to turn, I suddenly took a slightly different approach; a path I had never taken before. This "new" route actually made much more sense. I had an "Aha Moment".
So many times we get stuck in a routine and don't look for other, potentially better options. With child-like optimism, I made a promise to myself to start taking the "Road Less Traveled".
PT Oh!:
I went to another PTO meeting. I had a few Ah Ha realizations:
- It is far easier (and interesting) to sit through a monthly hour-long PTO meeting than to try to keep up with the flood of paper from school that hits our kitchen table daily. I learned information that I would have other-wise missed. There's also the layer of subtext that is not found in a newsletter!
- Arrive early, and sit where you can see everyone in the room. Keep a smile frozen on your face and try not to make eye-contact unless absolutely necessary with the "Alpha-Moms". Remember, like wild animals, they are more afraid of you than you are of them.
- Make at least one friend so you have someone to sit & chat with.
- Count the number of parents in the room and divide by the number of families in your school. By my calculations, between 1-2% of the parent population is represented. I thought back to one of my favorite movies, Napoleon Dynamite, and realized that alienated and "outsider" parents like myself are really in the majority. I don't know about you, but I'm gonna vote for Pedro! I'm also going to keep attending these meetings for the rest of the year. It'll help build my character and give me the appearance of an involved, caring parent!
Cheap vs Values
I learned from my post on the SuperBowl / GoDaddy Ads that men like things that are "Cheap" (including "cheap" ads) and women are more value(s) oriented.
Fallen Hero
Speaking of values, I've been asked by a few people who know my boys are swimmers about my views on the Michael Phelp's scandal. It hasn't come up yet and I am hoping this blows over soon. My older two boys who have been through DARE would think this was stupid because drugs harm your body as well as being illegal.
These days, heros are hard to come by and we all make stupid mistakes. My AHA here is that I am grateful my boys are happy, healthy and quite average. We don't need Gold Medals. We prefer to celebrate small victories such as shaving a few seconds off our time or winning a heat. (like Alex did today!). I have no desire for fame or great wealth for there is 'baggage" that comes with this.
I hope this scandal has been a wake-up call for Mr. Phelps and he has learned his lesson.
