Scott McGillivray says that in an ad for his show on Home and Garden Television and so we see it a lot, since Mike is very fond of all the things they feature (except maybe Mike Holmes). I can hear my mom's voice chiming in, saying to count my blessings and remember how lucky I am to have my health, but there is a little dark cloud over my head this morning.
We will be starting picketing tomorrow, and I will be in front of my school with my picket sign, just like I spent the end of the last school year. It is really depressing that we could not get a deal over the summer, at least not yet. Vince Ready is on the case, and if anyone can find a settlement, I guess he's the one (he settled our illegal strike a number of years ago), but just when I think things can't continue in this vein, they do. Let me say this -- teachers do not want to be on strike! Anyone who tells you we do is crazy. In fact, nobody wants to strike. But it is a working person's only bargaining chip. "If you can't negotiate with me and can't give me a fair deal, then I won't work." Teaching is a tough job. Yes, we "get the summers off" and "yes, we get a good pension", but it is important work and it is not easy. Every kid in my class needs something from me, some more than others, and my job, as I see it, is to try to give them what they need. I want the kids I teach to leave my classroom feeling like they've taken intellectual and creative risks and that they've been successful. I want them to appreciate each other and the world we live in. I want to think of things that they can do that will push the envelope and make them and other people think differently about what's going on. I want them to enjoy themselves and be curious and want to learn things. I want them to feel excited about coming to school and also safe, both physically and emotionally. But instead of all of this, I'll be walking back and forth wearing a sign that says I'm locked out. And all the government thinks I do is generate marks. (Because that's one of the things they thought was "essential" at the end of last year.)
Some of you know I sent out my "young naturalists" book to a publisher. I really love it and I think it tells an important story. (That's me, the author, talking. I guess not everyone is going to see it that way. I know these publishing houses take a huge risk in publishing anyone's book, especially an unknown like me.) Well, it was rejected. They liked the story, but they didn't like how the two little boys narrate it. I really thought about it -- should I rewrite it and have just one boy tell it? But I'm not ready to throw in the towel on Aubrey and Walter just yet. So out it goes to someone else today! I hope someone will be able to see that the conversation between the boys is one of the hooks, and not a detriment to the book.
So . . . two bad things. But bad things come in threes. Uh oh. I'd better be looking over my shoulder in the next few days. And holding tightly to the stair railing when I clump down to the living room in the morning. And keeping Daisy on the leash. And eating right and getting lots of sleep! And not going to the casino (I never go anyway -- to me, it is an extraordinary waste of money, when you could entertain yourself by going to the theatre or a concert or buying a piece of art or donating to some worthy cause.)
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