What I learned at the dump

I know, I know. Dump is not a politically correct name, land fill is the pc word, but it is also the recycling center. I actually learned some tidbits that I thought I would pass on to the blog world, as there is so much green-consciousness going on.

THINGS YOU CAN'T RECYCLE THAT YOU PROBABLY THOUGHT YOU COULD:

- plastic grocery bags - I know you are encouraged to turn them in at the grocery store but we learned they can't be recycled. What do they do with them?

- yogurt cups - they are considered contaminated with food, and can't be cleaned.

- pet food bags - same as with yogurt cups.

-paper towels - same as with yogurt cups and pet food bags.

SOME OF THE THINGS YOU CAN RECYCLE:

- anything with a screw cap - just make sure it is rinsed out.

THE GUILT TRIP:

- there are people who hand sort through all the recycling that goes by on a conveyor belt to remove anything things that can't be recycled. Makes you think carefully about what goes into the recycling, doesn't it?

I DID IT!!!!!

After years of fruit less (and hairy) effort, after years of trying to follow directions that were complicated enough for a nuclear scientist, after feeling klutzy and incompetent I was finally able to put my hair in a French Twist. Ta da!

Ah, you may think that is a pitiful accomplishmnet unless you have tried it yourself. It didn't look perfect but it was a recognizable French Twist, and I am shamelessly proud of myself.

“You will not die …

…of embarrassment,” I assured my squirming six graders as I passed out permission slips for the G&D program. That’s “Growth and Development” or, as we used to say back in the day, “The Birds and the Bees.”

My sweetest little girl, Annie, came to me took a deep breath and said, “I might be the first.”

I am happy to say she lived through the experience.

By the way, sixth graders are still babies. They like hugs and bringing in treats for the class on their birthdays. They may see more on the movies and television than we ever did but they don’t, I can promise you, know anymore than the rest of us did long, long ago. I think it is always a healthy sign that it makes them blush.

THE ETHICS OF KID LOGIC

My sixth graders were asking me what kind of games I played when I was a kid. I told them that we played a lot of board games.

“Like what?” astounded there would be such a coincidence as that.

“Well, I guess you could say I played Monopoly with my older sister, Bonnie.”

“You guessed you played? What do you mean?” That was a murky answer.

“My sister was a notorious cheater.”

“She was?”

“Oh, terrible! She would, for instance, claim that she could collect $400 when she passed ‘GO’ because she was older.”

Then Keegan (not his real name) said one of those gems that only kids can come up with: “At least if you’re gonna cheat you should be fair about it.”

Truer words were never spoken.