A LIFE SHARED

In elementary school my grades were adequate although I much preferred to play

Who knew concepts learned so long ago would be applicable today.

For instance here’s a simple thought of which I am exceedingly aware

Life is much more effortless when it’s a life we share.

The more people who share our sorrow, who help and reassure

The easier it is to handle and the longer we endure.

While when we are happy and share that joy with family and friends

Like ripples on the water, that feeling never ends.

I have often wondered about it...why does this phenomenon exists

Is there something in the universe, some teaching I have missed?

How can two opposing feelings, which can never be compared

Have similar consequences when individually shared?

I believe the solution is simple which now I shall provide

The sadness gets divided while the joy gets multiplied.

Imagine that! The answer lies in basic math--all those years ago conveyed

Perhaps if I paid more attention, I’d have earned a better grade.

And it wouldn’t have taken me this long to become exceedingly aware

That Life is much more effortless when it’s a life we share.

GRANDPARENTS DAY

Being a grandparent in so many ways is a real plus.

Did you know there’s a holiday dedicated just to us?

35 years ago Marian McQuade decided to create

Grandparents Day, (which congress recognized in 1978).

26 years later a singer/songwriter came along

And wrote the lyrics and the music to the Grandparents Day song.

We even have our own flower, the forget-me-not, on which we can rely

I think that’s a dig on grandparents...but I can’t remember why.

At any rate this morning Aden and Ava’s elementary school

To celebrate Grandparents Day did something really cool.

They set aside some time for us to be together..and I must say.

It was a wonderful way to start any day.

On the tables in their cafeteria they provided books to read

And we dined on bagels, O.J. and lemon muffins with poppy seeds.

While Deborah and I sat there basking in our grandparental glow

Aden and Ava’s other grandparents soon began to show.

Then Ava and Aden’s cousins joined our growing little crew

(We love that both of them usually call us Nana and Pop Pop too)

Before we knew it we had 4 grandchildren and 6 grandparents in that room

That’s alot of love to go around...and alot of muffins to consume.

As we sent the grandkids off to class and were walking to our cars

We, the grandparents, realized just how lucky we all are.

And as we smiled and hugged and bid each other adieu

I realized our grandchildren are pretty lucky too.

For they’ll have so many grandparents however old they grow

To help them celebrate each and every day wherever they may go.

I hope every grandparent out there had a Grandparent’s Day as great

But I have to wonder...what did grandparents do before 1978?

Another smile crossed my face as Deborah and I drove away 

You see Deborah only took the morning off... I took the entire day.

LET THE TEACHERS TEACH

Speaking as a teacher, with retirement just days away 

Here’s my opinion on the state of education in America today.

I’ve observed many great teachers and there’s a pattern to their speech

For they believe the problem is...they’re not allowed to teach.

The system commandeered their imagination and has hidden their creativity away.

Some, if you can believe it, are being told exactly what to say.

Teachers have much to offer but all the time they have invested

Is being wasted as their students now are extremely over-tested.

These test I believe are certainly a part of educations sad demise

For they do not test students capacity to think only their ability to memorize.

In fact I’ve seen many great teachers who taught a few years then withdrew

Because of all the rules and regulations on what they can and cannot do.

Somewhere along the way, and I’m not sure who’s to blame

We’ve forgotten that every student will and cannot learn the same.

The solution is a simple one just ask any teacher...for they know

Its nothing new or earth shattering..in fact it was proven long ago.

Teachers are trained to do their job, their students...they know how to reach

So keep their class sizes low, the discipline consistent and simply let them teach.

When you allow teachers the freedom, to use their imagination, creativity, and heart

They not only transmit knowledge...but it’s wisdom they impart.

Give teachers more creative freedom and they will find the link

They’ll stop teaching kids to memorize and teach them how to think.

For the key to success in education...if we want our students to evolve

We need to teach them not to memorize but how to problem solve.

My teacher friends hope (and I imagine teachers around the country feel the same)

That their students will leave them more well-rounded and wiser than they came

So if you want education to improve then this one lesson I beseech

Stop the incessant testing and let your teachers teach.

(And one more thing to think about so more teachers don’t walk out the door

If you want the best trained teachers...you might have to pay them a little more.)

BRING THEM HOME

I’m a teacher not a politician.  I have never been to war

And I can’t imagine the atrocities occurring in countries far from America’s shore.

But I’m tired of American soldiers being sent by boat and plane

To fight for causes our own politicians find difficult to explain.

I’m tired of the bloodshed and resources this country expends

When it causes our soldiers, our children, to die far from their family and friends.

(I’ve often wondered if only the leaders children were the ones to fight a war

Perhaps they’d solve their differences without fighting anymore.)

And I can’t help but wonder about the millions of dollars we spend every day

To assist in bettering countries where people hate us anyway.

And how can we find horrors in one country, that justify a war

While similar horrors in another country we totally ignore?

When I was growing up I stood proud with my parents to see our flag unfurled

We believed at that time the United States should help police the world.

But the world has changed in spite of us and it makes me kind of sad

For now it’s much more difficult to tell the good guys from the bad.

So we have to stop sending our armies in places they don’t belong

To me, that doesn’t make us weak...it shows that we are strong.

Strong enough to fight our own battles and try hard to defeat

The poverty and violence that occur on our own streets.

Strong enough to take that money and spend it now, forsooth

On the health and education of our children and our youth.

Strong enough to help our people so that when they fall sick or ill

They won’t lose their house or pension to pay their medical bills.

I’m not sure how we can ever combat the evils man creates

But I don’t think America anymore should be the one who mediates...

I think it’s time we look at the places where our soldiers and power roam

And I think it’s time we say, “Fix Yourselves!” and bring our children home.

I do not take this fighting lightly I pray that someday it will cease

And I pray the world would spend less time waging war and more time waging peace.

HOSPITAL DRIVE THRU

Yesterday I heard on the news a story quite bizarre 

It seems a girl was shot in the head and her boyfriend put her in the car

Only he didn’t drive to the hospital, perhaps he was under too much strain

No, he ended up at a fast food restaurant...yep, in the Checkers drive thru lane

It was there he called the hospital and the story found it’s resolution

But it occurred to me perhaps by accident he hit on a health care plan solution.

What if all our hospitals from California to Vermont

Were not isolated buildings but connected to fast food restaurants?

Is there anyone who hasn’t lingered in a hospital emergency room?

Wouldn’t the wait go better with some fast food to consume?

Just think of the incentives...Our hospital offers you a deal

If you visit us for any ailment...you get a Happy Meal.

She’s having trouble breathing, there’s something leaking from her eyes

And while we’re waiting how about a double burger and an order of large fries.

I’ve been shot, I’m bleeding, and my chest and shoulder ache

But I could sure could go for a McFlurry and a double chocolate shake.

Ever since I woke up all I do is cough and sneeze

Am I still in time to order two breakfast biscuits one with chicken, one with cheese?

I need some Botox added to my lips and some fat drained from my thighs.

Yes I’ll have a number 6 and can you make that super size!

You don’t have to worry about paying us now, just come on in and get your fill

We’ll add the price of your treatment to the total on your bill.

When we order that big bacon cheeseburger with fries on our birthday

Wouldn’t it be nice to know, after we eat it, we’ll have a place to stay.

Because, if you think about it so many people in this country eat fast food every day

That sooner or later they’re going to end up in the hospital anyway.

With our arteries being clogged up from these fast food dinners and snacks

It’s pretty apparent most of us will die from a stroke or heart attack.

3500 people die in hospitals each day- and the way we eat that numbers bound to grow

But if your hospital carried fast food...what a wonderful way to go!

HGTV

There’s a staggering statistic...I’m sure you’ve heard of it, of course

That nearly half of every married couple will end up in divorce.

I have a theory and no, it’s not the changing ethos that we see

I believe the answer can be found on your HGTV.

For years men were content with their lot..to fix things with duct tape

Until HGTV came along we never heard the word roomscape. 

If you ask most husbands to make house changes they’d rather sell ‘em first

(Yes we’re the men who wear the same pants twice...hey at least we smell ‘em first!)

There’s nothing scarier than watching football in my comfy little space

When Deborah enters with that strange HGTV look upon her face.

“Honey, you know what will make this room look better...it needs a different paint.”

You, of course, think the room looks fine..so you try to show restraint.

“I like this color you say before she sends you off to Sears

It’s cozy and it’s comfortable, and it’s lasted 20 years.”

Then her look intensifies and she wonders aloud why you can’t be

As handsome and as handy as those men on HGTV.

So to save your marriage you head off to Sears or Home Depot or Lowe’s

All the while cursing HGTV for adding to your woes.

But that is not the end...your troubles are only about to begin

When she says, “Did you know Lowe’s will match any paint color we bring in?”

So the rest of your married life (if you stay married) you lament

When she turns off the TV and says, “Did you know we can also paint cement?”

Or after you’ve spent the weekend on a ladder or hands and knees

She looks around and announces, “This color is darker than I thought it’d be.”

Or you sit down after painting and all your light fixtures are reattached

And she says, “You know with this new paint now our furniture doesn’t match.”

So husbands a little advice..to your marriage add some fun...

The next time your wife says the kitchen or bathroom needs redone

I suggest you take that duct tape and yes you know what to do...

By the way did you know duct tape comes in different colors too?

BLURRED VISION

When I was a baby I had no idea my eyes were damaged so severely

It wasn’t till 2nd grade, when I got glasses, that I finally saw the world clearly.

But when my glasses are off and I look out at the world I’m amazed at what I might see

Things that with glasses seem apparent without them seem fuzzy to me.

Many times on vacation at motels and Inns I’ve often felt like a fool

Waving at children who were not my own as they played and swam in the pool.

I’ve often wondered If my poor vision has transferred to my other senses

Because I’ve noticed all of my taste buds have had comparable consequences.

For instance I have unexciting taste in the things I drink or eat

I can’t tell the difference between filet mignon and regular hamburger meat!

I’ve often envied friends who sniff, sip then pick the perfect wine with their bread

Because if I closed my eyes I’d have trouble recognizing the white wine from the red!

But I’ve come to terms with my disorder having senses that aren’t always so good

It’s led me to believe perhaps our world would be better off...a little misunderstood.

You see since my taste buds are lacking or, as some might deduce, totally obsolete

I’m happy to say I usually enjoy almost everything that I eat.

And one positive result of having blurred vision of seeing things not quite as they appear

It’s hard for me to discriminate because the differences between people are unclear

Sometimes I think the world would a happier place...less prejudiced, less maligned 

If everyone’s vision was a little less clear...kind of fuzzy and blurry like mine.

Because with my poor vision the painting I see as I look out on a new day

Looks less like a Winslow Homer and more like a Claude Monet.

So I gladly raise a toast to my blurred vision and all those who have blurry eyesight

But someone please inform me, before I begin...am I toasting with red wine or white.