Doesn’t education matter anymore?

Dallas Fort Worth area like everywhere else is making cuts to their education budgets. That alone makes me cringe but what I heard on the news makes it seem down right impossible that there will be any educating left in our education system. While listening to the news, I heard that Fort Wort Independent School District has to come up with ways to cut, wait for it, at least 50,000,000. If I count my zeros right that’s 50 million dollars. Now I said at least, the high end figure is 80,000,000, making sure my zeros are right again it’s 80 million. How the, watch out for language here, hell does a school cut 80 million dollars and still continue to educate the children that are trapped in the district and they are trapped unless they move to a whole other city outside of that district. Now speaking for my family I am lucky enough not to live in the Fort Worth or Dallas school districts because if I did I’d be one of those trapped families. Our school district is looking into ways to cut the budget but they are discussing things like having the high schoolers start 45 minutes later so that the middle school bus drivers can also pick up the high school kids. That is a reasonable solution to me. I’m not sure if you’re aware but most of the Dallas area tax revenue comes from property owners there is no state tax.

I’m sure areas like The Colony aren’t as badly hit as others. Now in The Colony, and every time I drive through there I feel like I’m driving through a cult except for the humongous houses and McDonalds with crystal chandeliers. They get the heck taxed out of them, I’ve calmed down some hence the usage of censored wording. They’re schools are okay, well at least better than most.

I just don’t see how these changes can be possible and the kids can still be educated. This isn’t just a local problem, you’ve got schools laying off teachers, dropping classes, and public libraries closing. Money is being taken from schools, disability services, and senior services. Whether you have kids or not, these poorly educated children will be in charge of us in our old age, that’s a thought to always keep in mind.

Update: It just hit me yesterday when I was picking up my son who decided he wanted to walk home, I guess just not all the way home, that we have a new middle school opening this fall in our neighborhood which with all it’s innovative features will still be hit by all of the budget cuts. This is a new, zero energy, hands on school that my son will definitely be attending since the new boundaries have already been decided. We all already know the final repercussions of all the cuts, I’m just wondering what actual cuts will be made.

Let’s Call Them “Resolutions”

I don’t make Resolutions because I’ve never been a big believer in them. In my opinion Resolutions are something you say you’re going to do but don’t. This year Jaime told me that I had to make a Resolution list as a foundation for my plans and goals this year. Of course I procrastinated with letting others in on my list, even Jaime hasn’t seen it. So you will officially be the first and since I’ve sat down I’ve also decided to add procrastination as a resolution subject on this list. So let’s get started shall we?

Resolutions:

• I will blog regularly. To me this means, I will post to this blog at least 3 times a week, to my other blog at least twice a week, and to my Weight Watchers blog I will post once weekly. I’m willing to try and put forth this effort even though that means I will be posting at least 6 times a week between all of them. Luckily my photo blog for my family will only be updated monthly unless there is a special event. I want to thank my blog buddies in advance for the help the give me by reading my blog regularly.
• I will stop procrastinating. No longer will my motto be, “why do today what I can put off until tomorrow.” That’s a pretty good one though don’t you think. Or maybe I should just prioritize what needs to be done and the order that I need to do it in.
• I plan on getting fit this year and that encompasses a different areas. I wrote a contract for Jaime outlining my basic weight control this year and my plan on making that happen. That contract was the only way I could convince him to pay for Weight Watchers. Mind you he has never complained about my weight. I was 135 when we met and my heaviest at 167. Absolutely never a complaint. He insists that I am beautiful and perfect just the way I am but in the end I know that what really matters most is what I see in the mirror. What I see is a heavy girl who will be at a happy healthy weight when I reach my goal of 139.
• • I will become more active. This will include going to the gym and continuing my Group X classes. Parking a little farther away from the gym, my weight watchers meetings, and the  market.  I am going to exercise at least twice a week whether it’s my Dance Central game, my Zumba game, Wii fit or the classes I love at the gym.
  • I will eat healthier this year. I eat more in moderation and only eat more portion sizes. So far this is going great and I’m very proud about how this is. I’m eating a lot more vegetables and fruit, a lot less sugar and fast food. I mean I still eat an occasional chocolate chip cookie or candy bar, I have to be able to have what I want or I can’t stay on plan. I also agreed in that contract that I would go to my weekly Weight Watchers meeting  and I actually look forward to them. They keep me grounded on my weight journey and I need that.
  • I will stop being lazy. I will also start walking up the stairs to announce that dinner is ready or that the dryer has stopped. No more calling, texting, or sending instant messages. This has been a little harder to keep up. I still tend to text Giavonni often but Qiarra lost her phone and Alexys hasn’t earned a phone yet. This seems to be the hardest for me but I’m being honest about it. Last night Qiarra asked me if she could ride with me to drop her grandmother off at work this morning and I told her no because she lost her phone and I couldn’t text her. I was nice enough to walk upstairs, go to the far end of the house, soothe her dog, and then wake her up so she could go. As a birthday gift she has asked for a new phone or that the family gets together and looks for her phone. I’m going to try looking for it tomorrow when they’re at school.
• I am going to visit my dad more often. This might sound like common sense but I have 3 kids and it’s not cheap traveling with that many people. So my dad is just getting to know his grandkids now. We moved to Texas from Arizona so that we could be within driving distance of him in case he needed me. His health is not good and I wanted to be able to reach him on the same day in case of emergencies. He came down for Christmas and had a fantastic time with his grandkids so I decided to make it a point to drive out to his house at least once a month but hopefully more. We are going to drive out the last weekend of this month for my daughter, Qiarra’s 16th birthday. He also bred his dogs and now is waiting to give my Alexys a brand new full blood Shi Tzu puppy.
• I am working very hard at getting services for my 24 year old brother who has MR. I would really like to get him in an adult day program. Right now he is in the house all day and I am unable to work. My brother’s doctor thinks I should apply for a care program that will help compensate me. I can live without the compensation because I’ve been doing this for years but his doctor made a valid point. With me being unable to work the compensation will help me pay my bills. I hate not paying any bills, it sounds great but I always feel like I’m being carried and that makes me feel really bad. I’m not the kind who likes to rely on others, not even Jaime.
• Once I have some type of income coming in whether it’s from employment or for my brother, it’s time to get some previous debts taken care of. For awhile there, I had to be mom and dad to my kids and I think they made it through well considering it was just grandma and I. I loved them and gave them what they needed. I drew the line on what they wanted because I had to prioritize and make some sacrifices. That didn’t keep the girls from getting sick or having to be hospitalized so I have some delinquent medical bills that I’m taking care of as I can. I’m starting to get a grip on these bills so I’ll just keep pushing through as I can.
• Finally, I have given myself this year to decide exactly what degree I want to go for. I’m having a hard time deciding because I always wanted to teach preschool and that’s what I was going to school for but I finally realized the reason I felt so aimless with my classes was because I had already taught preschool. So my move last year and trying to get settled has given me time to figure out what I really want to do and I’m going to take this year to figure it out. I also have to help my daughter figure out what she wants to do because she’ll be a junior next year and there’s a lot to do before she graduates high school.

I almost forgot that I also have to make it a point to keep reminding Alexys that when I say something, if I didn’t say “I promise,” then I didn’t promise. I make it a point to rarely ever say “I promise,” because I expect her to hold me to it. That’s what you expect of your children because that’s what they do. Lexy though, will try to hold me to promises I never made and she does this often Jaime also bears the brunt of this a lot too so I now specifically tell her “I didn’t promise it Lexy, I’m saying that I will do it if I can.”

So there is my list, what do you think of it? Maybe I’ve made too many lofty goals and should get rid of some of them or maybe this is just right since I have a whole year to accomplish it and maybe if I break a resolution that’s okay because I have the whole year to get it right. I think I’ll take that as my philosophy, “maybe I didn’t get it the first time, but I succeeded before the year was out.” I think that still technically counts.

I hope this year brings me…

I have so many things to look forward to this year.

The biggest thing I’m looking forward to is losing this weight this year. It’s been a roller coaster ride since 2009. I’ve tried so many weight loss plans and diets but this year I’ve changed my outlook on weight loss and I know it’s doable. So, this is the year it gets done period.

I’m going to take a vacation this summer. I can’t wait for it. I’ve been a little depressed between the extra weight and being unemployed for the last 5 months.

This is also the month that my oldest daughter turns 16. Big day for my baby and I’m so proud of her. She’s beautiful and smart. As smart as I was she outshines me by far. Every day she makes me prouder and I look forward to it more than I thought possible. She loves me, is extremely respectful, has very strong goals, and is not trying to date any one. How lucky am I? I just noticed that I tend to ramble when it comes to her.

My move to Texas also gave me something else to look forward to. My grandmother visits Texas yearly and by being here it means she also comes to visit me (her favorite granddaughter, shhh don’t tell any one). My dad is now only 5 hours away instead of 23. We spent our first Christmas together since 1995, it was fantastic. I’ve seen so much family this year and look forward to seeing more of them all year long.

I’m hoping that this year brings the help I need for my brother. All I’m asking for is a little respite care or an adult day program for him. Anything that allows him to live here at home but get out during the day so he can have socialization and I can at least get a part time job. My brother has MR with hints of other cognitive disabilities.

My son is maturing and his voice is changing. I know this isn’t the year he grows into the man he’ll become but I can still look forward to it. I do occasionally get a small glimpse of him though.

I’m a lucky woman with a bright future ahead of my family and myself. I welcome it all with open arms.