Just Give Me An *A* And Call It Good

Oprah has her favorite things. Martha has her good things. May I present my list of Things I Would Rather Not Deal With Right Now:

1. Progress Report
2. Sensitive Teeth
3. Progress Report
4. Phone Bill
5. Progress Report

I guess you can see where this is going. Progress Report Day is rarely a joyous occasion around here and it just barely beats the Actual Report Card Day. One thing about me... I'll never beat you over the head with my A+ student (although I do have one. Just so you know). No, around here, anything that has to do with a check-out-how-your-kid-is-doing thing can either go one way or another. Sometimes it's a sigh of relief and sometimes it's a painful experience. Whatever the reaction, it always has a way of making me appreciate summer just a little bit more.

I hated grades as a kid. I hated grading as a teacher. Nothing compares, though, to how much I hate grades as a parent. The whole grading thing is overrated. And yet so needed. It's just a part of life, kid. Do your stuff, get over it, and move on.

And since when did I develop sensitive teeth anyway? I'll tell you when... when I started going to the dentist on a regular basis, that's when. Before that (all those years before that), I had no complaints. Seriously, none. Now it seems that everytime I go for a check up they find another reason for me to come back. And now my teeth hurt. Just on the sides, just in the back, but they hurt. The only solace I have is that hot stuff like coffee doesn't bother me; only cold things like ice in my tea. The dentist said I was brushing too hard. I said he scared me with all of his dire warnings. Dumb dental insurance.

My husband just interrupted my tooth issues by asking me if I remember what it was like to be a teenager. "Barely," I say. "Well, I remember it pretty well, " he replies. That's all that is said. We look at each other, look at one kid's backpack on the table, and sigh heavily. This too shall pass. Darn progress report day.

And then there's the phone bill. Yeah... not even gonna think about that now. I changed my plan today anyway to allow for all those pictures I've been receiving of a certain baby girl. At least that's one thing I can change.

We take what we can get. No grading required.