Yesterday we caught a mouse in one of the traps. Naturally I found it and Mike wasn't home. I'm not even that much of a girly-girl, but for some reason mice GROSS ME OUT. I tried to pick up the little corpse with a plastic bag but then I could still feel its fur and little body and I totally chickened out. Luckily, Henry didn't have school yesterday and was more than willing to do the job. I told him he was my hero.
This morning we found another mouse in one of the traps. You should have seen all three of them (Mike, Henry, Georgie) giddy and grinning. It was like they'd won the lottery. Henry successfully lobbied to be the one to pick up the mouse. They are a little too excited about this mouse-catching stuff. As I watched them gleefully bring the dead mouse out to the trash, I said, "Is anyone else disturbed that there are RODENTS in our house? Am I the only one who doesn't think this is a party?" Apparently so because they are all excited about going to the hardware store today to get more traps. Yes, my friends, it takes very little to get us excited over here.
No doubt you've all heard about the political sh*tstorm here in Wisconsin. I'm not ususally a political person, so it feels weird to even be concerned about this. Let me disclose that Mike is a public employee, and while not in a union or collective bargaining group, he still stands to lose some take-home pay. It will suck, and we definitely will need to cut back on some of our extra spending unless I continue to take these little jobs here and there. But we're fortunate - we're not in danger of not being able to pay our bills or anything like that. I am way more concerned about the poor teachers though. Teachers in this state already have abyssmally low salaries (lower than their counterparts in other states), so their benefit packages and health insurance is the only reason many of them stay in the field. They are wanting to take that away from them now, even though the state budget was in worse shape 2 years ago (and we managed to reduce that deficit with furloughs and other cuts). So I don't really see the urgency of drastic cuts now - it seems a little cruel and mean-spirited to me. Many teachers grew up in middle class households and are carrying student loans that they are still trying to pay back. I know so many teachers now whose families will be devastated, absolutely devastated, by the cut in take-home pay. These are people who are not making much money anyway - public employees generally have lower salaries than their counterparts in the private sector. I just feel terrible for them.
3 comments:
The myth of the good life for teachers continues to amaze me. People say things like, "You should be a teacher. They work 8 -3, have their weekends and summers off and make great money." As a mom of a teacher with a master’s degree I can assure you her year of earnings is below $40,000. She is at school or a school event sometimes six days a week, often until after 7:00 PM and is at school at 7:30 every morning. She spends her summers and her money taking classes and trainings to keep up with the educational mandates and her license. I am not in favor of strikes; however, I’m not in favor of teachers giving up part of their salary, retirement, or their health insurance. I’m happy Wisconsin is fighting against having something rammed down their throats, having their bargaining rights taken away, and being told there is no discussion on the subject.
I agree with Cheryl in every way. As a wife of a retired teacher of 32 years who belongs to our retired NJ State Education Union, I know the extra work and planning that went into teaching his high school classes. Not only did he have troubled teens but we gave two baby showers for teens having babies… Many criticized him for being a teacher who only worked 7 AM to 2 PM and had summers off. No one never knew that he had a victory garden and had a part time job each summer to put food on the table. He spend many hours planning for his daily classes. I salute all teachers for their dedication and giving each day to their students.
I remember the teacher's strike my husband was part of in the late 1970's and the day he had to appear in court it was so scary but with the full support of the union they settled. I am also in full support of Wisconsin's teachers and state employees keeping their bargaining rights and health insurance benefits.
I know my fellow union brothers and sisters are supporting their Wisconsin union brothers and sisters. MPA
Sorry about the mice! I feel the same way, grosses me out! Nate is always proud of his catch. I'm embarrassed right now that I live in a state that elected this loser to the office of Governor! Ugh.
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