<p>To whomever made my son finally understand that there’s no shame in attending a “normal” college if that college offers the education you’re looking for: I don’t know who you are, what you said, or when you said it, but thank you for the difference you’ve made in my family’s life.</p>
<p>Coach, put on your big-girl panties. I’m not sure what has prompted this animosity toward the booster club, but you are free to dock our pay if you are unhappy. Sheesh.</p>
<p>Inter-office envelopes are meant to be re-used. They have these nice little lines for you to fill in who the envelope is being sent to.</p>
<p>So why do you insist on skipping 4 lines, then writing in thick red marker in huge letters? You take up at least a half-dozen lines, then we have to scribble your marker out for 10 minutes just to use the envelope again.</p>
<p>Seriously… just take a plain old pen and fill in one line. The envelope will get where it’s going. Geesh.</p>
<p>Ahhh, spring is coming so I’ll be able to open the doors again and that means I’ll have to listen to your little dog yapping all friggin day long. Again. The poor creature sounds like it is not happy. Sigh.</p>
<p>Dear Hubby, While I very much look forward to our upcoming vacation, please remember that I am the one getting all the kids stuff organized for the next two weeks, getting the house cleaned up for Grandma, and planning the darn trip. Please stop making piles and messes everywhere and just because YOU chose to wait until the last minute to get organized DON’T assume that I have time to help you. I will enjoy a glass of wine with you in Italy…until then BACK OFF!</p>
<p>I spent hours preparing a dinner for you and your boyfriend…the least you could have done was to say thank you. I don’t want your father to have to remind you to do this either…if I get one now, I know it is because you were told to so it means nothing to me…next time you can help yourself and your friend to a bowl of cereal</p>
<p>You have been offered the job of team lead 4 times in the last 8 years. If you want people to do things your way, you should have taken the damn job. I can’t help it that I don’t do things the way you want them done. You are NOT the team lead. I am not an ‘everything is black or white’ type person. I can see the shades of gray. Again… if you wanted things done your way, you should have accepted the job. But then that would mean you would have to do things you can’t do- like TALK to people and make decisions. You’d rather complain about people and how they don’t follow the rules (yours).</p>
<p>I did tell you that I have appreciated the effort you have made since January to participate more in our meetings. And I have. But you are not going to get your way every single time. For Christ sake- you are over 50 years old. Grow up.</p>
<p>You say you’ve thought about leaving? Good. Why don’t you follow up those thoughts with action? The rest of my team is a true team.</p>
<p>I’m not going to go away and nothing you do will make this happen. If I could live through 4 years with a team lead who was a pathological liar with hidden agendas; I can live through you and your little quirks. And I hate to tell you this, but if it came down to the big boss putting up with me or you; I do believe he would be on the side of the person who communicates-- which is not YOU.</p>
<p>And yes, I am open to new ideas and change. I could care less about how many type of change requests there are- if you can’t get the customer to fill out one, how do you propose to get them to fill out the ten different types you are proposing? It’s up to us to identify the type change. You really need to get out of the dark ages and learn how to adapt to change.</p>
<p>Phew! I feel a little better now…</p>
<p>Come on! You’ve been going through this same process every year for, what, twenty years now? And you can’t even guess how long it will take? Are you stupid?</p>
<p>To my younger daughter (I would never say this to her): I love you insanely and always will, but… I quit my job to drive you to and from school, therapy appts., etc. Thank God your dad earns a great living. After years of therapy, an expensive but worthwhile Catholic high school (kept you out of trouble), an ADD coach who fired you, begging the best ADD shrink in the area to take you, being supportive as I can, I want you to get off your duff and get more than a 2.5 GPA! A girl with a 158 IQ and 1970 SATs should have graduated HS with more than a 2.2. That’s why you’re stuck in comm. college. So tired of your garbage, especially since your older sister who has half your gifts graduated college and law school with honors and lots of friends. Yes, I know you’re ADD and OCD but I want you to get on with it! I want you to use a day planner like the rest of us mere mortals to keep track of assignments! That’s why I’ve been online today, checking schools with the highest acceptance rates. I want you out of the house and going to a real college! I want you to make friends! It kills me and your dad to see you at home all the time, only going out for class or work. I know you’ve always been and always will be different, but we all need at least a few friends! I hope you wake up soon! I worry so!</p>
<p>Bagbabe, I feel your ADD pain. Sorry you’re having such a hard time. My ADHD son has FINALLY gotten it, now that he knows he’s going to college. Have faith, there’s a school for her somewhere!</p>
<p>That was pretty low. If it had happened in your class I would understand, but why are you looking at that report anyway. It’s not your business! I am so disappointed.
I cannot wait until he is out of there.</p>
<p>I am sick of being the person who confronts everyone…can’t someone else do it for once?</p>
<p>Aaaargh! I thought the college application season was difficult. Now I know that waiting for decisions is even more cruel. When will this be over??? (Okay, I know, May 1st.) (Or never, depending on what you consider “over”.)</p>
<p>For the last time, those are not cat toys. They are my tax files. Now go play with your cat nip scented mouse.</p>
<p>God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.</p>
<p>Dear Bagbabe, I can totally relate. Had our last high school team meeting yesterday with our son. [sigh]
Kids do have to find their own ways, but having a great mom [and dad] to help clear the brush on their paths sometimes makes all the difference. My son has Asperger’s Syndrome and I’ve spent 15 years trying to help people ‘get it’, but in the end, the world is still the world and our love is all that matters.
[tears]</p>
<p>The references that you’ve brought up are total crap not even remotely related to what we are doing. I’m sure you’ve been busy shoveling snow, but have you even looked at them?!</p>
<p>I know he was your son, but he was our friend. Tell us how he died - we need to hear that it wasn’t suicide. “He died in his sleep” is just about the worst thing to say. </p>
<p>I hope you also realize that you made his last weeks some of the worst of his life, making him apply to colleges that he hated, all because of an EA deferral. You get to live with that now - I hope you can.</p>
<p>Rest in peace.</p>
<p>You verbally offer my son a job at your lab. You gave him a tour. You gave him a stack of forms to fill out. I had to express mail his passport and birth certificate to him so he could show these documents to HR. He spent last week jumping through all your hoops and he emailed you that he had finished all the red tape…And you email him back that your lab is no longer hiring! WTH!!!</p>
<p>I loved the debates and discussions we had. You’re smart, funny, thoughtful and cute. We were friends, and then you wanted more. I admit I was flattered by your flirting. You led me on, but it would have been nice if you would have told me that you have a girlfriend at home. I was fine with just friends and then there wouldn’t have been a problem.</p>
<p>To another person,
I do not doubt that you are as intelligent and beautiful as you say you are. You should know though, that I have never seen either of those characteristics in in you. Yes, it did backfire on you when you asked my my SAT score in front of the entire class. You wanted to make a fool of me, but when my score was higher, and you pledged to retake it until you got 2400, you just looked desperate and pathetic.<br>
The enormous quantities of make up that you wear, and reapply during class, don’t make you look prettier. It makes you look insecure and I am proud to have my own, make up free, uneven skin tone. I really just don’t care.
And then, when you ask me what schools I want to go to, what majors or careers I want to go into, you don’t have to repeat that, verbatim, as your goals to my friends. We all know that you might be smart, but you certainly won’t put in the effort or have the ambition to do those things.
I must admit that I am looking forward to feeling a bit vindicated next year. We’ll see what colleges think of your writing that reeks of an overused thesaurus and slaughtered metaphors. I can’t say that my writing is necessarily better, but at least it has some voice and its genuine. My goals were not copied, I have passions beyond what would “look good on college apps.” I am confident that the schools I am applying to will be a good fit for me. Do you fit the same schools? I don’t thinks so. The sad thing is that if we do both get in to my #1 choice, I probably won’t be able to afford it, whereas your wealthy parents would never hear of such a thing.</p>
<p>Last one. To those of you who ask how my sister is doing, if she’s as smart as I am, taking the same classes, why she wasn’t in Honors English or math, my sister is not me. She is a beautiful, creative person that will have fabulous friends and an amazing future. I may do better on standardized tests, maybe my writing fits the formula better, maybe I’m better at putting numbers into an equation, but that does not mean she is not intelligent as well.
I feel so, so, sorry for her because of our differences. When she is disappointed that she only got a 30 on her ACTs freshman year because I did better in 8th grade, I feel like crying. I can’t explain to her that it doesn’t matter. She is a varsity athlete freshman year. She has a great group of friends and a lot of fun. She is beautiful, even if she doesn’t see it.<br>
She thinks I’m being patronizing when I try to tell her, but really, I’m jealous of her sometimes. She works hard, and then she succeeds in classes. When I don’t have to study to do well on the test, everyone acts like I’m bizarre, accuses me of being a genius. She doesn’t understand how lucky she is to have to work at it a bit.
So please, everyone (especially Mom) who is shocked to hear that she isn’t following exactly in my footsteps, leave her alone. Better yet, tell her that she is doing fabulously and that she will succeed and get into great schools where she will be happy.<br>
Lena, I love you so much and I wish so badly that I didn’t hurt you this way.</p>
<p>Sorry this was soooooo long, I had a lot to get off my chest. Chocolate chip cookies to anyone who read the whole thing!</p>
<p>I feel much better though now.</p>