I’m coming down off a fairly tense evening, all courtesy of the expected storms that actually did materialize. There were major storms all over the metro area, with several tornadoes. Thankfully, the tornadoes themselves were not as strong as last week’s, but my guess is the light of day will show that there’s still plenty of damage. And, saddest of all, more people lost their lives. The details are not yet confirmed, but it seems like maybe a handful of people perished. And, apparently dozens of folks have been taken to the hospital, some in critical condition. So, so sad. Things got close enough to us tonight that I insisted we move to the bathroom for a while (if you’re not familiar with shelter procedures, the idea is to be in the smallest, most interior room in your home, which is almost always a bathroom or closet), which I think is the first time we’ve done that in the almost 15 years we’ve lived in this house. Not a bad record, but it wouldn’t have bothered me to go a bit longer.
Anyway, like I said, it was tense. I’m going to spend a little bit of time unwinding with Five Question Friday, and then I think I’m just going to bed.
1. What is an acceptable age for girls to start dating?
In terms of a real date, just the two of them, all on their own, probably 16. About a year—or maybe two, for a mature girl—earlier than that would be okay for something like a movie date or something, where parents pick up and drop off, even if they aren’t around to be chaperones.
2. Do you think your kids should have summer homework?
I don’t think there should be official school homework, but I also don’t think the kids should just put their brains on standby for the summer, either. I think reading during the summer is the best way to keep the learning ongoing, even during vacation. When my son was young, we would set reading goals, usually in conjunction with the library summer reading program. Since he got to pick all the books and all, he always enjoyed it.
3. Would you prefer to live without AC or heat?
I get cold really, really easily, but even so, I think I could do without heat easier than AC, mostly because you can always put on some extra clothes or stay under a blanket to stay warm, but it’s really hard to get cool. Especially when I sleep I need the air, because I get really hot when I sleep, and I can’t sleep if I get hot.
4. What the worst thing about staying in a hotel? (Besides not being with your family)
I actually like staying in hotels, so I don’t really have a long list of bad things about it. As you might expect from a confessed TV junkie, I don’t like it when the available stations are limited. And I don’t like noisy air conditioners (because, as I just mentioned, it’s going to be running when I sleep).
5. So, do your kids really get "104 days of summer vacation"? (Bonus points for those of you that get this reference!)
First, I’ll confess that I had to Google the reference, but that’s probably because my “kid” is 21 years old, so I’m a little out of touch with some of the things that the kids these days do. As for the question, uh, no. I’m not sure kids around here even get 100 days. Like I said, I don’t have need to keep close track of that these days, but my guess is it’s about 90ish.
Okay, and that’s it. I’ve got a headache and I’m kind of beat, so I’m heading off to bed. Hope you all have a great weekend.
