Please God, Don’t Let Me Cry Right Now Like The Massive Weenie That I Am…
…that’s all I could think on the bus ride Friday for our school’s Ski Club. The kids were snarfing granola bars and the whole bus reeked of wet wool socks and orange peels. I was busy wrestling the boots off a first-grader when two heads popped over the seat in front. “We had the ‘kids getting hurt video’ today.” said Alex in a conversational way. It took me a minute to remember that he was discussing the abuse prevention video that I’d signed a permission slip for. Ally, one of the teachers, had to hide in the hallway so the kids wouldn’t see her cry. “It was intense,” she moaned. “Age appropriate for the kids but totally not for me!” The third graders were serious but not frightened, she said.
I fell back on my head-shrinking roots and parrotted my psychiatrist dad’s favorite phrase. “How did that make you feel?”
“It’s okay.” mumbled Charles.
“Just okay?” I said, swallowing hard. “Any…any questions?” I could feel the perspiration pooling in my turtleneck. I’m the Queen of Flop Sweat.
“Well,” said Alex, “one of the kids in the video got hurt. Really bad. He said he was scared to tell anyone.”
Back sweat was suddenly the least of my problems. “So, what did the video tell you to do?”
Charles was first, “we were supposed to find a Safe Adult and tell them someone was trying to hurt us.”
“That’s right!” I praised, “exactly!”
Alex chimed in and ruined my clean getaway. “How do we know it’s a Safe Adult? What if we thought the adult hurting us was safe?”
My stupid, weenie, blubbering mommy self was one tear duct away from a full meltdown. “A…a Safe Adult is someone who listens to you when you talk about anything, funny or serious. A Safe Adult keeps their promises to you.”
Alex thought about this. “Would you be my Safe Adult?”
“Don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry you massive weenie!” I thought as I hugged him and said “of course I am your Safe Adult!”
I was not prepared for the reality that when I became a mother to our twins, every child became my child. Stories of abuse and neglect that were before upsetting were now unspeakable. The abuse prevention video is good. It is good that the third graders at our school know to find a Safe Adult. I went home and cried in our walk in closet because any child would have to.
Parent or not, I hope every one of us will become someone’s Safe Adult.
Print These Off Before You Hit Target Today…
Sweet! Just in time for the new sales at La Targaaay this week, there’s $20.00 worth of printable Nabisco coupons, along with piles of excellent Archer Farms brand goods. Here’s some I thought showed promise:
$1.00 off 2 Teddy Grahams snacks
$1.00 off Maxwell House coffee
$1.00 off 2 Kraft Easy Mac cups
$1.00 off 2 Oscar Meyer bacon
$1.00 off shredded or block Kraft cheese
Sneaky inside tip: pair the above with this $1.00 off any brand of cheese coupon.
$1.00 off Digornio or California Pizza Kitchen
Sneaky inside tip: pair either of the above with these coupons.
$1.00 off Archer Farms pasta sauce
$1.00 off Archer Farms Balanced Bread
Click here to start selecting your coupons.
Save Up To $40.00 On A Honeybaked Ham!
Easter’s still a couple of months away, ever notice you start craving holiday foods too soon? I mean, you can’t really eat turkey when Thanksgiving is a week away. If you’re craving ham, eat it now and on a great discount. There’s a printable $40.00 Honey Baked Ham coupon here!
Sneaky inside tip: The Honey Baked Ham coupon expires March 6 (3/6/10). Once you’re at the site, click “get coupons” and fill in your name and email address to get your $40.00 Honey Baked Ham coupon, mind you, the value can vary by state, don’t ask me why. If you’re not eligible for the $40.00 coupon, there’s a $30.00 one and a $20.00 one as well.
Thanks, Engineer A Debt Free Life!
Winner! Winner!
Congratulations to one of our extremely clever That Went Well community members–Sharon Quilino–our winner this week for the $50.00 Old Navy gift card! Enjoy your shopping spree, the card is good for Old Navy, The Gap, Piper Lime, and Banana Republic.
I loved your “clever” comments this week–I’d asked everyone to just send me a comment to enter this week by discussing the cleverness of you. And you are!
i am clever because i shoved the cherry chocolates under the couch when my kids and hubby came in..lol my secret stash
I’m so clever for already being your subscriber. ;0D
How did you know I’m clever? A SUBSCRIBER comment admiring the cleverness of YOU & ME is my entry.
I am admiring my cleverness that I have found such a great opportunity by already being a member!
I’m a subscriber and thought it clever of me when I suggested to my husband that he cook dinner every night because he gets off work at 3:30 and I don’t get off till 5
I subscribed. I am clever because I am losing weight for my health and to feel better about myself. Go Me!
i’m clever because i can think fast on my feet
My cleverness is that i have found good friends and great resources on the web. I subscribe
im so clever that i go to the second hand store for just about everything, i let someone else pay the full price! hehehehehehehehhe
I’m a subscriber and I’m clever because I let my MIL buy almost all of my kids’ clothes to save money
I am so clever, I figured out how to get myself a new $500 laptop (after – discount, reward $$ and rebate) for $200!!!
I subscribe…and my greatest cleverness is in deferring to my far-more-clever felines.
I’m so clever that I signed up for FreeBee’s coupons too! Yay! More $$ saved!
See what I mean? I can feel your cleverness from here! I’m really loving getting to know all of you, thanks for making this such a fun and of course–clever–community!
Today’s Free Offer
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Ready To Coupon?
"Extreme Couponing" on TLC has done one thing for all us would-be frugalistas--while no one I know wants to be quite that crazed, couponing is looking more attractive, am I right? Here's your coupon options in a tidy, almost shamefully easy format:
Cellfire loads coupons directly to your card. Scan that bad boy at checkout--no clipping!
Coupons.com, hands-down my favorite for ease of navigation and big fat coupons. You'll need to download a toolbar to print. Do not fear the toolbar, it will bring you many goodies.
Coupon Deals Daily.com offers 50-90% off items locally available. Worth checking often, since nothing lasts for long.
So, "catalinas" are the slips of paper-style coupons you get at checkout along with your reciept to use for next time. Print them on Coupon Network.com, and use them THIS trip. Clever you!
No insurance? Or does your lousy coverage refuse to pay for certain medications? Enter the Pharmacy Coupons--this network allows you to print coupons for up to 75% off your prescription costs. In the economy? A literal lifesaver.
Red Plum Coupons cover a huge variety--everything from grocery to your local tire store. Take a look around by clicking below.
Do you have estrogen? Then you will love Woman Freebies.com. They send free girly samplys and piles of high-value coupons. No catch!
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