Tuesday, November 10, 2009

what are you tryin to say, kid?

Yesterday I was outside with the kids and we were discussing a very important topic – the superhero, Underdog.

“Underdog is a good guy and he saves people and he can fly because he has a cape!” one little girl told me.

So I asked the girls, “Does that mean that if I had a cape, I could fly?”

The little girls looked at me and then at eachother and then one told me hesitantly, “Maybe, but you would need a really big cape.”

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

letter to the chief

Dear President Obama,
I’ve been watching the news a lot lately and have noticed that we seem to be having a bit of a “recession.” Have you seen the news coverage on it? Well, I am not sure how you plan on monitoring it and how all of you fellas in Washington plan to decide when it is officially over, but I have a little idea for you to think about.

This morning I was sitting in the living room, playing with some of my “friends” and I felt something odd. It was a little breezy. I looked down and there, looking back at me, was my underwear. A giant hole had worn through my jeans. Perhaps this is because I only have two pair and I have to wash and wear them both so often. But here is the problem: my family’s $40 a month clothing budget has already been spent! It seems that my 15 month old son didn’t get the memo about hard economic times and has had the audacity to KEEP GROWING so I’ve already spent the $40 on pants for him. This leaves me at a loss about what to do now: do I make myself a nice pair of winter cut-offs or do I just go down to one pair of jeans? What would Michelle do?

My husband and I are pretty average people. We both went to college. We have two kids and might even think about working on having the average 2.3 once this economy turns around. My husband is a high school science teacher. He used to work in the oil field and had a great paying job, which enabled me to stay home. The oil field jobs have mostly “dried up” since January of this year. So now he works as a teacher in Oklahoma, the 47th state in the nation for teacher pay, and I have a home daycare to try and make ends meet. It’s a stretch for us every single month.

Here’s my idea for you: since Bryan and I are a pretty “average” American family (aside from the fact that we are actually married and neither of our kids were born out of wedlock – you will have to excuse that!), perhaps we can help you gauge when this current economic downturn is over.

We will look for clues in our lives that tell us things are better. For instance, when I can go to the gas station and fill my car, it will be a good sign. Right now I have to put $5 or $10 at a time to make sure we have enough for the rest of the bills. Do you have to do that in the presidential limousine? That must be so embarrassing to have to stop so often if you do! I can also let you know when the cost of groceries stops steadily rising. And when I can afford to stop cutting Wesley’s hair myself (the pictures of my first attempt are pretty amusing, though) and when I can stop saving all those little free packets of ketchup to use at our house. I can get you a complete list of “good signs” in a couple days.

Anyway, I hope we can help you out. And once we get this one taken care of, we can help you with the education system. You, Bryan, and I ought to be able to hammer that one out in no time flat.

Sincerely,
Laura Phillips