What education did your mother receive? Your grandmothers? Great-grandmothers? Note any advanced degrees or special achievements.

My mom graduated from Monroe High School and I had her class ring. She gave it to me years before she passed. I gave it to my sister and she intern gave it to her daughter. I’m not sure if my mom enjoyed her school days or not, she looked happy enough in her senior picture.

The only thing I can remember that she ever said or did was to teach me a stupid CHEER that went something like M – O – N…   R – O -E…   Mon – Roe High School… yes, sir… re. It may loose something here in translation. But if that’s the only thing that I can remember about her school days, and my mom shared everything with us; I think it must have been a dud. Get in and get out! That was my motto anyway. School days just seemed to be more of a bother than a real experience for me. Most of us could not wait until Friday and Monday was the biggest drudge of all.

Thank God, I never wanted to be a cheerleader. I can’t even remember a cheer from Springboro High School – the school that I did attend before going to WCJVS. I couldn’t even tell you the names of the girls who were. So I guess I won’t be carrying on that age old tradition of retro cheers, like the one from my mom and the one Granny Gibson taught me.

Oh well, knowing my daughters that would be the last thing they’d ever care about anyway. Brandy is becoming a career student at IUPUC and Mandy thought it wise to drop out of college and become a full time childcare giver, making a career out of caring for and loving children. It’s a good thing she had boys because she loves a good football game. That works out good for her husband to since he is the Dallas Cowboy’s number one fan.

I graduated from Franklin High School, but never actually attended a single class there. I was bussed to pep assembly’s which made absolutely no sense to me at the time. Why would I want to go to a rally for a strange school? But I went. So for me it was just okay I guess. I actually took Restaurant Management and Food Career Service. I wanted to be a fully trained Professional Chef (Big laugh here). Not like the ones you see on TV…. I hate those shows but one creating beautiful food. Cooking is stressful at times but honestly, it should never be like that Iron Chef. But I was young and wanted to work on cruise-ships and travel the world to see the world. WHY?

I find that totally ironic now, since I have no desire to do either one; take a cruise or be a chef. That would be the last thing I would ever want to do now. If you dig it, then by all means… have at it… but its not for me.

Don’t get me wrong, I love to cook but I hate to clean the mess. Moreover I hate it when I have spent hours preparing a meal, for someone to say, “I don’t like it!” How would you know? You… haven’t… even… tried it! Family meals can be challenging at times but they can also be the most fulfilling. I love to have big parties for the kids and grand’s, and then some of my training will come in handy.

No amount of education can really prepare a woman for life; some things you can only learn by doing. That old adage is absolutely right, the one about experience being the best teacher. I’ve met many female teachers and/or professors that I felt were dumb as a post when it came to real life, but they have their degrees to make them feel secure, while other women are just look at them and shake their heads.  I’m sure they’ll find a friend or two to agree with some of their babble but other than that… dumb as post. The sad reality is that all but a handful of them are divorced. Almost all of their husbands cheated on them at some point and most of them allow it. Hum… I’ll leave that one up to the scholars to figure out. Everything can’t be my problem.

I’m also sure some of you are shocked by my comments on this subject. But I’ve studied families for so many years and I’ve seen firsthand what has gone wrong in most of them. I’ve known women whom to further their careers, sacrificed their own children. Some have even used abortion as a form of birth control, rather than to be responsible for their decisions.

When at the end of the day, having a family is what life is all about. You can teach life skills… but you can’t teach life, you have to experience it for yourself.

The man who promises everything is sure to fulfill nothing. ~ Carl Jung