Here's an idea - put some tangible 'value' in the pledge the students are taking - ask the kids to pony up 25 cents for their bulb; bulbs shouldn't cost more than that. For those who are unable to pay; your school council already has a slush fund of 200 bulbs to cover this anticipated occurrence. I remember as a kid, I valued my things that I tangibly had to pay for; verses things simply handed to me. But perhaps I'm just an odd ball and kids minds don't work that way anymore. It seems like kids are handed so much without much thought to earning it themselves or saving for something of value - this worries me. Just an idea. Good luck with your venture.

You write beautifully, Michelle and touched a soft spot with this thread. I have old correspondence too tucked here and there. I haven't started reading the scores of letters my father saved, tucked away in his dresser to be found years later by me when my mother died. Tied in silk ribbons. Most from my mother, but some from my sister and I. Who'd thunk?? A big, burly soldier carting that precious cargo home with him from the war. I have letter he wrote to my mother. I found her stash, also tied up in silk ribbons. I just could bawl right now, there are tears in my eyes. They loved each other passionately for sixty years. I would have felt like an interloper any sooner, but I am ready to start reading them. Old letters are like smells. I love those 'everyday' memories they conjure up. You know the kind. Those memories, some of them totally forgettable one just happens to think of decades later and smiles. ' What I chose to keep for myself out of my parents estate ......makes me smile. I gave away the most valuable items and kept the memories. How is your doggie doing with the rehab?

In our district, if a student misses 15 days of school, they fail for the year. Only absences that don't count toward that total are those with a dr's note. Even field trips count as missed classes, so students have to be careful not to be out too often, or they can't go on their classes trips. If your daughter is legitimately missing that much school, especially if it's in one stretch, then you need to contact the school, and have her receive at home instruction. I presume, by now, you've done something about this, but I would suggest that you get a copy of the student handbook and keep it on hand. It will explain the district's policies on absences and other issues. As a parent, it's your responsibility to know what the requirements are, and to know what the procedures and penalties are when the rules are broken. And in future, ANY time you have a question, or if something unusual happens, you need to call the school immediately. Were they aware of how sick your daughter has been? Did you notify them the first day she was out, and touch bases daily about her condition? That's important, and expected in most schools. Now, obviously, you can't send a child to school sick. But if it's the difference between her passing and failing, it's worth getting her to the dr. and getting a dr's note. And really, if she's been out that much--whether in one stretch or a bunch of different illnesses, it would seem to me that she probably needs to be seen by the dr. anyway, to see what the underlying problem is. Hope she's feeling much better and has caught up on all her work.

Thanks for all of your kind thoughts and words. I think his parents both passed away some time ago. He had two older sisters who had already got married and moved by they time I first met him in the fourth grade. He got married just out of high school with a baby already on the way, while I set off for Ohio State University, relishing the opportunity to reinvent myself and be lost in the crowd after growing up in a small town with a small school. So partly it was different life trajectories and partly it was me stepping away from ties to my hometown and who I was, to make a better me. I think it is mostly the unexpected shock of his sudden death that has me rattled, that and the realization that he was such a good friend, for so long and I couldn't be bothered to make any effort to reconnect, and now he's gone. His service is planned for this Friday, in Cincinnati, nine hours drive away. Even if it were closer, I don't know whether I would attend -- would I even know anyone? What could I possibly say? Friends of the family have set up a donation form to help them cover some of the "costly expenses that a death brings" It notes that "he is survived by his two children, Jessica and Tyler; his fiancé Natasha and two sisters." A fiance -- that sound so hopeful and forward looking that this is all the more heart-wrenching. I may change my mind and drive out for the service, but in any case I'm planning on donating through the form, but I'm trying to figure out what to say.