Category: Because It's True

6, 7, and especially 8!

What It's Like Being Married to a Professional Educator

Being married to a teacher is great. Nobody works harder. Nobody is more motivated. Nobody is more ready and willing to correct your poor grammar. Nevertheless, there are a few things you should know about being married to a professional educator.

1. Your dinner dates will constantly be interrupted.

Think Friday night means it's time to kick back, relax, and enjoy the company of your significant other at that new restaurant that just opened up? Maybe. Chances are you'll make it to dinner. But chances are higher that, just as the waiter is bringing your herb-crusted, non-GMO, something-or-other to the table, your beloved will get a call from her principal outlining the new school strategy for standardized testing. Or she'll see an email from little Johnny's father lambasting the fact that he only got a 98 on the last pop-quiz. And you'll sip your wine in solitude and check your Twitter feed while your wife performs educational triage in the parking lot.

2. It's easy to take conversations with adults for granted.

I go to the office every morning. And talk to adults. And work with adults. But my wife doesn't. She goes for hours at a time every day without conversing with anyone over the age of 13. When we're both home, sometimes I catch her staring at me with an odd look, hanging on my every word while I talk about some mundane conversation I had at the office. She'll interrupt me: "You mean NOBODY in your office had horrible BO? Or cried because their girlfriend broke up with them? Or inexplicably fell out of their chair while you were talking to them?  You're so lucky!"  Lucky indeed.

3. Your spouse will always be a better parent than you.

I've been a dad for almost six years and I like to think that I have this parenthood thing down pat. But I have nothing on my wife. Her daily focus is getting the best out of dozens of kids. Making them do things they don't want to do and providing a hundred types of support in a thousand different ways. Every time I think I've had some type of amazing breakthrough with my kids (got all of our kindergarten sight words on the first try!) I quickly realize it's because she's already laid the groundwork (reading with them since they were 6 weeks old!). Sometimes it's easy to forget how great a teacher she is. But then I look at what she's done with our children and I remember.

4. Halloween demands constant vigilance.

We live very close to my wife's school. All her students know where we live. I see how low the egg inventory gets at the grocery store the last week of October. You better believe I spend Halloween on my front porch with a raised eyebrow, a flashlight, and a grimace.

5. Nobody multitasks like a teacher.

Until I married my wife, I had never seen someone who could simultaneously cook, soothe a crying baby, talk on the phone, and make lesson plans. But then I realized her day is full of doing a thousand things at the same time. She reads, teaches, conducts parent conferences, referees, participates in faculty meetings, plans summer school, coaches the flag football team, and finds some way to squeeze in bathroom breaks, all while managing a hoard of hormonal preteens. And I thought mowing the lawn while holding a beer was a big deal.

6. You will never EVER win an argument about work.

Me: "Man, I had a rough day at work. My morning meeting didn't go well, I have a big project due tomorrow, and our yearly reviews are coming up."

Her: "A kid in my first period class farted so much I had to teach in the gym for the rest of the day."

7. Your spouse will never be the only teacher in your life.

Teachers flock to other teachers. It's a scientific fact. Any party we go to, my wife unconsciously seeks the other teachers there. It's like her ears are tuned to the word "pre-planning."  And then she spends the evening in deep conversation with someone she's never met while I hover by the punch bowl and blink at the wall. The number of adults in my life who are educators is obscene. On the bright side, I appreciate a fully-functioning photocopier more than I ever thought possible.

8. Your spouse is a hero who saves the world every single day.

I could never be a teacher. And I know I'm not in the minority. Many people don't realize it, but being a teacher is challenging, and tedious and about as unglamorous as a profession can be. But my wife doesn't care. She does it in spite of little recognition, low pay, and long hours. (Three months off in the summer isn't a thing, ok? My wife has maybe three weeks completely disconnected from school in July and she spends those planning for the coming year.) She knows it's more than a job. It's a calling. A way to make the word a better place at a fundamental, actionable level. And I feel lucky to see it happen on a daily basis.

Source.

…to those who think their religion is immutable:

Source

Read this.

In case you've forgotten…

• Natalie Cole, R&B singer and daughter of music legend Nat "King" Cole, died New Year's Eve at age 65 from heart failure caused by lung disease.
• Craig Strickland, rising country singer and frontman for Backroad Anthem, was found dead at 29 years old on Jan. 4 after going missing during a duck hunting trip in extreme weather.
• Angus Scrimm, best known for playing the Tall Man villain in Phantasm and its horror sequels, died Jan. 9 at 89.
• David Bowie died Jan. 10, two days after his 69th birthday, after an 18-month secret battle with cancer. The music legend was well-known for his fashion, movie roles, Ziggy Stardust and hit songs like "Space Oddity," "Fame" and "Let's Dance."
• Alan Rickman, Harry Potter actor and Die Hard villain, died of cancer at 69 on Jan. 14.
• Dan Haggerty, Grizzly Adams actor and '70s star best-known for his beard and rugged looks, died of cancer at 74 on Jan. 15.
• Glenn Frey, The Eagles guitarist and co-founder, died at 67 on Jan. 18. Frey co-wrote hits like "Hotel California" with Don Henley.
• Jimmy Bain, former Dio and Rainbow bassist, died at 68 over the weekend of Jan. 22-24.
• Abe Vigoda, character actor in The Godfather and Barney Miller, died at 94 on Jan. 26.
• Paul Kantner, Jefferson Airplane co-founder and guitarist, died at 74 on Jan. 28.
• Maurice White, a founding member of disco-funk group Earth, Wind & Fire, died Feb. 3 at 74.
• Vanity, an '80s singer-actress and Prince protege also known as Denise Katrina Matthews, died Feb. 15 at 57.
• Harper Lee, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of To Kill a Mockingbird, died Feb. 19 at age 89.
• Sonny James, country singer behind hits like "Young Love," died Feb. 22 at age 87.
• George Kennedy, tough-guy character actor best known for Cool Hand Luke and the Naked Gun movies, died Feb. 28 at 91.
• Keith Emerson, co-founder and keyboardist of the progressive-rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, died March 11 at 71.
• Frank Sinatra Jr., singer and son of Ol' Blue Eyes, died March 16 of cardiac arrest at 72.
• Steve Young, outlaw country singer best known for "Seven Bridges Road," died March 17 at 73.
• Joe Garagiola, former baseball broadcaster and Today show host, died March 23 at 90.
• Garry Shandling, comedian and The Larry Sanders Show star, died March 24 at 66.
• Earl Hamner Jr., The Waltons creator and Twilight Zone writer, died March 24 at 92.
• Patty Duke, Oscar and Emmy-winning actress, former child star and mother of Lord of the Rings actor Sean Astin, died March 29 of sepsis from a ruptured intestine at 69.
• Gato Barbieri, Grammy-winning Latin jazz musician and "Last Tango in Paris" composer, died April 2 at 83.
• Leon Haywood, '70s soul singer best known for "I Want'a Do Something Freaky to You" (sampled by Dr. Dre for "Nothin' But a G Thang"), died April 5 at 74.
• Merle Haggard, country music legend who had more than 30 No. 1 hits, died April 6 on his 79th birthday.
• David Gest, a producer, Michael Jackson collaborator, reality TV star and ex-husband of Liza Minelli, died April 12 at 62.
• Doris Roberts, Emmy-winning actress on Everybody Loves Raymond, died April 18 at 90.
• Prince, music legend behind hits "Purple Rain," "When Doves Cry," "Batdance," "1999," "Kiss" and others, died April 21 at 57.
• William Schallert, Patty Duke's TV dad and actors' union leader died May 8 at 93.
• Morley Safer, CBS News correspondent, died at 84 on May 19, days after retiring from "60 Minutes."
• Muhammad Ali, the boxing legend born Cassius Clay, died June 3 at 74 after a long battle with Parksinson's disease.
• Janet Waldo, who voiced Judy Jetson on The Jetsons and Josie on Josie and the Pussycats, died June 12 at 96.
• Ann Morgan Guilbert, The Nanny and The Dick Van Dyke Show actress who also appeared on Seinfeld and Life in Pieces, died June 14 at 87.
• Garry Marshall, legendary writer, director and actor whose credits include Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley and Pretty Woman, died July 19 at 81.
• Miss Cleo, the famed TV psychic born Youree Harris, died July 26 at age 54 after a cancer battle.
• Jerry Doyle, Babylon 5 actor best known for playing Chief Warrant Officer Michael Garibaldi, died July 27 at 60.
• Kenny Baker, Star Wars actor who played R2-D2, died Aug. 13 at 81.
• John McLaughlin, political commentator and host of The McLaughlin Group, died Aug. 16 at 89.
• Arthur Hiller, director of Love Story, The Out-of-Towners and See No Evil Hear No Evil, died Aug. 17 at 92.
• Gene Wilder, comedy legend who starred in classic movies like Young Frankenstein and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, died Aug. 28 at age 83.
• Alexis Arquette, transgender activist and The Wedding Singer actress, died Sept. 11 at 47.
• Edward Albee, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? playwright, died Sept. 16 at 88.
• Arnold Palmer, golf legend known as "The King," died Sept. 25 at 87.
• Neville Marriner, British conductor behind Oscar-winning Amadeus soundtrack, died Oct. 2 at 92.
• Pete Burns, Dead Or Alive singer best known for 1985 hit "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)," died Oct. 23 after a massive cardiac arrest at 57.
• Bobby Vee, '60s teen idol who replaced Buddy Holly and helped Bob Dylan get his start, died Oct. 24 after a battle with Alzheimer's disease at 73.
• Michael Massee, 24 and Se7en actor best known for accidentally killing The Crow co-star Brandon Lee when a prop gun was improperly loaded, died Oct. 26 at 61.
• Janet Reno, first woman to serve as U.S. attorney general, died Nov. 7 at 78 after a battle with Parkinson's disease.
• Leonard Cohen, singer-songwriter behind 'Hallelujah,' died Nov. 7 at 82.
• Robert Vaughn, Oscar-nominated actor who starred on TV's The Man From U.N.C.L.E., died Nov. 11 at 83.
• Leon Russell, influential singer-songwriter and all-star collaborator, died Nov. 13 at 74.
• David Mancuso, DJ and New York nightlife pioneer who popularized breaking new music in clubs via a "record pool," died Nov. 14 at 72.
• Gwen Ifill, PBS NewsHour anchor and vice presidential debate moderator, died Nov. 14 at 61 after a battle with cancer.
• Sharon Jones, Grammy-nominated soul singer with The Dap-Kings, died Nov. 18 at 60 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
• Florence Henderson, beloved Brady Bunch mom, died Nov. 24 at 82.
• Greg Lake, co-founder of progressive rock bands Emerson, Lake & Palmer and King Crimson, died Dec. 7 at 69.
• John Glenn, last surviving Mercury 7 astronaut, senator, and old-fashioned America hero, died Dec. 8 at 95.
• Alan Thicke, actor best known for his starring role in Growing Pains, died Dec. 13 at 69.
• Bernard Fox, Welsh actor remembered for his portrayal of Doctor Bombay on TV's Bewitched, died Dec. 14 at 89.
• Zsa Zsa Gabor, Hungarian-American actress and socialite of many husbands, died Dec. 18 at 99.
• George Michael, singer-songwriter and founding member of the group Wham, died Dec. 25 at 53.
• Richard Adams, author of Watership Down, died Dec. 24 at 96.
• Carrie Fisher, forever known the around the world as Princess Leia from Star Wars, died from cardiac arrest Dec. 27 at 60.
• Debbie Reynolds, actress and mother to Carrie Fisher, died after suffering a third stroke, Dec. 28 at 84.
• William Christopher, actor best known for his portrayal of Father Murphy on MASH, died Dec. 31 at 84.

And lastly…

• American Democracy. Not dead yet, but was removed from life-support on Dec. 19 after having been dealt a life-threatening blow Nov. 8th.

And yet Trump, Pence, his smarmy cacophony of Deplorables, Tony Perkins, Pat Robertson and countless other "christian" douches live on, proving beyond all doubt there is no god.