About Barrow journal. (Winder, Ga.) 2008-2016 | View Entire Issue (May 25, 2016)
WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2016 BARROW JOURNAL PAGE 5A Summer break begins As the tassel turns I am exhaling a sigh of relief as I write this column because this week marks the end of so many things. Our appoint ments are done until fall except for my nine-year-old’s weekly piano lesson. One appointment a week seems like a vacation to me. I have also finished testing my nine-year-old. In Georgia, homeschoolers are required to administer a standardized test at the end of third, sixth and ninth grade, and this year he was in third grade, so it was time. Although it felt like a huge waste of time - I know exactly what subjects he’s weak in and what sub jects he excels in - it was pretty painless. He was able to sit and focus and take the tests in reading, language and math, and he told me he didn’t think they were too hard. I don’t have the results back yet, but I’m not worried, especially since the scores are for our eyes only. We are out for “summer break,” so to speak, although as homeschoolers, only a little bit changes in our daily routine. I plan to do lessons during the summer, but I’ll mostly let the boys pick their favorites. I know for my nine-year-old that will be science, and I won’t be surprised if my six-year-old wants to keep learning the multiplication tables. Unbelievably, he seems to like math. At least, he likes it if he thinks it’s a game and not “a lesson.” We’ll be taking a break from lessons for the next couple of weeks because my boy’s cousins and their parents will be visiting us. We’re all very excited because we haven’t seen them in so long, and my six-year-old doesn't remember them at all. This means I’ll have five lit tle boys in my house for a whole week! This should be an experience I’ll never forget! Expecting visitors has been good moti vation to do my spring-cleaning and some decluttering, although my house never looks like I have successfully “de-cluttered” it. More toys and crafts and junk seem to grow out of the walls as soon as I deliver a box to charity. I’m grateful it’s not quite sum mer on the calendar yet, and we’re having some nice spring weather. The boys and I planted green beans and tomatoes and some herbs - it’s a much smaller gaidcn than we’ve attempted in the past because I know it’s all I can probably handle. As the boys get bigger and interested in many different things, the time we have to putter in the garden gets smaller. I fondly remember those days when my eldest son was about five and constantly pulling seeds from bushes and flowers we would pass, and he’d want to plant them all. Or he would ask to plant the seeds we’d extract from the fruit we bought at the grocery store. (We actually have a lemon tree growing from one of those experiments!) Although he still loves plants, especially his carnivorous plants, he’s not as interested in spending that much time in the garden. At nine- years-old, he’s entering a new season of his childhood. My six-year-old is much less a nature boy than his older brother was at that age. He would rather cany all his dino saur toys outside and play with them in the dirt and a small pool of water, i.e. “the watering hole.” But he does love to go outside late at night with his father, carrying a flashlight, and look for frogs. Older brother joins them too. Soon it will get hot. The mosquitoes will get worse. The green beans will need to be staked, and I’ll probably be tired of going out to water them. But for now, I’m going to relish the beginning of summer break, a change in our routine and this beautiful weather. I hope you are enjoying the benefits of the season as well. Winder resident Shelli Bond Pabis is a contributing columnist for the Barrow Journal. You can reach her at writeto- spabis@gmail.com or visit her blog at www. mamaofletters. com. Congratulations to the class of 2016! I said my prayers all week long that the weather would hold out so that both schools could have their ceremonies out side as planned, and was very thankful that there was no rain. For Winder-Bar row High School graduates, what fun it will be to tell your kids you graduated by the light of hundreds of cell phones? That was pretty cool! Forty years ago, the Class of 1976 had to change locations from the football field to the cafeteria. I remember that being such a disap pointment. We were only allowed two admission tickets per student. No grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, boyfriends or girlfriends were allowed to attend. Not only that, it was the year of the bicenten nial celebration, and, while I should have been a proud, patriotic student. I remember pouting a little bit that we had to wear white gowns, and our tassels were red, white, and blue. I had always loved the red and black color scheme of WBHS. and had long admired the red and black tassels hanging from rear-view mirrors of the cars of my older friends, and couldn’t wait to have my own car to display my red and black tassel. But, it was not to be, I still have that red, white, and blue tassel, tucked away for safekeeping, but I never did hang it from the rear-view mirror of my car. So, class of 2016. what’s next? Some of you are headed to college. What a chal lenge that will be! Others may enter the work force right away. Perhaps a military career is ahead of you, and I thank you in advance for your service! Eighteen still seems an awful young age to decide what you want to do with the rest of your life, so don’t sweat it if you haven’t yet decided. Sometimes going to college right after high school is the right thing to do, while for others, it makes more sense to take a break, and go at a later time. You may feel pressured to pursue a career of your parents’ choosing, or feel the need to follow in the family footsteps of chosen careers. I’d never be the one to tell you to go against your parents’ wishes, especially if they are paying for your education, but keep an open mind. Perhaps when you do discover your life’s ambitions, they will be supportive, and it will be a win-win for everyone. Whatever you do, make it count. Be a productive member of society, whether it’s working in a high-paying, prestigious career that requires you to wear a suit, a laborer on the construction site, the sani tation department, or someone who cleans bedpans at the convalescent home. All these jobs are important. Don’t believe me? If a high-falutin’ Wall Street office closes tomorrow, most of us will never feel the effects. Let the sanitation department close for two weeks, and we will all feel it. Every job is important. Do your best. Be careful not to look down on others who choose a less glamorous career than yours. Likewise, don’t be intimidated by those who wear fancy clothes and work in a comer office when your job is shoveling poop at the horse farm. Just do something. In today’s world it is far too easy to live off the system. In many cases, there is more incentive to stay in the system than to break out and be productive. No matter where you live, no matter if you buy your clothes from high-end fashion boutiques or thrift stores, you are important. If your daddy drives a Mer cedes, or if your daddy drives a beat-up truck with slick tires - that doesn’t have to direct your path in life. Of course, some will have more advantages and opportuni ties than others. If you’re dad’s bank account affords you an easy road to education , and friends in high places help you get a fancy job - then that’s fabulous. Don’t waste the opportu nity. But be very careful not to take it for granted. If your dad’s bank account will hardy pay the bills at home, and you have fewer opportunities, then that’s okay too. Some times the harder we have to work for things, the more we appreciate them. If your home life is unstable and you don’t know where your next meal is coming from, then determine that you are going to be a force of change in your family, and you will make a difference. Certainly, life is easier for some than for others. But let me be clear on this: No one person, regardless of ethnicity, economic status, or GPA is less valuable than another. All lives matter. Class of 2016, YOU MATTER. I love this saying: “Be the change you want to see in the world.” The tassels have been turned. Now: Go. Change the world!! Cathy Watkins Bennett is a Barrow County native and a graduate of WBHS. Send comments about this column to bencath@aol.com. Winder Springfest Carnival set May 27-June 5 The City of Winder will host a Springfest Carnival from May 27 through June 5 at Jug Tavern Park on Athens Street. Presale tickets will be available for purchase through May 26 at the Winder Customer Care Center at 45 E. Athens Street. The price is $15, good for one day, unlimited rides. Discount spay, neutering services offered shelli bond pabis cathy watkins bennett Leftover Pets offers low cost spay/neuter surgeries at the Winder clinic located at 610 Barrow Park Drive. May clinic days include Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Prices are $85 for female dogs over 25 lbs.. $65 for female dogs up to 25 lbs., $55 for male dogs and female cats and $35 for All You Want. All You Need. It's in the Barrow Journal. Headmaster’s Corner by Steve Cummings CONGRATS TO THE CLASS OF 2016! - This past Saturday, we bid farewell to a gifted group of Seniors from the Class of 2016. These talented, hardworking young men and women are now headed to colleges and universi ties throughout the U.S. to contin ue their training. This unique class was awarded more than $2 million in academic and athletic scholarship aid. Over half of this year’s class qualified for the Zell Miller and Hope Scholarships. At commencement, these Se niors were challenged to stand boldly for truth. They were re minded that God has established truth in His moral absolutes. They leave ACS knowing that God’s absolutes do not change, in spite of what today’s culture tries to tell ATHENS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL “Affordable Quality Education Since 1970” K3-12TH CALL (706) 549-7586 www.athenschristian.com male cats. A $5 discount will be given for any surgery patient no older than 5 months (as determined by Leftover Pets veterinarian). All surgery prices include a free rabies vacci nation. There are no addi tional fees for in heat or pregnant animals. Financial assistance is available for any low income Barrow Coun ty resident. Appoint ments are required and must be made by calling 800-978-5226. Barrow County Animal Control shelter offers discount adoptions for summer Barrow County Animal Control is offering special adoption prices through the sum mer. The adoption fee for dogs and cats will be $25 through September, animal control officials said. The Barrow County Animal Control Shelter is located at 616 Barrow Park Drive in Winder. Call 770-307-3012 for shelter hours or more information. May 25, 2016 ~ Crossword Puzzle Across 1.007 Connery 5. Presides over meetings (abbr.) 9. Trefoil 10. Father of Paris 12. Asian nut for chewing 13. Machine gun from the air 16. The communion table 17. His razor 18. Father 19. Doctor of philosophy 22. Cologne 23. Black tropical Am. cuckoo 24. Diversifies 28. Razor author 14th C 31. Maple sugar fluid 32. A corp.’s first stock offer to the public 34. The premier bike race 42. References 43. Extremely high frequency 44. Actress Farrow 46. Not good 47. State of annoyance 48. S. China seaport 51. Bengal quince 52. Provide the means 54. A large and imposing house 55. Excessively fat 57. Spars 58. Former wives 59. Repeat Down 1. Podetiums 2. Frankenberg river 3. Feel ill 4.12 th state 5. “Anything Goes” author’s initials 6. Daily time units (abbr.) 7. Cagiva motorcycle 8. Drug agent (slang) 9. Study of poetic meter 11. Ceremonial staffs 12. Russian pancake served with caviar 14. Supervises flying 15. Large Australian flightless bird 16. As fast as can be done (abbr.) 19. Before 20. Hall of Fame (abbr.) 21. Constitution Hall org. 24. Atomic #35 25. Ducktail hairstyle 26. Independent ruler 27. Oval water scorpion 29. Modern London Gallery 30. On top 33. Identicalness 35.2002 Olympic state 36. Tease or ridicule 37. Arrived extinct 38. Opposite of begin 39. Ol’ Blue Eye’s initials 40. South Am. nation 41. Type of salamander 42. S. China seaport 44. Woman (French) 45.007’s Flemming 47. Domingo 49. A French abbot 50. Gorse genus 51. An uproarious party 53. Point midway between E and SE 54. A waterproof raincoat 56. Spanish be 57. Of I CUSTOM PRINTING Custom Sheet-Fed & Web Press Printing •Stationery • Flyers • Bus. Forms • NCR Jobs • Invoices • Envelopes • Bus. Cards •Circulars • Newspapers •Statements MainStreet Newspapers PRINTING DEPT. Located at 33 Lee Street in Jefferson, Ga. (706) 367-5233 printing@mainstreetne ws. com
