Happy Wednesday! I am joining Joyce for a quick hodgepodge of questions. These five questions are going to be fun, so let’s get to it!

1. Do you complete your own taxes? Besides actual taxes, what’s something you’ve found taxing lately?
We do our own taxes. Jeff picks a day and decides we are doing them. I hate that day. I collect everything I think we’ll need in a gallon baggie all year long, but there are always papers or information I have to go searching for as he does them. It is never fun!

Honestly, I have found my work situation pretty taxing lately. Our state began phasing in a new law a few years ago and my district didn’t really prepare for it. At a board meeting in February, we were blindsided with the announcement that they were “surplusing” half of the media staff. Almost two hundred positions were also impacted in the announcements at the board meeting. They didn’t have much information about how all of this was going to happen. Then about a month later, the superintendent announced that she was applying for a waiver for the new law. It seemed like a sure thing until Friday. On Friday, we got an email begging for community members and staff to write to the state in support of our district getting the waiver implying that it is not a sure thing. The stress of it all has been unbelievable. I am not exaggerating when I say with the stress of it all my eye has been twitching nonstop for two months. I love my job, but this has been quite taxing!

2.  What are three values you treasure most in a friendship? 
This is tough to come up with only three. The first three that came to mind are: support, love, and understanding. Support is important in a good friendship. Friends should support each other in the good times and the tough times. I love my friends and hope they love me too. In this season of life, understanding is important, too. I know that I am not as present in my friendships as I would love to be right now. Being a mom to two active teenagers and a wife to a husband that works long hours doesn’t give me as much time as I would love to devote to my friendships. The good news is that many of my friends are right here with me. We keep in touch and I have faith that when these kiddos are grown, our friendships will still be strong. Understanding each other’s season of life is key to keeping our friendships strong for years.

3. Do you meal plan or do you mostly wing it? Share your dinner menus for this week. 
I meal plan. I try to plan for lunches and dinners so we aren’t left in a lurch. This week we are having spaghetti and chicken meatballs, tacos, and salmon. This week is a little different because Jack ate at my in-laws and Luke and I went to dinner with my parents on Tuesday, Luke wants to go out to dinner for his birthday, and we are going to be at Hershey Park for dinner on Saturday.

4. Thomas Sowell is credited as saying, ”There are no solutions, only trade-offs.’ Agree or disagree? Discuss.
Hmmm, I think I disagree. There are some situations where you pick the lesser of two evils, but there are quite a few things that can be solved. I guess you could look at the solution as simply choosing something else, but I don’t. I view solutions as thinking about a situation and what isn’t going well and then finding a way to fix that thing that isn’t going well.

5. What’s the best perk you’ve enjoyed at a job?
While teaching doesn’t have a lot of financial perks, having the summer off is pretty great! My first year teaching I had quite a few parents that worked for US Air and they shared their friends and family tickets with me. Working at my kids’ school, I got to see a lot of their every day elementary school stuff and that was pretty great. I’ve met a lot of great authors as a school librarian. Jeff and I worked at a beer truck at a concert pavillion for a few summers and the concerts were a great perk.

6.  Insert your own random thought here. 
This has been a great start to the week. On Monday, I had lunch with my mom and walked the golf course with my dad for Jack’s match. On Tuesday, Luke and I went to the Peep show and had dinner with my parents. It was so nice to see them two days in a row and just talk. I’m not sure what to do today when I don’t see either of them!

That was fun! I can’t wait to see what everyone else answered! As of 2:45 I will be on spring break and I cannot wait. Our spring break is not a full week, but I am looking forward to these days off. Have a great day full of sunshine and books!