The Thou Shalts of life in the South.

Hi Daddy. I love you.

The people in TN are either not at all trusting or else they are just genuinely curious about every aspect of your life. I swear the schools have every private detail of my life. SSN's, home, cell and work phone numbers, addresses, former addresses, copies of the lease agreement, copies of utilities proving we live in the area, the kids' vaccination history, Erron's DNA to prove he really his the father and the rest of my eggs frozen just so we have to get their permission to have more children that might one day attend their fine school. In Oregon there is an abundance of high tech business so the schools benefit from their donations and when I enrolled the kids in Happy Valley I filled out one paper, they entered the info into the computer and printed out the forms they needed. Here, I am lucky they have duplicate copies. The last time I wrote that many words with a pen was my high school English final. Good gravy -- or bad gravy. I think I wrote my home phone number 12 times. They didn't even trust me to write out the kids vaccination history or trust the copy we brought from their Dr.. We had to take the copy to the health dept. and let them enter the info into their prehistoric computer system that still prints on paper that you have to tear the edges off of. Then, I had to take that copy back to the school.

I have to comment here on something I saw at the health dept.. There was a young Hispanic couple trying to get a Dr. appointment for their baby and the mommy didn't speak any English and the dad was really trying hard. The lady at the desk was so patient and was diligently trying to help them. They brought out one of the nurses so that the couple could show her the spot on the baby they were concerned about. It wasn't funny, it was a simple of example of people at their best. There are not a lot of non-English speaking people here. In the west I think we are so jaded after having to have our school fliers printed in Spanish, French, Laotian, Vietnamese, Romanian, Russian and Japanese that we resent the extra effort. It seems like we are making all the effort and they are expecting it. Here, everyone is working together. Erron thinks that everyone here being so nice is rubbing off on me. (Don't count on it sweetie. At home we are still from the west:)

Once I returned to the school the nice people in the office told me not to worry about the school supplies. Just bring in whatever was left from your old school and that will be fine. They are prorating the trip/activity fees and want us to come to school a little late tomorrow so they can give us a nice tour. Kale's schools, Farragut Primary, has 0ver 1,000 students in grades K-2. 17 1st grade classes. Can you believe that? Reagan's, Farragut Intermediate, is the same way only 3-5.

My other theory on why there are so many steps to get one things done is that these people are really just so friendly they look for any excuse to be able talk to someone. A family from our ward that lives just 3 houses down brought us banana pudding tonight. That is another thing about the south. They don't even pretend to cook things without frying it first. In fact I think it is part of the 10 commandments of the south.

I - Thou shalt be nice to everyone, everywhere at all times. On the phone or in person.
II - Thou shalt fry all foods before serving to friends and relatives.
III - There must be a Cracker Barrell next to any McDonalds.
IV - Thou shalt not rush or walk fast..that includes Tamara. Slow down. (You should have seen me at the mall on Saturday. I hate malls but this place was down right leisurely.)
V - Sales people shalt not be pushy just polite.
VI - Thou shalt not have two cloudy days in a row. (You can have snow and sun on the same day as happened today.)
VII - Thou shalt not call anyone a hill billy unless they want to be called a hill billy.
VIII - Thou shalt not worry about being on time - just get here when you can.
IX - Thou shalt have a church on every corner. First Baptist just means you were the first one here.
X - Thou shalt not be a sissy about the ants, snakes or any other creatures. Just be happy.

No day is complete without a story from Dane. After dressing in two different colored socks and using the small dust pan broom to brush his hair, he went outside without any shoes or a coat so he could ride his bike in the snow. We had to tie the gate shut so he can't get in to the front yard or the street. Tonight we had to drive Erron to return his rental car because his truck finally arrive today on the transport. On the way, Dane was sitting in the back seat and just started quoting Princess Bride. "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." He even did it in a detectable Spanish accent.

I am itching because I know that somewhere there is an ant in my house. Stupid ants!