100 Things I Learned the Hard Way, cont'd

Installment #2

11) Peanut butter really does get gum out of hair.

12) In a healthy, normal rural environment, the idea of feral cat overpopulation is a myth. Natural predators take care of this problem as God intended, and spaying and neutering barn cats means you will soon have no cats. And there is no better birth control plan for the mouse population than a few good barn cats.

13) You won't need health insurance until you don't have any.

14) If a child can get his head in the rungs of a chair and get it stuck there, you can eventually get it back out by the same route. If you can figure out that route.

15) Some children learn to use the potty at the age of 3, some aren't ready until they're 7. It all evens out in the end (No pun intended, really!), and more harm than good will come of worrying and obsessing about the late bloomer. (If this sounds familiar, see #5 of the last installment...)


16) There is no quick way to clean venetian blinds. Hanging them on the clothesline and spraying them with the hose just doesn't work, darn it.

17) Grooming a Bichon Frise is nothing like cutting children's hair. It's more like trying to sheer a a very curly little sheep with an electric carving knife. It's a job best left to the professionals.

18) There is no better investment than the time and money you spend nurturing your children's talents. Finding a deep interest often indicates a talent, or God given gift. And building skill out of talent is for life.

19) Never leave the digital camera on the bumper of the nun's car because you know it'll be safe there. The nuns won't take the camera, but they may very well drive away with it.

20) If it doesn't truly help you or someone else to pass on a bit of information, pass on telling it.