4 yr old Meredith's Letter To God

Our 14-year-old dog Abbey died last month. The day after she passed away my 4-year-old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could so, and she dictated these words:

Dear God,

Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick.

I hope you will play with her. She likes to swim and play with balls. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her you will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.

Love, Meredith

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address on it. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven. That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, 'To Meredith' in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, 'When a Pet Dies.' Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note:

Dear Meredith,

Abbey arrived safely in heaven. Having the picture was a big help and I recognized her right away.

Abbey isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets to keep your picture in so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by.

Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you. I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much. By the way, I'm easy to find. I am wherever there is love.

Love, God

Don't say you're too busy to forward this. Just go ahead and do it.

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The Terminated Teacher

This happened to a friend of mine. It is hard to understand why it happened this way. But who am I to judge the situation anyway. All I wish is the best interest of the children in school should be the priority of any school when problems arise.

Mila : How is everything? Heard you were in the hospital?

Bel : Yeah. Am dying...

Mila : What? What happened?

Bel : Tired of struggling. Who told you?

Mila : Victor. But know nothing about details of your hospitalization. What really happened?

Bel : Depression.

Mila : What depressed you?

Bel : But I am okay now and bouncing back. I was terminated from work and I'm going to fight for my right.

Mila : I see, good. Yes, it's good to fight for one's right.

Bel : I'm just waiting for the termination letter.  I still have to report everyday until I receive my termination letter.

Mila : I see. Why do you have to wait for the termination letter?

Bel : Yes, so I can fight back as per my lawyer's advise. They terminated me verbally and so I am waiting for the termination letter for confirmation.  

Mila : What is the reason for termination?

Bel : Teaching wrong strokes to the pupils after 5 yrs in teaching.  They just discover that recently and terminated me.

Mila : Hahaha... What a funny excuse for termination.

Bel : Yes, everyone's laughing when they heared the reason of termination. It's my first offense and dismissal served immediately.  I was even told that the school can terminate anybody without a cause. They told me to resign so I can get a good moral conduct when I leave.

It is absurd as I have noticed the parents were not the one doing the follow up for their child. It was my co teacher who always complain, so concern about her niece's failing grades. The fact that she is also tutoring her niece at home made me wonder if she is concern about her rather than the child's welfare and she's the one who push the parents to write a letter of complaint. And it took one letter to terminate me.

Our coordinator comes to my class to observe every now and then but no complains on my teaching style whatsoever. She even gave me a high rating for my teaching presentation all the time. There was not a single time where suggestions and recommendations to better my teaching were noted in my performance rating.   How could it be that this first offense did a termination decision from the board of administration? I just could not understand the logic behind.

One of the administrator told me that I better resign voluntarily to get a good moral certificate which will benefit me should I seek work somewhere else. She explained that if I decided to let them terminate me, they can not give me a good moral certificate because there will be a record of me being terminated. The word terminate is such a strong word of negation, it can hinder one from being hired. Which I think is a way for companies to decided whether to hire someone knowing the person was terminated. However, if the company would check on the reason and found out that after 5 years of working, one wrong stroke is the reason for termination, that would be a laughing matter. It's just a thought and I am smiling...

She even ask me if I told anyone about the matter? That very moment, my conscious mind was wondering why she ask this question. If I tell anyone, it is my decision. That made me wonder if the admin was concern they will be having problems should the matter be exposed...

Bel : I was overwhelmed with everything it was hard to breathe. That is how I end up in the hospital. But I am feeling fine now but unsure what to do. I am angered at how they handled the situation. I am angered that according to the administration, there was a lot of complains about me but never did tell me. I feel like an idiot, doing my best to teach the children appropriately and now dropping the bomb as if they did me a favor for keeping me despite the complains about me. I wish they had told me to better myself for the sake of the children in my class who will be future leaders.  I have high respect for this school, being a private school and a religious one but nowadays it doesn't matter who runs the school or how famous the school is because it all boils down to money, I guess.

I was so stressed trying to figure out what to do. It is very hard to take it all at once. As a teacher, I really enjoyed teaching the little ones. They are so cute, smart and full of curiosity everyday, it always made my day. They mean the world to me and I would missed them but life must go on. I am still waiting for the termination letter so I can fight for this. They terminated me verbally which is unofficial. My lawyer is waiting for the letter so we can go to the next step. I am not sure if this is the right thing to do but life is full of battles, it is best to fight rather than keep quiet for one's right. Wish me luck!

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DID YOU KNOW - 43 things to know

Sharing comes from a friend's wall. I would like to try some and see it myself but it will take me long time to do them all. So, if you are reading this, try some, see it yourself and let me know if it works for you.

1. Budweiser beer conditions the hair

2. Pam cooking spray will dry finger nail polish

3. Cool whip will condition your hair in 15 minutes

4. Mayonnaise will KILL LICE, it will also condition your hair

5. Elmer's Glue - paint on your face, allow it to dry, peel off and see the dead skin and blackheads if any.

6. Shiny Hair - use brewed Lipton Tea

7. Sunburn - empty a large jar of Nestea into your bath water

8. Minor burn - Colgate or Crest toothpaste

9. Burn your tongue? Put sugar on it!

10. Arthritis? WD-40 Spray and rub in, kill insect stings too

11 Bee stings - meat tenderizer

12. Chigger bite - Preparation H

13. Puffy eyes - Preparation H

14. Paper cut - crazy glue or chap stick (glue is used instead of sutures at most hospitals)

15. Stinky feet - Jello !

16. Athletes feet - cornstarch

17. Fungus on toenails or fingernails - Vicks vapor rub

18. Kool aid to clean dishwasher pipes. Just put in the detergent section and run a cycle, it will also clean a toilet. (Wow, and we drink this stuff)

19. Kool Aid can be used as a dye in paint also Kool Aid in Dannon plain yogurt as a finger paint, your kids will love it and it won't hurt them if they eat it!

20. Peanut butter - will get scratches out of CD's! Wipe off with a coffee filter paper

21. Sticking bicycle chain - Pam no-stick cooking spray

22. Pam will also remove paint, and grease from your hands! Keep a can in your garage for your hubby

23. Peanut butter will remove ink from the face of dolls

24. When the doll clothes are hard to put on, sprinkle with corn starch and watch them slide on

25. Heavy dandruff - pour on the vinegar !

26. Body paint - Crisco mixed with food coloring. Heat the Crisco in the microwave, pour in to an empty film container and mix with the food color of your choice!

27 Tie Dye T-shirt - mix a solution of Kool Aid in a container, tie a rubber band around a section of the T-shirt and soak

28. Preserving a newspaper clipping - large bottle of club soda and cup of milk of magnesia , soak for 20 min. and let dry, will last for many years!

29. A Slinky will hold toast and CD's!

30. To keep goggles and glasses from fogging, coat with Colgate toothpaste

31. Wine stains, pour on the Morton salt and watch it absorb into the salt.

32. To remove wax - Take a paper towel and iron it over the wax stain, it will absorb into the towel.

33. Remove labels off glassware etc. rub with Peanut butter!

34. Baked on food - fill container with water, get a Bounce paper softener and the static from the Bounce towel will cause the baked on food to adhere to it. Soak overnight. Also; you can use 2 Efferdent tablets , soak overnight!

35. Crayon on the wall - Colgate toothpaste and brush it!

36.. Dirty grout - Listerine

37. Stains on clothes - Colgate toothpaste

38. Grass stains - Karo Syrup

39. Grease Stains - Coca Cola , it will also remove grease stains from the driveway overnight. We know it will take corrosion from car batteries!

40. Fleas in your carpet? 20 Mule Team Borax- sprinkle and let stand for 24 hours. Maybe this will work if you get them back again.

41. To keep FRESH FLOWERS longer Add a little Clorox , or 2 Bayer aspirin , or just use 7-up instead of water.

42. When you go to buy bread in the grocery store, have you ever wondered which is the freshest, so you 'squeeze' for freshness or softness? Did you know that bread is delivered fresh to the stores five days a week? Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Each day has a different color twist tie.

They are:

Monday = Blue,

Tuesday = Green,

Thursday = Red

Friday = White

Saturday = Yellow.

So if today was Thursday, you would want red twist tie; not white which is Fridays (almost a week old)! The colors go alphabetically by color Blue- Green - Red - White - Yellow, Monday through Saturday. Very easy to remember. I thought this was interesting. I looked in the grocery store and the bread wrappers DO have different twist ties, and even the ones with the plastic clips have different colors. You learn something new everyday! Enjoy fresh bread when you buy bread with the right color on the day you are shopping.

43. Don't forget Gatorade for Migraine Headaches. Power Aide won't work. Pass this information on to friends so they can be informed.

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Dental Appointment Experience

Today is my dentist appointment at 8:00 in the morning. It was a clear day and arrived at the dental office a few minutes early, checked in with the office clerk and found a chair near the door. Just in case, there is an emergency, it will be easier to escape. Just kidding. I notice there was an elderly guy sitting on the other side of the wall. He looked relaxed and patiently waiting for his turn. Although we are the first few appointments for the dentist, it is still best to be on time or rather a few minutes earlier before the appointment. The table in the center display a few different magazines available for anybody who is waiting, I guess. So, I grab one and started reading. A minute later, the attendant came to let the guy across me go in to see the dentist. I wonder, how long will I be waiting when my appointment was scheduled at 8:00 a.m. I like my appointments early in the morning because I kind of believe that mornings are full of freshly rested people and also to avoid those hot headed people who are grumpy.

Two minutes later, the attendant showed up like she knew me and ushered me to a room. She ask me a few questions like what the reason of my appointment. You know, those prep that they do before the real professional guy shows up. And told her what type of procedures I want to be done today. It was my crown that bothers me at the moment, must have bit something hard, it chipped the corner of my crowned molar. Since, I was already in for an appointment, having a thorough check up might be a good idea and told her to do a full dental x-ray. She agreed, of course. She came back with the tool for doing x-ray and preparing my open mouth for whatever you call that little thing that goes in before someone click a button to start the x-ray machine. She was so quick to run but I was wondering if that is what I want.

Stop! I said to her and took the thing off my mouth.

She said " what happened?".

How come this is very small? How could this accommodate a full mouth x-ray? I ask.

Oh, I am sorry. We don't have that machine anymore. We use to have that but not now. We have to take 4 films in order to do the full mouth. The attendant explained to me.

I decided to do only one x-ray for concerns regarding too much exposure. The dentist came in to checked me and advised to keep my crown as it is alright. That was a good advise, saving me from an expensive crown replacement which could cost me around $1000 for one. He did whittle it out so I no longer feel the sharp edges around it and  checked my mouth for any other problem that requires attention. With that saving, I decided to have a full cleaning.  Cleaning will take place in a different room and handled by the hygienist ( is that what you call them?). She poked, scrape, spray some water, sucked out some with the hose until she cracked one tiny speck out of my tooth. She was so calm, no reaction until she was done, asking if I feel any difference. No. It seemed like the same to me. She must have cleaned the areas my tongue can't feel. Then, my roaming tongue hit something sharp. Whoops! What is this? A crack? A chip or a broken tooth? Oh no! concern about more damage to my too much predicament teeth already. Something's wrong here, pointing with my tongue, I told her. Oh, yes, I accidentally broke a little piece of your filling and left. Hmmm... wondering where she went.

The attendant came to get me and took me to the other room, the first room I was in. the dentist came and said to me that he will fill one tooth and another one that the hygienist chip off my tooth. I was glad to hear that but not to pay for it. I wonder if saying the word FREE would make a difference.

After all the procedures done, it is time to pay. My bill came to $503.00 and it hurts with no insurance to cover some. They did gave me a 10% discount but that is still kind of expensive for me but still have to pay. I asked a few dental care questions while waiting for my printout receipt and the two ladies who were in the front desk shared some advice on what to do to keep my gums and teeth healthy. One of the ladies showed me a packet of flossing stick for convenient carry on when on the go. I paid for my bill less 10% discount and left the clinic.

Hours later, I have the inclination to take a look at the receipt before filing it on my dental records. Something caught my eye - 4 films. What was that?  My x-rays came out as 4 films? I wonder about the $80 charge for 4 films. That is a lot to pay for one x-ray I did.

I will be heading that way to run an errand this afternoon and decided to inquire about it. One of the ladies was on the phone and the other one tried to help me. I questioned about the x-ray charges and she told me that everything is correct. That 4 films is for the x-ray, she said. She went looking for my chart but seemed to be lost, can't find my chart. I was a little impatient and said it's okay, believing her explanation. The other lady tried to cut short her conversation on the phone as if she must have understood the error in the bill. She looked at my bill that was paid earlier and said that the attendant who was helping the dentist must have forgotten to write down how many x-rays were done and that there would be no way for her to know how many x-rays were done unless specified by the helping attendant. I understand that and own the fault for not checking the bill before paying. She handed me $46 something for the discrepancy and thanked her for correcting the mistake, handed me the correct bill of services rendered for the day.

It was an experience with a lesson to learn that day. Now I make sure to check the charges on the receipt before paying and leaving the premises. It is a must to correct any error that should have been spotted right there to avoid wasting time, gas and money. Oh, well, these things happened. I am just glad knowing the payment was for services done and no money thrown away for nothing. One more thing, I realized that asking the front desk staff about dental care issues are not worth much for they work in the office and probably doesn't have enough technicalities about dental care. I should have asked those questions directly to the dentist! I end up not checking the charges and have to go back for clarification that costs me time and gas.

My advice to myself - Check the bill at all times before paying. Ask questions if there is any confusion on any charges and ask the right person. 

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Going Over the Minutes

Have you been over your minutes with your phone bill? I have. It was one of the choking days of my life when the phone bill arrived. Shock at my AT&T bill of $280.63 for the month of March cause pain in my pocket and anger in myself for going over 500 minutes. My plan is the lowest and simplest. It costs me $40 for the month with 450 minutes and 5000 minutes for weekend and weeknights. It includes roll over for minutes not used and free mobile to mobile with AT&T line. Sounds alright with me for a few years because I only use the phone for calls. I never had go over the 450 minutes for each month. But as time goes by, I got so comfortable with the phone that calling becomes a habit and checking the minutes is the forgotten practice. Now, I am facing this horrible bill that needs to be paid or decisions are to be made in the future.

This is something preventable and I failed to spot it! I personally understand that it was my fault to incur this much bill for a month but my mind was racing for someone to blame for my mistake but hope to deal with it in a diplomatic way.

I called AT & T for help. I talk to a customer service representative and found out that it costs me 45 cents for each minute and that is ridiculous!  Knowing how much it costs me for 1 minute all the more add to my anger.  I ask if there is a way to help me out from paying this much. The lady at the other end said to me that it might be good for me to upgrade to a higher plan. The higher plan would be $59 a month for  900 minutes and unlimited weekend and weeknights. I told her that is too much for me and can not afford that. Continuing to tell me that upgrading would prevent me from incurring high cost of paying 45 cents a minute when  it happens again. I explain to her that this is the first time it happen and I hope the company would be kind enough to help out as I have been with AT & T for 10 years. I also mentioned that other mobile companies charge the same amount with unlimited calls, text and web as I've seen on TV advertisements. She then told me what separated AT & T with other companies blah blah blah...., which I don't want to hear  except if she'd give me a credit for my bill which is a thin chance. She offered me a $50 credit to which she said that normally they only allow $25. That is all she can do and she called her supervisor to process the transaction but with a catch - I have to upgrade to higher plan. That threw me off and decided to cut off the call with a vision - I will be switching when the time comes for me to end this contract.

If the other company can offer the same monthly fee with unlimited calls, text and web, why should I stick with AT & T  that doesn't care for me who has been with AT &T for 10 years.

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