Most mornings, I go outside and check the flower beds around the house to see if any dandelions have worked up the nerve to sprout.  If I get them soon enough, they don’t have time to run their root down and get hold.  The root is always at least three times as long as what is above ground.  Nasty little buggers.

I think children are the same.  They are always learning, putting down deep roots of “knowing things” long before there is any sign of growth on the outside.  By the time they get to first grade, they have five or six years of learning under their belt--  from watching their parents.  And we wonder why there are so many problems in the schools today.  Parents aren’t what they used to be.  The world isn’t what it used to be.  When I grew up, every woman on my block was my parent.  Everyone helped “grow us up.”  We couldn’t get away with anything.  Everyone went to Sunday School. The Bible’s instructions on behavior were the bottom line.  And the school teacher was respected.  It’s so bad now that we can’t find people to teach.  There used to be a line of teachers who wanted the job.  Not any more. Why apply for a job where you will be constantly abused? We have lost something in our society.  It’s sad.