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Living Upscale Downhome (continued) by Sheri Dixon
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And our son is simply thriving in this environment! We decided not to enroll him in public school and he’s enjoying the luxury of one on one tutoring. I KNOW, it seems a horrible extravagance, but it’s such a joy to see him blossoming with lesson plans that are authored specifically for him. Well of COURSE he is involved in organized sports - every day after lessons are finished, he joins up with other kids in the neighborhood and participates in non-age-level-specific, cross-cultural execution of a variety of casual competitions that encourage team play, foster both leadership and listening skills, as well as emphasize lasting friendships over short-term victory.” By this time, my audience is usually frozen with professionally whitened teeth exposed and drying out by their "polite smiles", framed with their carefully painted and pouty lips. Their eyes (expertly lined and lashed with extensions) gaze at me a little glazed, and I can tell they are not sure how to respond. Since timing is everything, I never wait for their response. I’ll wait till just before the silence gets plumb uncomfortable, smile even bigger and more sincerely than THEY smiled, graciously tell them how WONDERFUL it is seeing them again, how they simply MUST call me soon and come out to visit, and beat a hasty retreat to the food table (if there’s anything left that’s still edible) on my way out the door. Between the door and my car, my shoes will be off. Once in the car, the makeup gets rubbed away before it suffocates my face. Home is calling me, and I hum a little ditty as I maneuver through the traffic towards my old Bubba truck with the gun rack, drafty old farmhouse, loveable serious Pyrenees in the yard, barnyard full of building and repair projects, vegetable garden, dairy goats, laying hens, old trusty pressure canner, and my beloved home schooled boy who’s playing a never ending constantly shifting set of hybrid sports with the neighbor kids. The public relations guys are right. It’s all in the Spin.
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