Ant and the Grasshopper!

Can't resist posting this great read....it's a prevalent situation ALL around!

ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER

This one is a little different.... Two Different Versions.... Two Different Morals

OLD VERSION

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away..

Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed.

The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!

MODERN VERSION

The ant works hard in the withering heat and the rain all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while he is cold and starving.

Channels 7, 9 and 10,the ABC and SBS show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.

Australia is stunned by the sharp contrast.

How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green.'

Acorn stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the group singing, 'We shall overcome.' Cardinal George Pell then has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake.

Prime Minister Rudd condemns the ant and blames John Howard, Robert Menzies, Capt James Cook, and the Pope for the grasshopper's plight.

Bob Brown exclaims in an interview on Today Tonight that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and calls for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.

Finally, Labor in conjunction with the Greens draft the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer.

The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confisca ted by the Government and given to thegrasshopper.

The story ends as we see the grasshopper and his free-loading friends finishing up the last bits of the ant’s food while the government house he is in, which, as you recall, just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around them because the grasshopper doesn't maintain it.

The ant has disappeared in the snow, never to be seen again.

The grasshopper is found dead in a drug rela ted incident, and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the ramshackle, once prosperous and once peaceful, neighborhood.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote in 2011.

I’ve sent this to you because I believe that you are an ant – not a grasshopper! Make sure that you pass this on to other ants. Don’t bother sending it on to any grasshoppers because they wouldn’t understand it, anyway.

Mathena's FIRST day at school

Mathena stepped into the doors of Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Primary School yesterday. 4th Jan 2010. She missed out on the orientation the year before hence this is a NEW experience for her. Mathena is our trooper and our brave little girl. Even the teacher (at the end of the day) was attracted by her smile and ooomph! She's been in and out of this school many times as Letitia goes there as well so it is not entirely a new place to her. But the uniforms, the shoes, the bags, the classroom, the teachers etc is an exciting event! We celebrate her, her milestone, her life and of course, we can't help but THANK GOD for the entire experience.

Mathena seemed fine when I visited her during her recess. She was assigned a nice 'little' buddy,
the same statue as her during this season of maybe 2 weeks. This Primary 2 child has the role

of befriending her, showing her arounds school, help her with getting food or drinks on top of being a company. It's amazing how after seeing LETITIA on both ends of the programme, the little ones step up to their roles and mature in the click of their finger. There were parents of primary 2 kids who remained in school for the sole reason that they are worried their little ones don't know how to 'buddy' etc. Many went back surprised at their own kids..

Enjoying her packed sandwich by mommy. She turned around just so I could snap a picture.

Back to recess...eating...30mins of NOT MUCH PLAYING involved here. This will not be the case in Australia. It'll be 15 mins eating, then 30mins of FREE play.

Lining up with the day's worth of load to get into the hall for 'devotions and quiet reading'. The blue bags are their art folio which is left in the school closets.

Spot the cheeky grin!

Daddy came out to send her off. She was thrilled to see him!

All dressed up and READY to go..

KOLO MEE lunch (a Kuching favourite) as a send off.

The day they GREW up!

I thought I better document this before I get into another whirl wind of busyness.

It is official! I have STOPPED homeschooling.

In the midst of getting the girls ready to face another school year, the books, the prep
talks, the uniforms, the rules, the timetables, the lunch boxes, the planning and not to forget the ever difficult task of punching all their routines into my faithful phone/organiser etc. I actually forgotten that as of today, 4th January 2010, I am NO LONGER a homeschooler.

The last of my off-springs has happily bounced off to the big world of Singapore
education. Roller bag and all.

I still struggle inside. I struggle not for the saying 'farewell' but for the simple
lost of the joy that I used to have when I saw their little faces light up, when they
'got it'. The thrill I once knew when they will run/turn to me as if I was the ONLY
walking dictionary they know of. The pleasure of knowing that we can pack up
and travel ANYWHERE around the world and STILL be educated with TONS of fun
piled on.

When Letitia first stepped into school a year plus ago for the last quarter of Primary 1
I learnt to let go. I relented my 'teacher hat' but rediscovered a new role all
together with her. I became her moral and mental coach. I had to revamp the entirety
of the school concept to make it look fun, positive and worth pursuing. I've learnt
to hold Letitia's hand when she is unsure, to challenge her to try the unknown and
yes, to encourage her to ENJOY learning, though noone else seems to be keen.
She's fighting each day to NOT be held down by the scores, the marks and the
rankings. She knows it, I drill it, we WANT to believe it but.... it's still a long
process.

Mathena being the 2nd child, we just love her for who she is. She is
very unassuming yet every bit unpredictable. Just when we expect her to shine in
confidence, she'll fall to bits at the slightest change. She's learnt most of the ropes
with regards to school through the many days and hours I have spent in Letitia's
school. Now she is HOLDING these ropes, tightly and very eager to climb.

I believe every part of our lives is blessed by GOD. Even when we don't ask for it,
GOD blesses us. I have been blessed. These 2 girls will constantly remain the two
bestest gifts I have ever received from GOD and Alex. Even when we were tossing on
whether to foot out the money (desks are NOT cheap!) in search for a suitable desk,
we found one at 1/10 of the price as new, as good! At tehe 11th hour, unexpected!
Even THIS is a blessing...

I now juggle 2 systems of schooling. I now juggle 2 personalities and learning
types. I now have EVEN less time to myself. I have one daughter to herself half the
day every day. I am blessed!

Thank you, God!

Mathena is in PRIMARY school