A View from the Now-Retired Principal's Seat

People who know me understand how much I love my wife.  Without getting all "mushy," she really is the best thing that has ever happened to me.  Kim works at a local Fortune 500 company, and lately her hours have been very, very long.  In fact, she's been leaving our house at 5:30 in the morning and not getting home until after 8 at night.  About two weeks ago, I sent flowers to her at her office.  There was really no reason other than to let her know how much I love her and I knew she was working long hours.  I commented to a friend that I had sent Kim flowers, and my friend replied, "The best time to send flowers is when you don't need to!" I thought that was a neat response, and it got me thinking about other times it's best to do something. Here is my random list.  Each response ends with, "... is when you don't need to ." The best time to go to the doctor The best time to compliment a co-worker The best time to exercise The

I spent the summer before I was hired as a teacher working at a bakery.  It was one of those bakeries that used lots real butter, made cookies that were big enough to share between two people, and was frequented by everyone from college students to politicians.  While most of my time was spent washing dishes, I did have the opportunity to work the front counter. The owner of this bakery had a storied career.  He had been extremely successful in the bakery business for a long, long time, but through some unfortunate personal situations he was essentially starting over with a little bakery making and selling a very high quality product.  He and I spent quite a bit of time together, and I was a good listener. One afternoon just before closing time I started combining trays of cookies in the showcase that had not been sold.  The day had been slow, and I didn't expect that to change in the less than an hour we had left before we closed.  I was basically "tidying" the ar