The Bubble, Aaron Rodger, Budget Repair Bill, Weather, Hunger All in One Column

Well the local groundhog didn’t see his shadow last month (because he couldn’t even make it out of his den, if you recall, due to the blizzard), but it looks like winter is going to drag on for six more weeks anyway. The TV weatherman said tonight that our temperatures are going to be below average for the next week. After having just returned from a five-day family vacation in Orlando, I don’t know what’s worse…. staying home and dealing with the cold or having had a taste of shorts-weather and THEN having to come back to the cold? I guess I’ll count my blessings and be grateful that we got a short reprieve. Still, after having half my family come down with the stomach flu while we were on our trip, it was nice to get back home.

Yes, things are pretty sweet here in Greendale. They don’t call it ‘the Bubble’, for nothing, right? Still, not everything is perfect here all the time. Don’t even get me started on the whole thing going on in Madison with the budget bill. Even in our peaceful little village, it is pitting families and neighbors against one another and even has Like a lot of people, I feel very passionate about the subject, but I am finding that the old saying is true - politics is not a polite topic of  conversation.

Hunger is also not a nice subject, but one that still touches people in our own community. As a way of combating it, this week the student council and PTO at held a food drive to collect non-perishable items for the Greendale Food Pantry. Students filled two large barrels with items to help the needy. As a reward, all the students were able to have their photo taken with a life-size cardboard cut-out of our own Aaron Rodgers. Sadly, it’s hard to believe just one month ago that all you had to do to unite every Wisconsin  resident was say “Green Bay Packers” and “Super bowl” in the same sentence!   

Help is also on the way in the form of a new program being offered by the Greendale School District. program is a partnership between the district and Aurora Healthcare. It is free to any family or student in the district and offers confidential in-person or phone consultations with master level counselors. Some of the issues that can be addressed include anxiety/depression, child/family issues, drug/alcohol issues and academic issues as well as financial consultation, child/elder care and legal consultation. The goal of the program is to foster academic excellence by promoting healthy homes and families. For more information, visit the school district website at http://greendale.k12.wi.us/.

On that note, here is to a healthy, happy week. Hopefully warmer weather and state-wide peace aren’t far off either!