A Girl’s Gotta Do . . .
Amy was a member of the first and second grade Sunday School class that I taught with my friend Karen. So was our son John. I have sweet memories of that group of kiddos, as I do of all the children’s Sunday School classes in my past.
Amy had a saying that she repeated often: a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. The saying has application in many aspects of life and has become a favorite in our family, giving us fond memories of sweet Amy, who passed away young several years ago.
The Notgrass History convention team has taken our curriculum to Cincinnati this weekend. If you are at the convention, stop by the exhibit hall today from 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. or Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Shipping is free on any Notgrass History order placed at the convention.
When the team dusted off the convention supplies, which had been packed away since their last convention in March of 2020, we decided that since our convention displays all have our old logo on them, we needed a new sign with the new logo.
The old and the new
We decided to keep the sign clear and simple with only the logo and our slogan, Teaching the Heart, Soul, and Mind.®
On Tuesday things were not so simple. The logo on the new sign was very pixelated—so pixelated that I could not bear to look at it. I am not kidding. I examined it at headquarters and my eyes actually felt uncomfortable even after I got back in our car. The word from the sign company was, “Yes, we noticed it was fuzzy, but thought it would look okay from a distance.”
This problem was quite a surprise because it is not like we have not ordered signs before—lots and lots of signs in almost 24 years!
We even have a sort of sign museum in our old warehouse.
In 24 years, we have become rather old hands at convention preparation and setting up and tearing down booths from Worcester, Massachusetts, to Orlando, Florida, to Anaheim, California, and lots of places in between.
We became old hands at setting up signs from Worcester to Orlando to . . . well, you get the picture.
We loved meeting many wonderful and kind and confident and scared homeschooling parents along the way and many adorable children who have given us sweet encouragement.
The days have long passed since I pulled out my ironing board and sewing machine to make appliqued signs.
As we negotiated a free replacement with the company who made our new sign, we found out that we were in a predicament. They couldn’t get it ready by the time our convention team needed to leave. I could figure out only one option. I asked a team member to go to Hobby Lobby® and buy every color of blue marker that was anywhere close to our new logo colors. We could return the ones that wouldn’t work. I would outline the letters the best I could so no one’s eyes would go bonkers from looking at our this-just-has-to-work-for-this-one-weekend sign.
Here I am on Tuesday evening outlining the new logo with paint markers and then—because none of the colors were an exact match—filling in the entire poorly printed logo and the Notgrass History letters below it.
After all, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. As you can imagine, the experience reminded me of a long ago time I spent with an ironing board and sewing machine at our home in Cookeville, Tennessee.
I know that is how you fill your days—doing what a girl’s gotta do, which reminds me of a Fanny J. Crosby hymn.
To the work! to the work! We are servants of God,
Let us follow the path that our Master has trod;
With the balm of His counsel our strength to renew,
Let us do with our might what our hands find to do.
Thank you for doing the work that your hands find to do. You are being a great example for your kids, who need to grow up knowing that a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do and a boy’s gotta do what a boy’s gotta do.
Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,
But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
Give her the product of her hands,
And let her works praise her in the gates.
Proverbs 31:30-31
Remember: If you are at the Great Homeschool Convention in Cincinnati this weekend, be sure to stop by the exhibit hall today from 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. or Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Shipping is free on any Notgrass History order placed at the convention.