do I have any takers?

There are things that will probably always be a mystery to me, calculous among them. Leap into the business world and there are terms and ways of operating that are quite foreign. Take the idea, for example, of a hostile takeover. I guess right now Delta Airlines is still fighting against one. From what I have gathered listening to Marketplace and NPR in general, I think it has to do with another company making a bid for a company that doesn't want to sell, but if that company's share holders decide it's a good idea, then, takeover??? Okay, that is a complete guess. I honestly don't know. But the idea intrigues me. I wonder how something like that would work in my world.

For example, if someone wanted to come in and make a bid for the cooking position at our house, I'm guessing the shareholders, who have to eat my cooking, would whole-heartedly give me up for the chance at better, more constistent meals. They may not be so keen on someone coming in to take over the house cleaning, because I think I do a decent job at that. Also, they pay scant attention to the level of cleanliness, it means little to them, so sadly, all you maid services, I suggest not trying. My kids are pretty attached to their dad, so I don't think I'd have to worry about a husband hostile take-over. And hopefully the same could be said of my position. Although, let's be honest, given that I am home with the kids a heck of a lot more than Ben, I have more chances to screw up. And I have and do. Several times in the last week in fact. So maybe I'll have to rely on pure biological attachment to hang on to my spot.

I'll be honest, though. There are days were someone to offer to come in and take over, I would gladly let them. I heard a great poem the other night on Writer's Almanac. Really splendid. And I think it sums up how we all feel from time to time.

understudy

She just wants an understudy, a body
double for the days when she does
not feel like appearing in any of the roles
she has assumed and/or been assigned.
She places an ad in the paper. Wanted:
one wife, mother, daughter, neighbor,
friend. Live-in OK. Own car necessary.
No lines to memorize; everything ad-
libbed. No days off.

by Beverly Rollwagen, from She Just Wants, The Writer's Almanac