What Do Ronald Reagan, Michael Jackson and First Graders Have in Common?

Sometimes I feel like a chicken with my head cut off. Trying to balance an ever-changing freelance career, keeping up with the house, kids, tutors 14 hours a week, activities, volunteering, etc. leaves me wondering what day it is more often than I care to admit. And you know it's bad when, behind the wheel of the car, you hear yourself ask "where am I going?" to nobody in particular.

But my hectic schedule is obviously nothing compared to that of the person or people who create the extra credit worksheet that comes home each week with Jacob's homework. Those people -- not actually affiliated with my son's school -- have been so swamped with whatever it is they do, that they haven't updated the sheets since probably the mid '80s. Check it out...



When asking a child to play a game using names of famous people, I'm not sure we're setting 'em up for success with examples like Mr. Rogers! And I don't think E.T., Garfield, Ronald Reagan or even Michael Jackson will come to mind when playing "Guess Who." Seriously, I'm not expecting Justin Bieber or anything but can we at least find a living pop culture icon?

Or is it that I'm just that old and Garfield has now found his way into our history books?