Like Sands Through the Hourglass

I wasn't quite sworn to secrecy, but I may be breaking a promise with this post. Fortunatly I have a readership of about 5, so no one will ever know. That gives me a fair bit of freedom.

We've always managed just fine with the digital clocks on our microwave and stove, but lately we've been noticing the effects of age and wanted something a bit bigger. Big enough to see from the living room at any angle.

So, now we have a new clock in our kitchen. And it's big. If we had no walls I'd be able to see it from anywhere in our house.

About a month ago I asked my shopping-savvy sister-in-law to keep an eye out for a nice vintage clock for me. This isn't it. I beat her to it.

A few days later I walked into our school to find a heaping cart of clocks. Apparently kids notice when one clock is out by a few minutes and feel cheated out of 2 minutes of recess if their clock is set differently than the hallway clocks. So they were going high-tech and replacing all of their clocks with fancy satellite-synchronizing clocks. Couldn't handle the highpitched complaints, I guess.

I was told that the old clocks (which look exactly like the new clocks) were going to clock heaven. I have no need to have synchronized clocks in my house. In fact it's good if it runs a little fast. If I were to discretely put the big clock in my coat or in my massive purse, I was given permission to take one home. That isn't the same as promising not to tell anyone, is it?

Plus, kids notice things. They notice if a clock is wrong, and they also notice that our kitchen clock looks suspiciously like the school clocks. The word is now out.