>I think my favorite local Chinese restaurant changed suppliers. Its cookie fortunes make sense less and less often. They are supposed to make some sort of sense or impart a certain wisdom, aren’t they? Last night Husband brought home supper (Dragon and Phoenix: Mmmm) and we had some “What the heck?” reactions to the fortunes.

Husband’s: “You have an unusual understanding of the problems of human relationships.” Really? He’s an engineer, people. He works with technology. Cameras. Television equipment. People, yes, but mostly tech.

But on the other hand…he’s the family spokesperson at IEP meetings. Since we realized that teachers tend to overreact when I, their colleague, bring up difficult points, he’s taken on the Speak Firmly and Carry a Big Folder of Evidence role. He does it well. Maybe there’s an angle to this fortune after all.

Mine: “Smile often, and see what happens.” Huh? This reminds me of the old t-shirt saying: “Smile! People will wonder what you’re up to.” Then there’s “When Irish Eyes are smiling, they’re up to mischief!” I’m not Irish, so that last one doesn’t apply.

But on the other hand…smiling, even when I don’t feel like it, can help raise the mood of my classroom. Kids relax a little, focus better, feel safer. A smile might go a long way during this long, long stretch toward a belated spring break.

La Petite’s: she’s home for a few days to rest and let her body begin recuperating from mononucleosis. We’re helping nurse her back to health by cooking and doing her laundry and taking care of her rabbits – and bringing her Chinese take-out that’s a bit better quality than what she gets near her campus apartment. Her fortune cookie announced: “The secret of success is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.” She looked at it quizzically, read it aloud to us, and shrugged her shoulders. Maybe that philosophy will cure her acid reflux – or not.

But on the other hand…This is a young woman with a very positive body image and no eating disorders. She enjoys her food and doesn’t overeat – well, not often. She’s a pretty decent cook, too, for a university kid. So she’s supposed to let her food duke it out inside her digestive system? What on earth does that mean? This fortune got lost in translation.

Leftovers! Chinese food take-out almost always provides enough for leftovers. I had the Dragon and Phoenix again for lunch today. The cookie with my lunch leftovers proclaimed: “Be patient. Good things come to those who wait.”

This one is simply unoriginal. But on the other hand…I think I’ll sit down, read a book, blog, drink coffee, and wait for the laundry in the dryer to finish. Maybe I can claim the cookie’s advice told me to slow down and take a break.

Or something like that.