* Beverage distributors have taken a huge step by vowing to remove all non-diet sodas from America's schools. Students will still be able to access diet pop, as well as milk and juice from vending machines during the school day.

While I fully support the removal of pop from schools, I have to wonder if it's going to create a desire for something they can't have.

For example, I don't forbid pop in my house. We simply don't have it around because there are better, cheaper things to drink -- such as water. We occasionally have a 12-pack of root beer in the basement in case of root beer float emergencies, but that's only when the pop is on sale.

But my kids are a shining example of what can happen when something is not around very often and then is suddenly within reach: They go overboard.

During a recent get-together at my house, out-of-town family members brought a variety of cans and bottles of pop as their contribution to dinner. I spent the majority of the day wrestling Mountain Dew bottles and Dr. Pepper cans from little hands, each time finding the child with a newly-opened beverage. With so much caffeine in their systems, no one wondered why my kids were still bouncing off that walls at 11 p.m. that night.

Is this what will happen when pop is removed from schools? Will they resort to bringing their own soda from home?

Theoretically, the pop drinkers could bring bottles from home, they could start carting coolers full of cans, they could cover the back seat of their vehicles with 2-liter bottles.

Of course, this assumes that the student in question is not the type who is buttoning his shirt or brushing her teeth on the way out of the front door on school days. For this student, packing a six-pack of pop is not going to make their to-do list.

(Some readers may have noticed my use of both "pop" and "soda" and been confused. The first time I used the word "pop" around a friend from the south, she thought I was speaking a foreign language. It wasn't until we stumbled upon the synonymous word "soda" that she understood what I was talking about. We agreed to disagree about which word was correct.)

* With the Nebraska primary election results available, I can compare my voting record to those who have advanced to November's general election.

From what I can recall, I batted about 15 to 20 percent in the voting booth.

Obviously, I am not in agreement with most of my fellow voters. I don't know whether to be upset that the candidates I supported were not selected or satisfied that I gave a little boost with my vote to those candidates who didn't make it out of the primary. The latter theory makes me feel better, so we'll go with that idea.

* Many thanks to the readers who agreed a few weeks ago with my fondness for Apple computers, despite the lack of technical support available to Macintosh users. Their responses actually made up for not being able to find a solution to my Internet/e-mail quandaries.

I would like to note that the majority of the bugs on my computer have worked themselves out and my e-mail system is back up and running. Whether that is a good thing is up for debate. After being off-line for a week, I returned to find 400-plus messages in my main e-mail account. After deleting all the spam, obscene ads, useless software promos, I was left with ... count 'em ... five messages specifically sent to me.

* Finally, Happy Mother's Day to all my fellow mothers out there.

May someone do the laundry for you this weekend (and not turn everything pink); may someone fix you dinner (and actually do the dishes afterward); and may you take a long, luxurious bath (without being interrupted six times).

And if you don't think you are adequately recognized this weekend as a mom, point out what you actually worth.

In a study released Wednesday, a full-time stay-at-home mother would earn $134,121 a year if paid for all her work.

A mother who works outside the home would earn an extra $85,876 annually on top of her actual wages for the work she does at home, according to the study by compensation experts Salary.com.

Salary.com offers a Web site (http://www.mom. salary.com) where mothers can calculate what they could be paid, based on how many children they have, where they live and other factors. The site will produce a printable document that looks like a paycheck, which is obviously not negotiable.

When presented with the check, maybe then your family will realize what a steal they are getting in the "Mom Department."

-- Ronda Graff won't print out a check for her family, since she, nor anyone else, can't figure out why her computer doesn't like her printer.