Adventurous April

Saturday, March 31, 2012

A Bumpy Ride with Ugly Luggage



WOW!  Bailee's illness turned out to be strep.  She missed four days of school and dance, which means she was one VERY sick little girl.  She became a slug/couch potato and slept most of the time.  She was miserable.  Her grandmother came down with bronchitis, so she was also ill (but thankfully not as bad as Bailee).


Of course, I caught both bugs.  At the same time.  I do not do things half way.  Just because I'm me, and I get dehydrated easily when I am ill and running a fever, I also got an ugly UTI.  My body has been my worst enemy for nearly two weeks.  I am starting to feel better now, but my energy level is down.  Way down.  Unfortunately, expectations on me have gone up.  Who is in charge of that stuff?  I was very thankful to have the coming week off for spring break (my daughter's school district had last week off - which I found stupid).  I woke up this morning with a side ache.  On my right side.  Yeah, you can probably guess where my thoughts went.  Sheesh!  Needless to say, I decided to pass on working at the studio on costume and set clean up this morning.  My daughter was fine with that (she still went, along with my sister), but my sister and mother are not happy with me.  There will be a sign-up sheet for others who are displeased circulating ... please feel free to sign.


Which comes to today's topic - expectations.  Some of us have low expectations, others have high expectations.  For ourselves.  For others.  Honestly, I have pretty high expectations for myself.  I worked at the shop last night, then came home and did three hours of work on the studio website.  Today I'll be working on preparations for spring registration (brochures, fliers, ads, etc.).  I will also correct papers, plan lessons for April, work on AIMS Web, and Safari Montage lessons.  Somewhere in there I will clean house, make bread, and plan and prepare dinners for the week.  Oh, and then there's the garden to plan and yardwork to think about.  See ... I am NOT a slouch. 


My frustration stems from people who decide I am a slouch because I let one of my pieces of luggage stay on the carousel today.  Why are we so harsh with others?  Why do we feel the need to judge others? 


Lest you think I am an angel in this regard, I'll admit to getting frustrated when I feel others have dropped the ball.  I am irked when my students don't study for tests or complete assignments.  I am cranky when people show up late, or miss appointments.  I sigh deeply when people I am depending on don't do the things they agreed to do. 


This all brings me to this observation.  Do I know their stories?  Do I know what is going on in their life?  Do I know how many balls they're trying to juggle or how many pieces of luggage they're trying to keep track of?  The honest truth is - I don't.  If I don't know all the struggles they are facing, what makes me think I am in a position to judge them?  Honestly, it's a right I don't have.  I don't like it when others judge me, so why do I turn around and do the same thing?


I'm not saying I'm going to drop expectations I have for other people.  However, I think from now on I will try to have a little more understanding.  Before rushing to judgment, I'm going to seek out the "rest of the story" and exhibit the compassion I would like to be given.  After all ... we're all fighting a hard battle.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

A to Z

I'm a teacher.  I like surveys.  This one, courtesy of Janetha from Meals and Moves was most appealing.  It fits with my Saturday mood, so here goes ...

A is for age: 55, which sounds old to me.  I don't feel that old, nor do I act that old.  I have a 13 year-old, so old is not an option.  I also teach fifth graders, so I don't even know how to do old.  This is a good think.  Old doesn't have much to recommend it. 


B is for breakfast today: Chocolate chip pancakes.  I know.  Terrible - but they are #1 on my comfort food parade ... and my sick daughter asked for them today.  Poor baby.  I can deny her nothing when she's sick.


C is for currently craving: Grain burgers that I used to make back in the day.  The mix I used has disappeared from the organic foods section of the store, so I am on a quest to either find it on the Internet, or recreate it on my own.


D is for dinner tonight: Probably homemade pizza, or whatever the sick child requests.  She may want the kale soup I made last week, as she loved it.  I could go for that.


E is for favorite type of exercise: Swimming or biking.  Neither of which I can really do right now, but spring is on the way.


F is for an irrational fear: High bridges.  They absolutely freak me out.  Especially the high bridge over a chasm on the way from Mammoth to Tower Falls in Yellowstone Park.  I blame it for starting the whole bridge terror thing.


G is for gross food: Anything slimy.  I have horrible memories of these hamburgers my mom fried that had this gray slimy coating on them.  I don't know how she did it, but the memory still makes me shudder.


H is for hometown: Livingston, Montana.  It was a great place to grow up, and really beautiful.  I have the best memories of the mountains, the smell of pine trees, and the best star-gazing sky in the world.  I ran the hills and woods as a kid and did some absolutely ridiculous things.  It was great!


I is for something important: My family.  Always the top priority, even when they make me crazy.


J is for current favorite jam: Raspberry.  It reminds me of summers in my grandmother's raspberry patch in Minnesota.


K is for kids: Beautiful ballerina Bailee.  She's the most fantastic 13 year-old I know.  I am her biggest fan.  How did I ever get so lucky to have her in my life.  I also have a "son," Caribou ... a crazy American Eskimo dog.  He's a teenager too, but not nearly as civilized as his "sister."  I also have several other "dance daughters."


L is for current location: Our living room. 


M is for the most recent way you spent money:  Gas.  How painful!  I do lots of commuting and hauling, so the current gas prices have a big impact on me.  Today I'll be investing in Jamba Juice smoothies and an iced chai at Starbucks as well.  That sounds much better than liquefied dinosaurs.


N is for something you need: More time.  Maybe a new job.


O is for occupation: I teach fifth grade.  I love the teaching part, but hate the other crap.  Teachers in Idaho have been totally disenfranchised, so it's been pretty rough.  We get treated like garbage.  Hence the comment in N.


P is for pet peeve:   People who have children and then ignore them, putting their own agenda first.  If you can't put your child higher on your priorities, get a pet rock.  They won't care if you treat them with total disregard.


Q is for a quote:   This week - "Would you like the knife you just stabbed in my back returned, or do you intend to just leave it there?"  from FRAZIER.  This totally relates to some decisions made by our school board this week which are not only stupid, but abusive.


R is for random fact about you: I hate Idaho.  A lot.


S is for favorite healthy snack: Kale chips.


T is for favorite treat: Coconut M and Ms.  Coconut frapps from Starbucks.


U is for something that makes you unique: I'm a teacher, a writer, a web designer, and I'm on the staff at a ballet studio/dance shop.


V is for favorite vegetable:  Asparagus and kale.


W is for today’s workout: Chasing ballerinas around.


X is for X-rays you’ve had:   Too many to name thanks to sprains and several broken bones.


Y is for yesterday’s highlight: Coming how from work at the dance shop to find three dancers at my house making cupcakes, doing their nails, and getting hugs from all of them.


Z is for your time zone:   Mountain.  I have mixed feelings about the switch to daylight savings time.  I like the additional light at night, but I also like the early sunrise.  I hate the way the kids act though.  They're zombies for weeks afterward.


So - that's my alphabet soup.  I'm now off to medicate my child.  I then have to ferry dancers to a benefit performance for an all access playground.  It's only one dance, so I'm hoping we can get Bailee through it.  That's the rough part about dance - when you're missing a girl in a routine the whole dance falls apart.  Time for essential oils and home remedies ... then a trip to the doc if she doesn't improve.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

An Open Letter to Parents

Dear Parents,


I am your child's teacher.  We've never met.  I have received notes and e-mails from you on occasion, so I know you exist.  I just have a few things I wanted to mention to you.

  1. There is a difference between giving a child life and giving a child A LIFE.  I wish you understood that.  A child needs to be cared for, talked to (not at), and valued.  Once you bring a child into the world, your agenda should move down in your list of priorities.
  2. Things don't take the place of love or time.
  3. Your child is a child, not a mini adult.  They need your involvement in their life.  Children make lousy parents.  I wish yours was not trying to raise themself on a diet of video games, junk food, and television.  Parenting is a hands-on, dirty job.  Suck it up and DO IT!
  4. Take an interest in your child's education.  You are part of a team.  Please play your part.  Its inconvenient and messy, yes, but vital.  Look on it as a sound investment if that helps.  You can help junior be successful now, or you can support the little darling for the rest of their life. 
  5. Be an advocate for your child, but please don't step in and try to prevent them from experiencing the natural consequences for their behavior.  If you think your child "would never do that," you are probably wrong. 
  6. Sending nasty notes or e-mails to the teacher will never make a situation better.  Screaming at them on the phone is also not helpful.
  7. Your child will not die if they are asked to do hard things.  They will find that they have the capacity to do hard things.  Once they know that, the world is theirs. 
  8. Don't raise your child to believe they are "entitled" to anything.  Anything worth having is worth working for.
  9. Self esteem doesn't come from praise or gold stars, it comes from facing challenges and overcoming them.  It also comes from failing, and having the courage to get up and try again.
  10. Pay attention.  "Life moves pretty fast," as Ferris Bueller said," and if you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it."