Pride @ MindSay

                Nothing big to report kid-wise today.  D had a little issue in the caf again but NOTHING compared to the last 2 Fridays, and they BOTH apparently were rude to Jerry, but really, nothing big.  Even A had his tantrums, and I had to take 4 minutes from second recess for first coloring on the table (3 mins) and then for not following my direction to stop because E was trying to do his work (1 min), but overall, the kids all had good days.  Yayy!!!!

                Today’s big issue was the fact that I upset Parker.  And I certainly didn’t mean to; and I certainly felt like crying the whole rest of the day (and still kinda do).  It was at the start of recess, and John Maloney and I were talking about how much influence Parker has over the kids; and Parker was there.  And Parker and I tease each other constantly, so again I said something about ‘not doing things Ms. J (the gym teacher) tells us not to do, not throwing balls at the wall w/ E, not engaging kids in conversation until after they have their folder out/lunch choice made/bag away aka, morning routine started and done. 

I really WASN’T criticizing him; these are things I am working on all the time.  I know he doesn’t think that way, and that a lot of it is not having as much experience in a classroom/training, but apparently he took it at great offense and he actually walked out.  And I went out into the hallway after him, and we talked for half a second, but it was clear he wanted to keep going, and not have company with it, so he kept going and I went back in to talk with John, feeling like a complete ass.  John said, “You didn’t say anything that sounded that bad” and I DON’T think I really did either, and I was saying it in a teasing manner, but … awkward afternoon.  He was professional and we talked a bit and there were some smiles…but it still felt off.  I don’t know if it was just me being ‘Overly-Sensitive-Emily’ and perceiving that he was mad at me because I feel that way a lot and that’s one of my big life worries, but… it didn’t feel the same.  It didn’t feel like how we usually interact.  Claudia said he’s really easy going and that it’ll be fine tomorrow, but I was telling her about what had transpired and I teared up a bit.  I would definitely undo it if I could.

Okay - faith in humanity restored and then some. Today with the weather at a phenomenally perfect and rare 75*F, I took my 7 and 4 year old boys for a long walk...for fun. A treasure hunt of sorts, just for little boys. Bottlecaps, abandoned pennies, a cool pebble or two - that's a small pirate's bounty.

At the local nursery, Westwood Gardens, we wandered around taking sanpshots with my new camera in hopes that they may be fodder for creating more fairies to paint. One of our favorite gals talked to us and thought the art concept was a very cool one - and when asked by two respectful, well mannered boys, let them water the plants with her "awesome" watering stick. Both boys thought she must be something so very special...she felt pretty good too, her monotonous job becoming something to rival an astronaut's excitements in a child's eye. How wonderful!

Next we wander to the convenience store. Here we find a biker gal next to her ride, a sweet lil Honda - My youngest says "She's a girl...and she's got her own bike. I like a girl like that." She blushes and smiles - he's made her day. Inside the shop, my oldest holds the door open for her companion, and gruff male looking the stereotypical biker way. He looks down at my boy, smiles, and says hi. He's still smiling when he leaves - the boys made them feel accepted and respected. How great a feeling that'd be!

To sum up, we're walking here and there, everywhere,lol. My oldest remembers truckers, and how to get them to honk. He does this a few times and realized that for each honk of the horn, the trucker smiled..and suddenly, they too were cool. So we set a lofty goal of 20 happy, friendly smiling truckers...we did it. And at the end we had tried so hard for, he'd gotten 20 horn pulls, 9 yelled "Hey", "Hi!" and "Yeah!"'s from those guys...and too many waves to count. Cellphones were dropped back to wave, and tense angry faces smiled and glowed with ego and pride. My youngest found a welding truck and saw the guy who ran it. After finding that welders stick things together and that it's way more cool than just mere glue, he decided that welder guys are much like Transformers, totally cool, and can do *anything*. His PaPa is one too - and now, he's as neat as any old fireman could be. How fun!

So look - here's the take home from all this - you meet people every day who feel just as meaningless, hopeless, and dreary as you. You can make them feel amazing and worth it all, or you can ignore and slam..and prove their false impressions true. You see, the difference is simple. Some raise their kids to be lawyers, doctors, and biotechnicians..among other things. I raise my kids to know that every job, every person, guarantees the way of life we all take for granted  stays running and ever changing. Sure, being a doctor is cool - but the tools that doctor uses were made somewhere, and that tool was made from something, and that something was created and processed somewhere by some guy no one notices or cares.

Life is full of thankless jobs, ignored and belittled people, and underpaid champions. If not for these people, would you have the lifestyle you have now - with the things you have, and the services you rely on? Pass the proverbial buck, spread the karma cash around. Say thanks to the people who do things for you, be it a bank teller, lawn kid, or grocery bagger or cashier. If you have kids, let them know they can aspire to anything, but sometimes becoming something big in life is begun by starting small, and that's okay too. And encourage them to notice who does what, and what it accomplishes. You'd be surprised how many clerks and secretaries become important and appreciated, looked up to, and best of all, equal to the more glorified jobs.

To become cool, act cool and teach what cool is. To be unconditionally cool about and to others is....well....the coolest thing ever - especially to boys like mine.

Here's a smile and wave at ya~

Lilli HK

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"And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled; and whosoever shall humble himself shall be exalted."
- Matthew 23:12

Sports are one of the few things that bring this country together. if you feel what i am saying send this paper to all the people you know, and encourage them to be more proud, because if we lose our faith in sports, we lose our pride in everything.