This Can't Be Happening

I made many sandwiches today for the masses and I was very tired when I went to get the kids at school, plus I had to pee very badly. I wanted to simply go home and sit for the first time in almost 7 hours but this relaxation was not meant to be. Here are some of the lovely events of my late afternoon.

1. My friend called to tell me that her daughter had a major fit over getting rid of toys she hasn't played with for years. The fit occurred after this poor child told her mother that no one at school was nice anymore.

2. My neighbor told me that a kid in his class who he plays soccer with is being mean to him and threatened to beat him up in the bathroom. Obviously this isn't going to happen, but it's still scary to a ten year old.

3. My five year old went to the health room for the second time in exactly a week because he scraped his knee at recess. I think he's going to be in the health room once a week for the next six years. He now has to say goodbye to the school nurse everyday.

4. Cello lessons were painful. Children were scolded by teachers in my own living room.

5. My ten year old told me that the bully in point #2 above told him to go to some website so he could see nude pictures of Vanessa Hudgens. Isn't it great when ten year olds tell each other how to access porn on the computer?

6. I made tilapia for dinner but there were only 3 pieces and there's none left for me and my husband to eat so I have to think of something else to make. I'm thinking cereal or PB&J sounds quite lovely right about now.

7. It's raining which can double travel time between my husband's office and home. It's almost 8:00 and he probably won't be home until close to 8:30.

I'm opening some wine now. I have to find a way to relax because for some stupid reason I invited my brother and his girlfriend over for dinner tomorrow for his birthday. My house is a huge mess and I will need a lot of energy to get my family behind a cleaning blitz in the morning.

Good Night!

New Books

I have been reading another book by Carolly Erickson called "The Last Wife of Henry VIII." I've read a couple of her historical biographies but I think this is the first historical fiction of hers that I've read. It's about Catherine Parr's rise to power in the court of Henry the VIII. Because I'm basically lazy and prefer to be entertained as I am educated, I have grown to love historical fiction. I have become quite well versed on the players of Henry the VIII court through reading various authors accounts of it. I'm sure this latest book will not fail me.

And I am also reading a book by Richard J. Foster called "Freedom of Simplicity." I would never have picked this book on my own. I'm reading it with some women from my church. A friend of mine invited me to attend a Mom's club at our church that meets twice a month. I thought it was just a chance to get together with some women and have lunch. I had no idea I would have to read and study and facilitate discussions of spiritual disciplines. I fear I am over my head. But I am enjoying the book. I've read one chapter. I'm looking forward to the discussion on Tuesday. I plan on doing a lot of listening.

Much Ado...

As is typical of the beginning of the school year, there is a lot of drama. There are papers, meetings, schedule changes, adjusting to new grades with new teachers and new expectations. But most of this "drama" is really quite mundane. It is truly the volume of things to do in such a short period of time that can overwhelm. But the events of the past few days in our neighborhood did truly overwhelm too many people.

On Friday, a child at my sons' school was suspended for bringing a pellet gun to school. Some 5th graders on the Safety Patrol saw the gun, immediately reported it to an adult and the situation was resolved very quickly and efficiently. This was very unsettling, especially because the school administration didn't feel it was necessary to send any communication home on Friday. We had to wonder if a bunch of ten year olds had just saved the school from becoming another story of school violence. Rumors were rampant. Calls to school went unanswered. Our neighborhood was left hanging, wondering whether it was truly safe to send our kids back to school on Monday. There was talk of a group of parents who were threatening to storm the school at 8:30 Monday morning and demand a meeting with the principal.

This didn't happen. Communication came home Monday, offering an explanation of what happened and how it was resolved. News accounts filled in a few blanks that the school didn't provide.

But still I wonder. Our principal, a woman with small children of her own, went home on Friday and left her school hanging. She had to know that kids would run home to tell their families about the incident. She had to know that those parents would call the school and demand an explanation. How could she simply leave this neighborhood for the weekend? If this incident had happened at her child's school, would she have accepted her own action? I don't want to oversimplify a complex situation. I am not a school administrator and I don't pretend to know all the rules and regulations by which schools must be run. Perhaps some school board approval process prohibited the principal from providing prompt communication. I doubt it. I do think the principal may have acted differently if she were the type of person who knew how to treat all people.

Why don't people like our principal try harder to treat ALL others the way they would like to be treated? We weigh the influence and response of authority figures and people we may want to impress as we consider what to do in our lives. But too often we ignore the concerns of people we consider less well to do, less educated, or lower in our job hierarchy. What if we simply put some thought into how we would want to be treated were the situation reversed? Our world might be a little more pleasant.

Maybe our principal learned a lesson from all of this. I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. I just hope she doesn't disappoint me again.