The Whole 'Tude Family!

The Whole 'Tude Family!
Trying to stay warm...Snuggling: the answer to the quest for world peace!

Monday, November 29, 2010

Santa, the Tooth Fairy & the Easter Bunny...

My daughter is in third grade. I'm not really a fan of third grade so far for an ever-increasing number of reasons.

Probably not the most important reason but definitely the one responsible for the most tears and every gray hair on my head is how unbelievably mean kids can be to other kids. The most recent example of this began on cue with retailers everywhere the minute Halloween ended and it became, for all practical purposes, Christmas.

Every evening I ask my daughter this: "What was your favorite thing about school today?"

And her answer is usually something like this: "So-and-so isn't friends with so-and-so anymore because they wouldn't trade the Silly Band she wanted." Or "I was the last one on my side at Dodgeball in PE. Why did everyone throw it at me?" Or "Miss So-and-so is getting married in 73 and a half days! Do you think she'll let me be a bridesmaid?"

But today was a little different. She said this: "I'm the only one at my lunch table who believes Santa Claus is real. Is he really really real? Like not just in your heart but really real?"

Crap.

I say: "He is real to all the people who believe in him. How does it make you feel when you think about Santa? (Happy.) Me too. Do the kids telling you Santa isn't real act like they are feeling happy? (No.) Well, then I guess they don't have to believe in Santa, but I'm going to believe he's real and do the kinds of things Santa would like for me to do."

Two hours later when I'm tucking her into bed, my daughter looks up at me with these huge green, searching eyes and asks, "Mom, is the Easter Bunny real?" I say, "Yep, and the Tooth Fairy. They get together and play chess when it's not their holiday." She thinks a minute, crunching her forehead like she does when she's working on a math problem. Then she says, " I feel sorry for the Tooth Fairy because she has to work a lot harder than the other ones, and she probably isn't very good at chess because she never has time to practice."

I was also informed that the Easter Bunny wears a yellow suit with white buttons, has big fluffy white ears, and flosses since he's always eating so much candy. In case you were wondering...

It's Official!

It's official.  I'm a member of the Blogosphere.

Really I can't believe it's taken me this long to start a blog. I mean, it's kind of perfect for me--a chance to write, throw out an opinion or two, tell seemingly-endless stories that really do have a point if you stick around long enough...So here goes!

Here's what I'm thinking:

So this blog is a place for me to tell stories--my stories from my perspective in my way. That's for the little devil on one shoulder. The little angel on the other has this to offer: These are my opinions, my views, no one else's and shouldn't be confused in any way, form, shape, or fashion with my day job, place of employment, or any people I actually know. (Don't worry! I'll change your name if there's any chance I might possibly tell a story that's incriminating or otherwise spills the beans.)

I'm a mom and I'm a teacher. Those two roles seem to be the ones on which I'm expending the most energy these days, and I have plenty to say about both parenting and education, or the lack of parenting and the desperate shape public education finds itself in at the moment.

I'm also an activist. There. I said it. I've been trying really, really hard my whole life to keep from rocking  whatever boat it is I find myself standing on. Yeah, it never works. I fight for underdogs, especially when it isn't popular. I'm the one who will call out unfairness and injustice because somewhere deep in the fiber of my being I just can't sit there and say nothing. Trust me; I've tried. Not happening.

I love dialogue, so please feel free to share your thoughts as well. I'll say this--I like that as humans every single one of us gets to form and share the opinion or thought that resonates as true, BUT I sort of have this thing about saying it nicely. It's totally fine by me if you disagree with me. Chances are I'll learn more from people who see things in a different light than I do, but please respect that everyone is entitled to their thoughts. Deep yoga breath....it's totally fine if everyone doesn't agree. Seriously, how boring would it be if everyone had the same taste in everything! Ugh!