mindaTHINK

Poetry: It can still make me cry

WHAT TEACHERS MAKE or
OBJECTION OVERRULED or
IF THINGS DON’T WORK OUT, YOU CAN ALWAYS GO TO LAW SCHOOL by Taylor Mali

He says the problem with teachers is
"What's a kid going to learn
from someone who decided his best option in life
was to become a teacher?"
He reminds the other dinner guests that it's true
what they say about teachers:
“Those who can, do; those who can't, teach.”

I decide to bite my tongue instead of his
and resist the temptation to remind the dinner guests
that it's also true what they say about lawyers.

Because we're eating, after all, and this is polite company.

"I mean, you’re a teacher, Taylor"
"Be honest. What do you make?"

And I wish he hadn't done that
(asked me to be honest)
because, you see, I have a policy
about honesty and ass-kicking:
if you ask for it, then I have to let you have it.

You want to know what I make?

I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.
I can make a C+ feel like a Congressional Medal of Honor
and an A- feel like a slap in the face.
“How dare you waste my time with anything less
than your very best.”

I make kids sit through 40 minutes of study hall
in absolute silence. “No, you may not work in groups.
No, you may not ask a question.
Why won't I let you get a drink of water?
Because you're not thirsty, you're bored, that's why.”

I make parents tremble in fear when I call home:
“Hi. This is Mr. Mali. I hope I haven't called at a bad time,
I just wanted to talk to you about something your son said today.
He said, ‘Leave the kid alone. I still cry sometimes, don't you?’
And it was the noblest act of courage I have ever seen.”

I make parents see their children for who they are
and what they can be.

You want to know what I make?

I make kids wonder,
I make them question.
I make them criticize.
I make them apologize and mean it.
I make them write.
I make them read, read, read.
I make them spell ‘definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful,
definitely beautiful’
over and over and over again until they will never misspell
either one of those words again.
I make them show all their work in math.
And hide it on their final drafts in English.
I make them understand that if you got this (the brains)
then you follow this (the heart)
and if someone ever tries to judge you
by what you make, you give them this (the finger).

Let me break it down for you, so you know what I say is true:
I make a difference! What about you?

More Lies

Having kids is HARD! I mean WAY hard!

This week I've had a scare with my oldest, worrying about things that I can't go into, and today I had a horrible time with my youngest. 

No one tells you about the hardest part of parenting.  The part where if you spend 90% of your time with the little critters they are gonna become a part of you, a part you love more than your self.  A part you will seek to protect from harm, even facing your fears.

Today I thought I had the easy job.  Sit by Andrew's side while Andrew and Scott had dentistry work done.  I wasn't in the room 5 minutes before the full horror hit me. Me, the one who hates dentistry above all else, who would rather give birth every six months than visit a dentist every six months was going to watch while our sweet dentist yanked three teeth out of my baby's mouth.  Um.  Wait.  How about you take my teeth.  It'll be okay.

Andrew cried, "It hurts, it really hurts" and I felt like dying.  We have been home three hours and I'm still curled up in a ball, hardly able to function.  I dont' ever want to watch him suffer like that again.  I don't ever want to sit idly by while tears run down his face. 

He on the other hand seems to have bounced right back.  I think his pain got to the dentist too, who kept apologizing for the noise (a loud cracking sound that turned my bones to jelly) and afterwards, white as a sheet, he looked me in the eye and told me in front of Andrew that he felt having three teeth pulled translated to BIG MONEY.  Yes, he actually said that!  I wasn't sure if that meant he was going to charge us double or if that meant the toy we were to buy Andrew needed to be amazing, but I opted for the big toy and right now Andrew is painstakingly putting together his Indiana Jones Temple Lego set. 

But I hate that it ended up all being a lie. I was sure the novocaine shots wouldn't hurt.  I was sure the teeth coming out wouldn't be painful.  Apparently I was wrong on both counts.  And when he came through it all with a mouth full of bloody gauze I felt like I had betrayed him.

Scott said he felt like rising up from the next chair over and punching the dentist.  And we have a great dentist. 

Sigh.

So I'm pretty out of it tonight, Andrew is fine and Scott and I are looking at each other across an adult beverage with sadness.  I remember when I was in the midst of labor with Andrew and it had gone long and painfully, and without much progress.  I remember saying, "I dont' want to do this, I want to stop!"  Of course, everyone ignored me because yeah, turns out you can't stop that whole labor thingy with very good results.  Anyway, that is how I feel today.  I need off this merry-go-round.  Its too scary. I want my figurative mommy.  Or at least I want to not be the mommy.  At least for a few hours.  It hurts too much!

Life Moving at the Speed of Sound!

So much has happened in the last week and now we are off to the dentist again in an hour, this time to actually have some work done on Andrew and Scott.

Andrew took his 2nd grade CAT test yesterday and kicked it in the butt!  He was giddy with laughter at how much easier it was this year versus last year, and the math section was the biggest surprise.  He's really made amazing progress and I predict we will be taking CAT 3 in May or early June.  I reviewed his answers and I think he only got one wrong...out of 120 questions.  And, it only took him about 45 minutes to take the whole thing!  WHOA!  So proud.

Colder than ever today, -15 below upon wake up, the apartment which is normally toasty is a little nippy.  SO I am dressed for the occasion:

Tons of new layouts going on over at www.tallyscrapper.com.  A beautiful Feb 15 kit is really rocking my world right now!

Got me a new phone: she's purple

My phone battery was not holding a charge very well, so after our walk yesterday and our adventure at the orthodontist, we stopped in and picked me up a new free one.  Turns out when you keep the same phone for four years they:

• Stare at you like you're a crazy woman, thinking, "Man I was in grade school when this phone came out"
• Tell you things like, "That company is out of business now"
• Ask you hard questions about your new phone like "what manufacturer do you want to go with and what features do you want?"
• Give you a really nice phone for free because you have so many phone credits saved up from not switching very often.

I've got a camera, a video, a digital media player and a buncha other stuff that I don't even pretend to understand.  But most importantly, she's purple.  Pretty!!!  Scott had plenty of credits to get one too, a green one.

Horror Story

Three tooth extraction appointment: next Wednesday

Next step: wait for permanent teeth to grow in: two months

Molds and the sitting down discussion of the cost of 2x4 braces for one year: shortly thereafter.

Sigh.

Crafty Friends are Grand!

My very own Barbie Doll, now with smaller bosoms.

Lisa made this today and it is SOOOO cracking me up.

More about it at www.tallyscrapper.com

To Whom It May Concern:

To the Person or Persons in whose space I parked in downtown St. Paul tonight:

I want to apologize for the inconvenience to you.  I can't imagine how annoying it is to come home and find your spot taken.  I'm sure the missing sign reserving your space has been a constant source of trouble for you in an area with tight parking to begin with, and added to what I assume was already a frustrating day.  I see that it took the towing company 45 minutes to arrive after you called them, I hope you didn't have to drive around the block that whole time waiting for your spot to be cleared.  I know you couldn't park elsewhere, because then you would risk being towed.

I hope it didn't ruin your day entirely and because I have no way of knowing who you are, and because I was trying to figure out how to get my car back and didn't leave you a note at the time, I hope you aren't laying in bed tonight feeling angry or bad about the whole experience.

I'm pretty positive I will NEVER park in your spot again.  If you haven't already, let it go...and I hope the management gets your sign back up soon so you have no further difficulties.

I had a sweet friend give me a ride to the towing place, I had the money available to me to pay the towing fee, and my car appears to be unharmed.  I'm so relieved it wasn't wrecked or stolen.  My husband was only a few minutes late for work and the whole experience opened my eyes to an urgent issue I need to address.

Oh, and it gave me another opportunity to be grateful for the sweet nature of my husband, who didn't chide me even a little bit.

Go with God, whoever you are.

Minda Shultz

Politics

A great discussion going on over at www.Tallyscrapper.com regarding politics.  Some of my favorite Tally gals are in IA and NH, so they have both been barraged already with the candidates for president.

I made a pledge last year to learn more about the candidates so my vote this year would be informed above all else.  Well, as informed as is possible with my distrust of the media and all thing political!

After some initial background reading, I have been noncommitally leaning toward Barak Obama.  I love his charisma, he seems serious and gentlemanly, I think he could gain respect from people outside our borders.

Today I took a look at the issues that are key to me and took a test...to determine which of the candidates best fit my interests and beliefs.  The first test was at www.glassbooth.org On this site I learned that actually Obama and I only see eye to eye on 55% of the issues important to me, while Ron Paul and I feel the same way about 81% of the issues important to me.  Ron Paul.  Hmmm...I have a friend, a fellow homeschool mom, who is a strong supporter of Mr. Paul and is campaigning for him.  I have some discomfort with him, namely that his voting record is not supportive of some of his positions, those that are nearest and dearest to my heart.

Mainly what the survey told me though, since the top four candidates in the poll were the bottom four in my survey, is that what I believe and how I feel about the issues, is vastly different than your standard American.  Meaning?  If I vote according to the issues alone, I will not be voting for the next president.  Because the guys at the top of my list?  Yeah, I'm afraid they don't have a chance.  So, then do I just go with who of the top runners I think is the least problem?  Your thoughts?

Artist of another sort

I have three fabulous children and really sometimes they scare me.  I mean who am I to have such talented, amazing kids?   Lucky is what I say!

Many of you have seen my daughter's beautiful artwork, and more can be seen at www.Tallyscrapper.com.  Her name there is ErinElise2884. 

But many of you have never seen what my eldest son Jason can do.  He's started doing some recording and posting at YouTube, so now you can!  His name is NoLongerSlave on YouTube, and here is one of his songs.

Isn't he fabulous?  To be able to play, write and sing, and he taught himself how to play the guitar and bass and drums, the only music lessons he had were for piano years ago and sax.  He just blows me away!

He NEVER suffers in silence!

Andrew loads the dishes and cleans up after dinner each night.  He does it now without being asked, but not without fussing and complaining.  Thing is, once he gets going he's singing away, happy as a clam.  But first he must protest.  I took these pictures last night, and Lisa provided the caption.  Brilliant girl that Lisa!

I am bursting with pride over that kid right now, he's such a wonder!  Loving Eight.