Who knew that a piece of paper with a color coded belly could be so valuable. These brown-bellied bears are a precious rare find in our household.
Rewind to the start of the school year. My youngest son started school this year. The parents were told that each day the children would bring home a color coded bear. If your child's behavior is good then the child would sport a brown-bellied bear. Yellow bears had been warned about behavior throughout the day. You get the picture with the red bears. When the child gets 30 brown belly bears he or she gets to pick a prize from the prize box!
At this point in the school year I could wallpaper the kitchen with red and yellow belly bears. If you read my last "Not Me Monday" post you will have noticed the teacher meeting on Monday. This was the major precursor to that meeting.
Judahbug has had some sort of metamorphosis over the last few weeks. I know that around this time of the year they seem to have things start to click in regard to school work and putting together the pieces of the information puzzle. But his behavior has improved exponentially. He rushes in the house each day after school with this sneaky little grin on his face. In his grasp the deposit of another brown belly bear.
Today, I am proud to say, has marked 6 brown belly school days in a row. This morning we finally have gathered 30 brown belly bears!!!!!!!!!! Judahbug is proudly submitting his brown belly treasures for the opportunity at the prize box. My friends it is a monumental day in this house!
So, know that somewhere in a kindergarten classroom in North Carolina there is a very happy little boy who today will redeem his brown belly currency for a treasure. He will be rushing in the house today with a treasure in one hand and the start of his brown belly bear savings for his next good behavior treasure!
February 26, 2009
February 24, 2009
Not Me Monday!
Ok, Today is still my Monday so I am going to do a "Not Me! Monday!" post.
I did not have a 7 am appointment with my youngest son's teacher this morning. While getting out of the car to put on my coat I did not let the door close and lock my purse and keys in the car.... Not Me!
I did not have my husband drive to the school to bring the extra set of keys to unlock the door, only after bruising my forearm while attempting to reach the lock through the gap at the top of the window left because the door didn't completely close. Not Me!
I did not go back home seething with disdain because the teacher made this "imperative" appointment during a phone conversation on Friday because she could only fit me in at 7am today, she showed up 15 min late, and she had forgotten the appointment all-together. I was not upset while I watched her "dig" my son's file from the bottom of a very disorganized pile of various other files. I did not show my disdain while watching her search to remember what was so important that she had me meet her so early on a Monday morning. Not Me!
I did not let my sick boys watch TV all day so I could rest for night shift tonight. Not Me!
I did not get upset when I found out that the person that I had asked to sit with my children this weekend so my husband and I could go see the new Madea movie, had gone to see the movie instead. I would never be that self-centered! Not Me!
Finally, I did not enjoy having my Nanner Puddin' (aka my granddaughter) with me on Saturday and Sunday. I did not absolutely adore every silly thing she said and did. Finally, I did not cherish snuggling up to her and watch her angelic face as she slept
Not Me! I would never have done those things!
February 19, 2009
Night Shift
Ok .. I am getting ready to go home from a 12 hour night shift. Tonight was relatively uneventful. This is if you think houses burning down, cardiac arrest in a 2 year old, domestic assaults and shootings are uneventful. I work in a busy 911 communications center in North Carolina. It is always organized chaos here. That is what we "adrenaline junkies" need to survive.
Any given night I may talk someone out of suicide, help with a bleeding wound, or give CPR instructions for a loved one calling in desperate need of assistance. That is what I am trained to do. I do it efficiently and with confidence.
We aren't necessarily trained to convey that we really care. Tonight I had a caller tell me that I was "the best". I simply gave her basic trauma instructions for someone who had fallen and received minor scrapes and bruises. I did it with genuine concern for the caller and the patient. My goal is to convey that I do really care to each caller. If I can let them know that at least one person in the system cares, then I have completed my task.
I guess in that regard, my night was a success!
Getting ready to go home to rest. I will be back here in 12 hours for another 12 hours of drama. I guess I wouldn't have it any other way....
"Random"
Any given night I may talk someone out of suicide, help with a bleeding wound, or give CPR instructions for a loved one calling in desperate need of assistance. That is what I am trained to do. I do it efficiently and with confidence.
We aren't necessarily trained to convey that we really care. Tonight I had a caller tell me that I was "the best". I simply gave her basic trauma instructions for someone who had fallen and received minor scrapes and bruises. I did it with genuine concern for the caller and the patient. My goal is to convey that I do really care to each caller. If I can let them know that at least one person in the system cares, then I have completed my task.
I guess in that regard, my night was a success!
Getting ready to go home to rest. I will be back here in 12 hours for another 12 hours of drama. I guess I wouldn't have it any other way....
"Random"
February 15, 2009
"Relationship Pollination"
During the last few weeks there have been a staggering number of circumstances that have caused some introspection on my part. As a mother I have had to think about my role and how that role evolves as my children grow up.
My daughter is the oldest of my four children. For sake of anonymity will call her Pumpkin Pie. She has essentially molded the routes I have taken over the last twenty years of my life. I was a very young mother. I struggled for many years trying to prove to the outside world that I was capable of being a good mom. I have relaxed as time has gone by. She has always been a very autonomous individual, but our relationship has remained close.
In September of 2006 Pumpkin Pie gave birth to a daughter of her own, Nanner Puddin'. Pumpkin Pie was also a young mother. I tried to be helpful during her pregnancy. I was there for every doctor appointment and right by her side for Nanner Puddin's arrival.
This week Pumpkin Pie gave birth to her second baby girl, Little Muffin. Pumpkin Pie told me that she and her husband wanted everyone to stay at home until Muffin was born. SHE DID NOT WANT ME THERE WITH HER WHEN SHE GAVE BIRTH! I was devastated! My heart felt as if it were being ripped from my chest. How could she not need, or at least want, me there with her during this monumental event. I am her mother and she NEEDS me! I had been there through stitches, broken bones, heart aches, and the birth of her first child. The only conclusion I could arrive at was that I had failed as a mother. This was her way of telling me that I was no longer worthy and she no longer needed me.
The next few days were very difficult for me. After much introspection and deliberation I came to a conclusion. I had not failed as a mother, on the contrary, I had been a raving success! I had raised and independent woman who is comfortable making decisions. She was able to say no even though she knew it would hurt me. Pumpkin Pie has become a woman!
After my epiphany of enlightenment I had a further revelation. I have recently attended a meeting, the speaker referenced relationships and how we pollinate through them. I further pondered this concept. The bee diligently gathers nectar as he is divinely ordained. This is necessary in the reproductive health of the flower. As he travels from flower to flower he is unaware that he deposits pollen he has acquired from previous flowers he has encountered. This fertilizes each bloom he touches. He is unaware of the grand impact he makes on each plant! The relationship between the bee and the flower may short-lived but the results will last a lifetime.
I have mostly viewed relationships as happenstance. I now see it differently. What I have imparted into Pumpkin Pie, and she into me, must be divinely ordered. I may feel I have failed, when in reality I have been a raving success! I am given a divine order to raise my children in the ways of the Lord. The attributes that I gather from my relationship with Christ transfers to my children.
It is an awesome thing to know that I have been entrusted with the monumental task of being a mother. It is all~the~more amazing to look at my Pumpkin Pie and know that I haven't done half bad!
My daughter is the oldest of my four children. For sake of anonymity will call her Pumpkin Pie. She has essentially molded the routes I have taken over the last twenty years of my life. I was a very young mother. I struggled for many years trying to prove to the outside world that I was capable of being a good mom. I have relaxed as time has gone by. She has always been a very autonomous individual, but our relationship has remained close.
In September of 2006 Pumpkin Pie gave birth to a daughter of her own, Nanner Puddin'. Pumpkin Pie was also a young mother. I tried to be helpful during her pregnancy. I was there for every doctor appointment and right by her side for Nanner Puddin's arrival.
This week Pumpkin Pie gave birth to her second baby girl, Little Muffin. Pumpkin Pie told me that she and her husband wanted everyone to stay at home until Muffin was born. SHE DID NOT WANT ME THERE WITH HER WHEN SHE GAVE BIRTH! I was devastated! My heart felt as if it were being ripped from my chest. How could she not need, or at least want, me there with her during this monumental event. I am her mother and she NEEDS me! I had been there through stitches, broken bones, heart aches, and the birth of her first child. The only conclusion I could arrive at was that I had failed as a mother. This was her way of telling me that I was no longer worthy and she no longer needed me.
The next few days were very difficult for me. After much introspection and deliberation I came to a conclusion. I had not failed as a mother, on the contrary, I had been a raving success! I had raised and independent woman who is comfortable making decisions. She was able to say no even though she knew it would hurt me. Pumpkin Pie has become a woman!
After my epiphany of enlightenment I had a further revelation. I have recently attended a meeting, the speaker referenced relationships and how we pollinate through them. I further pondered this concept. The bee diligently gathers nectar as he is divinely ordained. This is necessary in the reproductive health of the flower. As he travels from flower to flower he is unaware that he deposits pollen he has acquired from previous flowers he has encountered. This fertilizes each bloom he touches. He is unaware of the grand impact he makes on each plant! The relationship between the bee and the flower may short-lived but the results will last a lifetime.
I have mostly viewed relationships as happenstance. I now see it differently. What I have imparted into Pumpkin Pie, and she into me, must be divinely ordered. I may feel I have failed, when in reality I have been a raving success! I am given a divine order to raise my children in the ways of the Lord. The attributes that I gather from my relationship with Christ transfers to my children.
It is an awesome thing to know that I have been entrusted with the monumental task of being a mother. It is all~the~more amazing to look at my Pumpkin Pie and know that I haven't done half bad!
February 5, 2009
02/05/09 Getting Started
I am told that if you want to be a writer, then write. It doesn't matter the forum or the content. Just get acquainted with how to convey what needs to be said in an exciting and compelling way. That brings me here. I have lots to say, but I am not sold on how to share all of the "Random Thoughts in my Cluttered Mind".
Knowledge and information are what sustains the essence of all that makes me who I am. Somehow I developed a fervent drive to gain more and more knowledge. I can theorize the catalyst to this, but I will save that for another time.
So the vehicle I should use to convey this diverse conglomerate of information is my immediate dilemma. I am sitting here trying to develop my "style" of writing. What exactly does that mean? My style of verbal communication is much like rabbit holes, random and incomplete. If you happen to run across this blog, please know that this is an experiment in progress.
Knowledge and information are what sustains the essence of all that makes me who I am. Somehow I developed a fervent drive to gain more and more knowledge. I can theorize the catalyst to this, but I will save that for another time.
So the vehicle I should use to convey this diverse conglomerate of information is my immediate dilemma. I am sitting here trying to develop my "style" of writing. What exactly does that mean? My style of verbal communication is much like rabbit holes, random and incomplete. If you happen to run across this blog, please know that this is an experiment in progress.
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