A great day!


As one of the youngest of my cousins I have had a variety of examples to learn from.

Yesterday we enjoyed an extended day with the best of them. R&Q are interesting, successful in both their careers and their family life. They have cool kids (K&A), inspiring jobs, gorgeous houses, great personalities - you get the picture. And they seem to have what I most wish for: work-life balance!

Through they years I have taken tips from them in child rearing. T & I try to raise kids by fostering an interesting environment (R&Q's jobs alone would give any kids a great start, our asset has been how much we have exposed our kids to through travel), discipline as necessary and be aware of what is going on at school. It is so great to see their smart, well-adjusted high-schoolers. They too have an older daughter/younger son mixture.

Q reminded me to look beyond the daily issues or class placement questions and see the big picture. I am going to do that more. They too have had criticisms of their school, and even moved to get a better education for their kids.

Most of all, seeing their kids now and remembering similarities to my kids then, makes me relax. A was also obsessed with Pokemon cards some 7 years ago. N is right on track to A's coolness, I hope. K was never a girly-girl and neither is C. K draws. C writes. It's all good!

It's the last week before school starts: again we will follow their example. The MO is enjoy the fresh air, eat well and spend time with interesting people.

(The picture is from Friday night - we were on a different lake on Sunday)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New decade new post

It's the new decade and I'm already a little unsure about its start. N bonked his head and we ended up in the ER for a STAPLE. It was pretty inhumane - but much faster than stitches. I am directly dreading when it gets pulled out on Saturday! Then this morning the alarm didn't wake us, not because I didn't set it, but because I didn't check the volume level and of course it was silent. Everyone got to school as close to on time as to not call it tardy, but N needs a few minutes in the morning to get his act together if he is going to finish his morning work on time. I am pretty sure his teacher thinks I am a flake of a Mom who can't get her kid to school on time! Flake or not, I spent most of the weekend with N (I brought him to see my Dad, C stayed here for a birthday party and some quality Daddy time). He had a great weekend, despite the ER visit. N loved that I let him run wild where I never thought I would. In a pinch for some kid fun on a cold day?
Read more

What not to say....

My good friend posted on Facebook yesterday that one of her kids' teachers said, " Ok. You all need to stop talking now. I hate this class already." As of now she has 20 comments. Several comments were negative towards tenure (the program where teachers who have worked for 3 years in their position get a "job for life" and it is nearly impossible to fire them). I certainly understand resentment towards tenure. However, I also understand the comments - several left by teachers - saying that this isn't indicative of how the vast majority of teachers feel or teach. Some, like me, begged her to contact the school (I said she should bring it higher, to the Assistant Superintendent). She said her kid didn't want her to. What would have I done? I would have called. Immediately! It isn't in my nature to wait and see. I'm hot headed and I just can't help myself.  Would that have been in the best interest of my child? Probably not. It would be
Read more

Why I'm Voting for Barry Walker

Image
A long time ago in a Galaxy Far Far Away... ... I ran for a School Board. It is not a position to take lightly or to vote for "just anyone".  You've seen the signs... Barry Walker is running a tough, but honest campaign. It's not easy when your main opponent is an incumbent with strong political ties and a tendency to play by his own rules. In fact when I ran against him years ago, he used the Middle School directory to solicit votes. As an attorney and a board member - or even as a parent who can read - he should have known that this was verboten , since a "not for solicitation" clause is printed on all school directories. Misuse discourages families from including their information in the future.  As the saying goes, "it's easier to get forgiveness than permission." Maybe I'm jealous? Since I wrote the elementary school's directory and had every single email on my computer, I was tempted to do the same - it would have take
Read more