This last week has been kind of tough. My friend and neighbor Candace passed away unexpectedly at the age of 66. She was a kind woman who spent her life in service as a nurse. She was married to the same man (my friend Peter) for 41 years and she has two grown children. Both men are good people and I consider myself fortunate to have met them.
When Steve and I first moved in Candace and Peter went out of their way to make us feel welcome in the neighborhood. We were invited to family birthday parties, they made and brought over pizza, and when I was very sick in 2008, they checked in on my in-laws who were watching our kids at the time. They were just as neighborly with them as they were with Steve and I.
Candace was found on her bedroom floor, a victim to a massive heart attack. The last things she had done before passing from this life were to care for her husband. She had ironed his shirts and cleaned the bathroom they used. This was after a day spent with her beloved husband, lunching and laughing. Peter told me they had gone together to have a Chinese food buffet and then come home.
I hope that when it is my time to go, I will have been as giving a person as she was. Candace made sure her boys had what they needed growing up and from all accounts she was just as giving with her friends. At her eulogy today one of her friends recounted about how she visited a friend in the hospital who had a hip replacement she was not satisfied with the traction set up that they had and went about fixing it to ensure this friend healed properly. That was just who she was. She wanted to be sure that those she loved and cared about had what they needed.
I am still in shock that she is gone. It will take a while for me to adjust and I hope that I can be a good friend to my neighbor Peter as he grieves the loss of his wife.
In the same week that this happened, a friend of ours, Steve, had a pons stroke (see http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/ate/seniorshealth/205224.html for a description of a pons stroke). There was a period of time that he could not speak, see or move. What is so shocking about this is that he is just 41. This young father of four children suddenly had his life stop in its tracks. Thank God he is recovering now, but his family needs him and came dangerously close to losing a good man.
His wife Michelle was incredible through everything her family endured. She kept positive for her children and made sure that they were surrounded by loving people while there was such uncertainty about the fate of their father. Would I have the grace under pressure that she does? I don’t know. I hope that if and when it ever becomes necessary I can answer yes.
What I find myself thinking about after the two tragedies this week is relationships. How relationships need nurturing and care to flourish. How easy it can get to rely on others’ understanding of your busy schedule and how in the blink of an eye you can lose any opportunity to let them know how truly special they were to you.
If it sounds like I feel guilty it’s because I do. With both of these relationships Candace and Peter as well as Steve and Michelle I find myself thinking about how time can run out for me to show them how much respect I have for them. I’m left speechless when something like this happens because I haven’t spent time with them to let them know. Thankfully I still have time to express to Steve and Michelle how much their friendship means because he is still with us, but you know what I mean.
I suffer from social awkwardness. I get in a room with someone who is not a family member (and sometimes with family members too) and I don’t know what to do with myself. I find myself worrying if I said the right thing. I worry that I said too much or too little. I never realized this until recently but I avoid social situations sometimes because I am so worried that I will not handle it right.
The cost of this avoidance? I think I miss opportunities to develop relationships to a deeper level than they are. When I am faced with a situation where I need to interact with people I focus too much on what I should say. I want them to know I care and I make it more complicated than it needs to be to show them that care and concern I feel.
What shows you that someone cares about you? Is it a kind word? Their willingness to go out of their way for you? Their follow through on things they have promised? Does the amount of companionship matter to you or do you think that it’s more about the quality of the companionship when you have it?
I’d love to know what it takes to be a friend in your book. Please, comment below if you can take a moment to do so. In the meantime, I have a call to make to a friend. I think we need to go for coffee and just “hang out.”
Monday, March 24, 2014
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
What Did I Just Do?
Ok, so I’m panicking. I quit my job so I can write full time and I am freaking out. Mostly because our finances are taking a hit for this move. There are two sides to the freak-out session. First, I keep thinking, “What did you just do? You had a decent job that paid half-way decent money and you just ditched it. Are you crazy?” If I let myself follow this track for too long I become more and more crazy. I start thinking about begging for my old job or maybe working at McDonald’s. I start worrying about taking care of the kids. I begin to get teary-eyed and start feeling like I was being tremendously selfish for quitting like I have. I mean, how are we going to take care of things? Steve has a great job. His check covers what we need. I just worry about giving the kids what we WANT to give them. How are we going to send them to camp? How are we going to pay for college, how are we going to take care of the myriad number of little nickel-and-dime-type things that raising kids involves? I mean, there is karate, there are music lessons, there’s baseball, there are field trips, museum passes and the like. WHAT DID I DO? WAS THIS THE MOST SELFISH MOVE I HAVE EVER MADE?
This leads me to thinking about how this is such a first-world problem. There are many people who struggle to find jobs to put food on the table. They give up time with their families to provide what is needed for those very families. Their children don’t get to spend time with them, except for the briefest of moments saying goodbye in the morning and goodnight at night (and that’s only including those that work first shift). How many latch-key kids are there out there because both their parents work to provide them with clothing, food and shelter? I was lucky to have the job I had. It allowed me to (for the most part) see my family and also help them to achieve their dreams. Steve and I have been fortunate to be able to provide experiences and activities for our children that supplement their day-to-day experiences of school and home.
The second part of my “freak-out session,” involves my confidence. I wonder what I was thinking when I quit to write. I could have written part time, couldn’t I? Why did I quit to write? Do I really think I can become the next Stephen King? If I do, perhaps I should have remembered that good ole’ Steve King held down several jobs during the course of pursuing his chosen career. He taught and he worked in a laundromat just to name two. Why did I need to quit again? I haven’t done any writing for pay since my days in college. True I loved it, but it has been a while…like 23 years or so. I’m also not all that confident about some of the nuts-and-bolts of writing. My content can be pretty okay, but knowing the style, punctuation and grammar rules is not always my strong suit. Shouldn’t a writer be good at that stuff? Shouldn’t I be an expert in that in fact?
Then I take a breath and try to remember that this move was never about the money. We knew that there would be a proverbial tightening of the belt involved. We knew that my quitting was going to involve some adjustments. So I guess that part of the adjustments we are making is to think about work in a different way. Maybe work isn’t only what is paid for? Maybe work is the passion that we pursue throughout our lifetime. Maybe if we can create something of value from nothing that is important work too.
I feel like I have something to share with those who will listen. Maybe something I say will resonate with you. Maybe it’s about my son Thomas. Maybe it’s about marriage and family. Maybe it’s about what it takes to pursue an authentic life. I don’t know. I just know that I have to try this path out and see what comes. I keep hearing how the children in a family can’t truly be happy unless they know their parents are happy. I wasn’t happy not writing.
Some would say that to pursue a career path, particularly a NEW career path, they have to jump wholeheartedly into it. So perhaps immersing myself in writing and everything to do with it will lead me to my next opportunity. Maybe I can develop a presence in my writing that others can relate to. I hope that you can see a little of your own struggle in what I am doing. I hope that you can relate, even if only a little.
At any rate, I took the plunge. I left a job that was not fulfilling me. I picked a direction. Now that I’ve picked my direction, I’m going to run with it. Want to put your sneakers on and run with me?
This leads me to thinking about how this is such a first-world problem. There are many people who struggle to find jobs to put food on the table. They give up time with their families to provide what is needed for those very families. Their children don’t get to spend time with them, except for the briefest of moments saying goodbye in the morning and goodnight at night (and that’s only including those that work first shift). How many latch-key kids are there out there because both their parents work to provide them with clothing, food and shelter? I was lucky to have the job I had. It allowed me to (for the most part) see my family and also help them to achieve their dreams. Steve and I have been fortunate to be able to provide experiences and activities for our children that supplement their day-to-day experiences of school and home.
The second part of my “freak-out session,” involves my confidence. I wonder what I was thinking when I quit to write. I could have written part time, couldn’t I? Why did I quit to write? Do I really think I can become the next Stephen King? If I do, perhaps I should have remembered that good ole’ Steve King held down several jobs during the course of pursuing his chosen career. He taught and he worked in a laundromat just to name two. Why did I need to quit again? I haven’t done any writing for pay since my days in college. True I loved it, but it has been a while…like 23 years or so. I’m also not all that confident about some of the nuts-and-bolts of writing. My content can be pretty okay, but knowing the style, punctuation and grammar rules is not always my strong suit. Shouldn’t a writer be good at that stuff? Shouldn’t I be an expert in that in fact?
Then I take a breath and try to remember that this move was never about the money. We knew that there would be a proverbial tightening of the belt involved. We knew that my quitting was going to involve some adjustments. So I guess that part of the adjustments we are making is to think about work in a different way. Maybe work isn’t only what is paid for? Maybe work is the passion that we pursue throughout our lifetime. Maybe if we can create something of value from nothing that is important work too.
I feel like I have something to share with those who will listen. Maybe something I say will resonate with you. Maybe it’s about my son Thomas. Maybe it’s about marriage and family. Maybe it’s about what it takes to pursue an authentic life. I don’t know. I just know that I have to try this path out and see what comes. I keep hearing how the children in a family can’t truly be happy unless they know their parents are happy. I wasn’t happy not writing.
Some would say that to pursue a career path, particularly a NEW career path, they have to jump wholeheartedly into it. So perhaps immersing myself in writing and everything to do with it will lead me to my next opportunity. Maybe I can develop a presence in my writing that others can relate to. I hope that you can see a little of your own struggle in what I am doing. I hope that you can relate, even if only a little.
At any rate, I took the plunge. I left a job that was not fulfilling me. I picked a direction. Now that I’ve picked my direction, I’m going to run with it. Want to put your sneakers on and run with me?
Monday, March 10, 2014
In Awe of My Children
With the snow spitting outside my window, I sit down to write today’s blog post and think, “What do I write about today?” What can I possibly have to say that is worth saying on a day like today? I could write about the weather. I mean, the winter is hopefully drawing to a close but here in New England you couldn’t really tell. Just a couple more weeks and it will be officially Spring, yet outside my window I see flurries spitting down from the sky like an insult. But are people going to want to read about the weather? I suppose it shouldn’t matter what people want to read. I should write about something that moves me. So what moves me these days? My kids move me.
My lovely daughter Allison recently got her braces off. Her smile is beautiful. Not that it wasn’t before, I mean, let’s face it folks, my daughter is a cute kid. I’m not just saying this because I am her mother either. Objectively, she is cute. She has very pretty curly hair. We argue about its color – she says it’s brown and I say it’s strawberry blonde. She might be right but I still think it’s strawberry blonde. Her skin is like porcelain – smooth, pale and soft. She hates how she burns so easily…I mean it only takes 45 minutes in the sun even with sunblock protection and she is crispy. I however, love how milky-white her skin is. She has just a hint of freckles and a touch of pink, indicating how healthy she is.
I love seeing her smile or laugh. Her whole face lights up and she engages all of her face in the act of smiling. Her eyes sparkle and become wider and her eyebrows arch. When she is laughing she is truly beautiful. And now that the “jewelry” is off her teeth, she looks even better. She is trying to get used to her retainers and hates how they make her mouth feel. She has a slight lisp right now and it’s interfering with her attempts to learn French. I however, think it is pretty darned cute. There is some soreness, but so far that has been bearable for her.
Allison has a wide range of interests that make talking with her both a challenging and thought-provoking. She reads all the time. She knows about so many different things. She likes science, debating, technology, vegetarianism, politics, dogs, cats and music. She is thoughtful about the topics of conversation she has and what she chooses to contribute to them. She is a woman of few words. She makes the words that she uses matter. The vocabulary this girl has makes my mind spin! She is so bright.
So that is Allison. My middle child Christopher, is a charmer. He is cocky, confident, and adorable in my humble opinion. He has hair that is a straight as you can get it. Not one curl. His eyes are blue, like his older sister’s, and the color of his hair is similar to his sister’s as well. But his looks aren’t the most interesting thing about him. Christopher is a funny guy who has loads of confidence. He is tough, fair-minded and athletic. Watching him run while he is playing baseball or just around the yard while he plays with his cousins brings me such joy. I know it might sound odd that his running would bring me joy, but to see him move is to see one of God’s most coordinated creatures move.
We played Pickle yesterday. The whole family did. It was such fun. We so rarely have the time to just play games with our kids like this but yesterday the weather cooperated and we had a blast. For me, some of the best fun was seeing how agile Christopher truly is. He has long, coltish legs that seem to carry him like he is floating through the air. To see him move is to truly see poetry in motion. He’s not afraid either. He commits to his moves thoroughly and never seems to worry about getting hurt, which is probably why he so rarely DOES get hurt. I mean, how many times have you hesitated on something only to regret the hesitation later? I wound up face down in a brook one time while hiking with a fifty-pound pack because I hesitated about jumping on a rock while crossing the brook. Christopher seems to possess none of that hesitation. He commits fully and if he gets a little banged up in the process, he’s okay with that.
Finally, there’s Daniel. Daniel is a sweet, adorable, friendly, creative guy. With lots of curly hair and blue eyes he is a stunner. Again, not to focus on the physical aspects of my kids, Daniel is sensitive and affectionate. He is my artist. He loves to cuddle, draw, paint, and read.
Recently Daniel did some public speaking “for fun.” I had to laugh that he thought that this was fun because public speaking is one of the biggest fears most people have. But not my Daniel. He got up in front of his audience (a group of parents there to see their children participate in 4H Visual Presentation Day) and spoke like a pro. He was very much at ease and knew his material very well (Minecraft – not a hard topic for an eight year old to engage his audience with). He and I had worked together on the visual part of his visual presentation – a 3-panelled foam board display illustrating the various “Minecraft Mobs” and I was so impressed with him. Working together is not really that accurate a comment as he did all the work and all I really did was to make suggestions. He was so confident and comfortable with what he wanted to present that he was able to take suggestions for improvement in stride and he managed the whole project so well. I think it was due to his familiarity with the subject, but for an eight year old to have the poise and grace he did about presenting is very impressive to my way of thinking.
Okay, so enough of the love-fest for my kids. By now you are probably tired of hearing this mother go on and on about how terrific her own kids are. I mean, after all, aren’t ALL kids impressive? In their own way, yes, all kids are impressive. Watch any of them for a period of time and you will marvel at how they grow, learn and change. That is part of what I am doing here as I sing the virtues of my progeny. But more than that I truly LIKE my children. I find them to be interesting, engaging, funny and intelligent beings in their own right. Marvelling in their awesome-ness just seems natural to me. Doesn’t it seem so to you?
My lovely daughter Allison recently got her braces off. Her smile is beautiful. Not that it wasn’t before, I mean, let’s face it folks, my daughter is a cute kid. I’m not just saying this because I am her mother either. Objectively, she is cute. She has very pretty curly hair. We argue about its color – she says it’s brown and I say it’s strawberry blonde. She might be right but I still think it’s strawberry blonde. Her skin is like porcelain – smooth, pale and soft. She hates how she burns so easily…I mean it only takes 45 minutes in the sun even with sunblock protection and she is crispy. I however, love how milky-white her skin is. She has just a hint of freckles and a touch of pink, indicating how healthy she is.
I love seeing her smile or laugh. Her whole face lights up and she engages all of her face in the act of smiling. Her eyes sparkle and become wider and her eyebrows arch. When she is laughing she is truly beautiful. And now that the “jewelry” is off her teeth, she looks even better. She is trying to get used to her retainers and hates how they make her mouth feel. She has a slight lisp right now and it’s interfering with her attempts to learn French. I however, think it is pretty darned cute. There is some soreness, but so far that has been bearable for her.
Allison has a wide range of interests that make talking with her both a challenging and thought-provoking. She reads all the time. She knows about so many different things. She likes science, debating, technology, vegetarianism, politics, dogs, cats and music. She is thoughtful about the topics of conversation she has and what she chooses to contribute to them. She is a woman of few words. She makes the words that she uses matter. The vocabulary this girl has makes my mind spin! She is so bright.
So that is Allison. My middle child Christopher, is a charmer. He is cocky, confident, and adorable in my humble opinion. He has hair that is a straight as you can get it. Not one curl. His eyes are blue, like his older sister’s, and the color of his hair is similar to his sister’s as well. But his looks aren’t the most interesting thing about him. Christopher is a funny guy who has loads of confidence. He is tough, fair-minded and athletic. Watching him run while he is playing baseball or just around the yard while he plays with his cousins brings me such joy. I know it might sound odd that his running would bring me joy, but to see him move is to see one of God’s most coordinated creatures move.
We played Pickle yesterday. The whole family did. It was such fun. We so rarely have the time to just play games with our kids like this but yesterday the weather cooperated and we had a blast. For me, some of the best fun was seeing how agile Christopher truly is. He has long, coltish legs that seem to carry him like he is floating through the air. To see him move is to truly see poetry in motion. He’s not afraid either. He commits to his moves thoroughly and never seems to worry about getting hurt, which is probably why he so rarely DOES get hurt. I mean, how many times have you hesitated on something only to regret the hesitation later? I wound up face down in a brook one time while hiking with a fifty-pound pack because I hesitated about jumping on a rock while crossing the brook. Christopher seems to possess none of that hesitation. He commits fully and if he gets a little banged up in the process, he’s okay with that.
Finally, there’s Daniel. Daniel is a sweet, adorable, friendly, creative guy. With lots of curly hair and blue eyes he is a stunner. Again, not to focus on the physical aspects of my kids, Daniel is sensitive and affectionate. He is my artist. He loves to cuddle, draw, paint, and read.
Recently Daniel did some public speaking “for fun.” I had to laugh that he thought that this was fun because public speaking is one of the biggest fears most people have. But not my Daniel. He got up in front of his audience (a group of parents there to see their children participate in 4H Visual Presentation Day) and spoke like a pro. He was very much at ease and knew his material very well (Minecraft – not a hard topic for an eight year old to engage his audience with). He and I had worked together on the visual part of his visual presentation – a 3-panelled foam board display illustrating the various “Minecraft Mobs” and I was so impressed with him. Working together is not really that accurate a comment as he did all the work and all I really did was to make suggestions. He was so confident and comfortable with what he wanted to present that he was able to take suggestions for improvement in stride and he managed the whole project so well. I think it was due to his familiarity with the subject, but for an eight year old to have the poise and grace he did about presenting is very impressive to my way of thinking.
Okay, so enough of the love-fest for my kids. By now you are probably tired of hearing this mother go on and on about how terrific her own kids are. I mean, after all, aren’t ALL kids impressive? In their own way, yes, all kids are impressive. Watch any of them for a period of time and you will marvel at how they grow, learn and change. That is part of what I am doing here as I sing the virtues of my progeny. But more than that I truly LIKE my children. I find them to be interesting, engaging, funny and intelligent beings in their own right. Marvelling in their awesome-ness just seems natural to me. Doesn’t it seem so to you?
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Do What You're Told...Or Not. That is the Question
So, having a highly intelligent daughter is proving to be challenging. Particularly since, like me, she has a bit of a rebellious streak in her. We have raised her to feel questioning authority is not a bad thing. Thing is, sometimes, she questions us and we need her to not do that sometimes. Like when I'm trying to emphasize with my eight year old that he needs to do his homework the way the teacher says to do it. The conversation went like this:
Me: Daniel, you scribbled on your reading log. You need to color each day in individually, not scribble across the whole thing.
Daniel: OK Mom, I'll fix it.
Allison: Why? What does it matter? I mean, if he gets the whole assignment done, who cares how he gets it done?
Me: Allison, now is not the time. Daniel needs to do what the teacher tells him to do.
Allison: But why? He needs to learn to use his mind to investigate things and he can't do that if he just follows the rules. If he blindly follows the rules, he'll never understand what he is doing or why he does it.
Me: Part of what he is learning right now is to follow directions. At eight years old that is an important thing to learn. Once he learns to follow them, then he can learn to explore the whys of things.
Allison: Shouldn't he learn while he is doing something? I mean, what's the point of filling in the reading log? I mean, he read, and that's all that really matters.
Me: No, it matters that he learn to follow the directions that he is given. Part of his assignment is to fill in the reading log. It doesn't help that you are encouraging him not to do his work.
Allison: I'm not encouraging him not to do his work. I just don't see why it has to be done that way.
Me: Because that is the way he was told to do it by his teacher.
Allison: So?
Me: So his teacher gave him an assignment and part of the learning process for a boy who is eight is to learn to do what the teacher is telling him to do.
Daniel: Allison, I...
Allison: Daniel, I am having a conversation with Mom. You don't need to add in.
Me: Hold on. The conversation is about him. I think he can add his two cents if he wants. What is it Daniel?
Daniel: I'm going to do what the teacher says to do because that's what I'm supposed to do. I want to do what she says so I am going to.
Allison: Daniel, I'm talking to Mom right now about this. (To Me): Why can't he do it in his own way?
Me: Let's use karate as an example Allison. If you didn't learn each combination the way you were taught it, would you be good at karate?
Allison: No. But that's different, it's physical
Me: No, it isn't different. It's the same. If you want to get good at something you have to learn the basics first, and then move on to variations after you get good at the basics.
...and so it goes. It sounds like I handled the conversation pretty well, doesn't it? The thing is, there are parts of the discussion that I don't remember. What I remember is feeling like Allison was very adeptly building her case for not following directions. I felt my points were not well thought out and that she had a strong point. Why exactly, do we have to follow directions? Why can't we figure out the answers to things in our own way? Why can't we muddle through with our own unique brand of muddling until we arrive at a satisfactory answer? As long as our thought process is clear and we do the assignment, why can't we do things in our signature style of thinking? Won't we better understand them if we follow a logic that we understand?
That sounds wonderful until we are operating with flawed logic. It is up to our parents, mentors, teachers, and various other "experts" to teach us how to use clear logic. Teaching clear logic to my 14 year old is challenging, intellectually stimulating, and I want to be fully engaged in the conversation, but I am also painfully aware that my eight year old is listening to every word I say. What does it really matter to my 14 year old if I win or lose this debate? My eight year old, on the other hand, has everything to lose if he develops poor study habits at the beginning of his academic career because he thinks it doesn't matter if he does what the teacher tells him to do?
The other question I have, to confuse the issue even further, is what am I teaching my 14 year old about using her head if at bottom I am just telling her that she needs to do something a teacher or other person told her basically because she was told to? I have worked most of her life to teach her to think for herself. Am I really telling her to do what she's told without questioning? My short answer to that is no. I am not teaching her to just do what she's told without question. What I AM trying to teach her is to use her judgement wisely about breaking the rules. Sometimes its worth it and sometimes it isn't.
What I wound up telling my daughter (and my son if he was still listening) was that sometimes you follow the rules because the one with the power to give you what you want says so. If, for instance, Daniel would like a good grade on his homework assignment, he will follow his teacher's instructions and color in each day on his chart separately as he was told. If the grade doesn't matter, then he will do things his own way. My hope is that the grade matters to him and he will do the assignment correctly. The benefits (parental approval of choice, learning material more thoroughly, teacher approval, development of study habits, good grades)outweigh the disadvantages (parental disapproval of choice, bad grade, teacher's disapproval, not learning material as thoroughly as possible, not learning to follow instructions).
So what do you think? Am I giving my children good life skills by instructing them to use judgement about when to break the rules or am I teaching them to be conformists? I guess only time and maturity will tell.
Me: Daniel, you scribbled on your reading log. You need to color each day in individually, not scribble across the whole thing.
Daniel: OK Mom, I'll fix it.
Allison: Why? What does it matter? I mean, if he gets the whole assignment done, who cares how he gets it done?
Me: Allison, now is not the time. Daniel needs to do what the teacher tells him to do.
Allison: But why? He needs to learn to use his mind to investigate things and he can't do that if he just follows the rules. If he blindly follows the rules, he'll never understand what he is doing or why he does it.
Me: Part of what he is learning right now is to follow directions. At eight years old that is an important thing to learn. Once he learns to follow them, then he can learn to explore the whys of things.
Allison: Shouldn't he learn while he is doing something? I mean, what's the point of filling in the reading log? I mean, he read, and that's all that really matters.
Me: No, it matters that he learn to follow the directions that he is given. Part of his assignment is to fill in the reading log. It doesn't help that you are encouraging him not to do his work.
Allison: I'm not encouraging him not to do his work. I just don't see why it has to be done that way.
Me: Because that is the way he was told to do it by his teacher.
Allison: So?
Me: So his teacher gave him an assignment and part of the learning process for a boy who is eight is to learn to do what the teacher is telling him to do.
Daniel: Allison, I...
Allison: Daniel, I am having a conversation with Mom. You don't need to add in.
Me: Hold on. The conversation is about him. I think he can add his two cents if he wants. What is it Daniel?
Daniel: I'm going to do what the teacher says to do because that's what I'm supposed to do. I want to do what she says so I am going to.
Allison: Daniel, I'm talking to Mom right now about this. (To Me): Why can't he do it in his own way?
Me: Let's use karate as an example Allison. If you didn't learn each combination the way you were taught it, would you be good at karate?
Allison: No. But that's different, it's physical
Me: No, it isn't different. It's the same. If you want to get good at something you have to learn the basics first, and then move on to variations after you get good at the basics.
...and so it goes. It sounds like I handled the conversation pretty well, doesn't it? The thing is, there are parts of the discussion that I don't remember. What I remember is feeling like Allison was very adeptly building her case for not following directions. I felt my points were not well thought out and that she had a strong point. Why exactly, do we have to follow directions? Why can't we figure out the answers to things in our own way? Why can't we muddle through with our own unique brand of muddling until we arrive at a satisfactory answer? As long as our thought process is clear and we do the assignment, why can't we do things in our signature style of thinking? Won't we better understand them if we follow a logic that we understand?
That sounds wonderful until we are operating with flawed logic. It is up to our parents, mentors, teachers, and various other "experts" to teach us how to use clear logic. Teaching clear logic to my 14 year old is challenging, intellectually stimulating, and I want to be fully engaged in the conversation, but I am also painfully aware that my eight year old is listening to every word I say. What does it really matter to my 14 year old if I win or lose this debate? My eight year old, on the other hand, has everything to lose if he develops poor study habits at the beginning of his academic career because he thinks it doesn't matter if he does what the teacher tells him to do?
The other question I have, to confuse the issue even further, is what am I teaching my 14 year old about using her head if at bottom I am just telling her that she needs to do something a teacher or other person told her basically because she was told to? I have worked most of her life to teach her to think for herself. Am I really telling her to do what she's told without questioning? My short answer to that is no. I am not teaching her to just do what she's told without question. What I AM trying to teach her is to use her judgement wisely about breaking the rules. Sometimes its worth it and sometimes it isn't.
What I wound up telling my daughter (and my son if he was still listening) was that sometimes you follow the rules because the one with the power to give you what you want says so. If, for instance, Daniel would like a good grade on his homework assignment, he will follow his teacher's instructions and color in each day on his chart separately as he was told. If the grade doesn't matter, then he will do things his own way. My hope is that the grade matters to him and he will do the assignment correctly. The benefits (parental approval of choice, learning material more thoroughly, teacher approval, development of study habits, good grades)outweigh the disadvantages (parental disapproval of choice, bad grade, teacher's disapproval, not learning material as thoroughly as possible, not learning to follow instructions).
So what do you think? Am I giving my children good life skills by instructing them to use judgement about when to break the rules or am I teaching them to be conformists? I guess only time and maturity will tell.
Monday, February 24, 2014
Good Things Come to Those Who Wait...or Is It Carrion?
So February vacation is over. I've made my last batch of Belgian Waffles, the snow forts are melting into the driveway and the kids are at school. Now it's time to write. What do I write about? Hmmmm....good question. The blank page is staring at me...better get a cup of coffee...
There. NOW I will sit down and write. Oh wait...my friend Dawn is online. I haven't chatted with her in a while. I'll just say hello while I finish my coffee. THEN I will write. My back is sore from working out with my dear hubby last night. Maybe I'll take some Ibuprofen...AND THEN I will write. Okay, I've had my juice and Ibuprofen. That should take effect in about 20 minutes, right? That gives me some time to get dressed...since I didn't change out of my pajamas yet. THEN I will write.
It seems that what is on my mind is writing...or the avoidance of doing so. I am excited then because a recent article a friend of mine shared explained how most good writers procrastinate a bit before they really write anything. They hardly ever just dive in and do it. It has to do with a fear of turning in something poorly written. It can't be poorly written if it isn't written at all right? So I must be about to write The Great American Novel because I can think of a thousand things to do besides write. This is in spite of the fact that I just quit a decent job to write for a bit.
But wait...my phone just vibrated. It wasn't a call...what was it? Should I answer it? Look to see what the latest Facebook post was or should I just ignore it? I am, after all, writing. This is my time to write. I'm not supposed to use this time to Facebook or Twitter, or Foursquare, or check email. I'm supposed to write.
If you're a writer does this sound like you? Do you sit down and get to it right away or do you circle the task of writing like a vulture waiting for the right time to pick a carcass clean? It could be either on any given day, am I right? For me, the act of writing feels natural, like an extension of myself...most of the time. On those days there is meat to what I write and my fingers fly across the keyboard or the pen whips across the page as if it has a mind of its own. Other days, like today, I have to coax the words out one at a time and it does feel like a dead carcass. Then I have to pick at writing a little at a time and it can be painful.
I am still struggling to find my writer's "voice" I think. I haven't hit that stride that I want to hit that is conversational. My friend Christine does a wonderful job with her blog. She is interesting, funny, and talks about things in a way that makes you care about what she's writing. Check this out: http://amusingsbnl.blogspot.com. I love reading her writing. She is amazing. And intelligent. And real. Maybe someday I will write like that. Or maybe I'll find a way to write like me. I mean, admiring someone is a good thing, right? So is emulating them to a degree, right? But I need to be me of course. Not her. I mean, seriously, the world already has Christine. She can't be duplicated nor should she be. I just want to hit the mark as often as she does.
Quick bathroom break and it's back to writing...
Here I am again, armed with a new cup of coffee and ready to write something amazing. Or not. Who knows? I just know I'm going to write and hope someone wants to read it. If they do, great. If they don't, I'll be still here, picking at the carcass...
There. NOW I will sit down and write. Oh wait...my friend Dawn is online. I haven't chatted with her in a while. I'll just say hello while I finish my coffee. THEN I will write. My back is sore from working out with my dear hubby last night. Maybe I'll take some Ibuprofen...AND THEN I will write. Okay, I've had my juice and Ibuprofen. That should take effect in about 20 minutes, right? That gives me some time to get dressed...since I didn't change out of my pajamas yet. THEN I will write.
It seems that what is on my mind is writing...or the avoidance of doing so. I am excited then because a recent article a friend of mine shared explained how most good writers procrastinate a bit before they really write anything. They hardly ever just dive in and do it. It has to do with a fear of turning in something poorly written. It can't be poorly written if it isn't written at all right? So I must be about to write The Great American Novel because I can think of a thousand things to do besides write. This is in spite of the fact that I just quit a decent job to write for a bit.
But wait...my phone just vibrated. It wasn't a call...what was it? Should I answer it? Look to see what the latest Facebook post was or should I just ignore it? I am, after all, writing. This is my time to write. I'm not supposed to use this time to Facebook or Twitter, or Foursquare, or check email. I'm supposed to write.
If you're a writer does this sound like you? Do you sit down and get to it right away or do you circle the task of writing like a vulture waiting for the right time to pick a carcass clean? It could be either on any given day, am I right? For me, the act of writing feels natural, like an extension of myself...most of the time. On those days there is meat to what I write and my fingers fly across the keyboard or the pen whips across the page as if it has a mind of its own. Other days, like today, I have to coax the words out one at a time and it does feel like a dead carcass. Then I have to pick at writing a little at a time and it can be painful.
I am still struggling to find my writer's "voice" I think. I haven't hit that stride that I want to hit that is conversational. My friend Christine does a wonderful job with her blog. She is interesting, funny, and talks about things in a way that makes you care about what she's writing. Check this out: http://amusingsbnl.blogspot.com. I love reading her writing. She is amazing. And intelligent. And real. Maybe someday I will write like that. Or maybe I'll find a way to write like me. I mean, admiring someone is a good thing, right? So is emulating them to a degree, right? But I need to be me of course. Not her. I mean, seriously, the world already has Christine. She can't be duplicated nor should she be. I just want to hit the mark as often as she does.
Quick bathroom break and it's back to writing...
Here I am again, armed with a new cup of coffee and ready to write something amazing. Or not. Who knows? I just know I'm going to write and hope someone wants to read it. If they do, great. If they don't, I'll be still here, picking at the carcass...
Sunday, February 2, 2014
The Rest is Still Unwritten...
Well folks, strap your seatbelts on. I'm about to dive out into the great unknown and try to forge a writing career for myself. I quit my job to write.
(Waits for a minute...)
Yep. You heard me. I quit my job. To write.
Think I'm stupid to give up the income? That's your right. You can think I'm stupid, crazy, irresponsible, whatever you want. It's okay. But I want this. I've been wanting this for a long time. I think the biggest mistake I've made with my career was to give up pursuing journalism out of fear. That's what I did you know. I was a reporter in college. For the Beverly Times. I loved doing it. I was having a great time pursuing leads, writing feature stories, and getting to know the people in my community (at the time). So why did I quit you ask? Fear. Plain and simple fear.
My coworkers had me convinced that because the divorce rate was so high in the field (I don't really know what the rate is...but I had been told)that maintaining a relationship while trying to be a writer was impossible. I wanted a family...badly. So I let go of the writing thinking that was a sacrifice I needed to make in order to have a happy family. What a dumb thing for me to do.I regret ever walking away from writing.
On second thought, I have no regrets. I wanted a family and that was my priority. I pursued a good, strong family and now I have that. I love my husband, my kids are the best I could ask for, and I have a great home in which we all live. I have two dogs and a cat, a nice yard and wonderful neighbors. So I'm living the dream.
Now it's time to expand my dream. My children are getting older and don't need my attention in the same intensive way that they did when they were infants and toddlers. It's time to start a career. One that I can be happy with and proud of.
I had a hard time quitting. I kept hearing the naysayers in my head telling me that I was making a mistake to give up the income I was giving up. There were many reasons for hanging on to the job. But there was always one reason to let it go...I was unhappy not pursuing my writing career. The third shift that I worked always left me tired and unable to be present for several days afterwards. But I don't need to make excuses. I want to pursue a writing career. That's what I'm going to do.
Thank God for my husband. He is a wonderful, supportive and loving man. He knows why I need to do this and supports me 100%. Literally now (ha, ha).
So what am I going to write? A combination of things. I'm going to blog...I'm going to work on a couple of the fiction pieces that I have been working on in NanoWriMo (check out www.nanowrimo.org if you don't know what I'm talking about)and I am writing a book on grief and grieving. I'll keep you posted about my work as it develops. Let me know what you think of it, please. Just be kind if you don't like it. And specific. Be specific about why you don't like it if you don't like it and just as specific if you do like it. I want to become an excellent writer and need feedback in order for that to happen.
I'll be posting some of my writing soon. I'll post links to it as I complete it. I would love to know what you think of it. And tell anyone you think might want to read what I write! It would be nice to have a following.
(Waits for a minute...)
Yep. You heard me. I quit my job. To write.
Think I'm stupid to give up the income? That's your right. You can think I'm stupid, crazy, irresponsible, whatever you want. It's okay. But I want this. I've been wanting this for a long time. I think the biggest mistake I've made with my career was to give up pursuing journalism out of fear. That's what I did you know. I was a reporter in college. For the Beverly Times. I loved doing it. I was having a great time pursuing leads, writing feature stories, and getting to know the people in my community (at the time). So why did I quit you ask? Fear. Plain and simple fear.
My coworkers had me convinced that because the divorce rate was so high in the field (I don't really know what the rate is...but I had been told)that maintaining a relationship while trying to be a writer was impossible. I wanted a family...badly. So I let go of the writing thinking that was a sacrifice I needed to make in order to have a happy family. What a dumb thing for me to do.I regret ever walking away from writing.
On second thought, I have no regrets. I wanted a family and that was my priority. I pursued a good, strong family and now I have that. I love my husband, my kids are the best I could ask for, and I have a great home in which we all live. I have two dogs and a cat, a nice yard and wonderful neighbors. So I'm living the dream.
Now it's time to expand my dream. My children are getting older and don't need my attention in the same intensive way that they did when they were infants and toddlers. It's time to start a career. One that I can be happy with and proud of.
I had a hard time quitting. I kept hearing the naysayers in my head telling me that I was making a mistake to give up the income I was giving up. There were many reasons for hanging on to the job. But there was always one reason to let it go...I was unhappy not pursuing my writing career. The third shift that I worked always left me tired and unable to be present for several days afterwards. But I don't need to make excuses. I want to pursue a writing career. That's what I'm going to do.
Thank God for my husband. He is a wonderful, supportive and loving man. He knows why I need to do this and supports me 100%. Literally now (ha, ha).
So what am I going to write? A combination of things. I'm going to blog...I'm going to work on a couple of the fiction pieces that I have been working on in NanoWriMo (check out www.nanowrimo.org if you don't know what I'm talking about)and I am writing a book on grief and grieving. I'll keep you posted about my work as it develops. Let me know what you think of it, please. Just be kind if you don't like it. And specific. Be specific about why you don't like it if you don't like it and just as specific if you do like it. I want to become an excellent writer and need feedback in order for that to happen.
I'll be posting some of my writing soon. I'll post links to it as I complete it. I would love to know what you think of it. And tell anyone you think might want to read what I write! It would be nice to have a following.
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Friends or Foes?
My boys are almost exactly two years apart and they are very different people. My 8-year old likes art, video games, Pokemon and soccer. He wants to play the flute. He is emotional, expressive and VERY intelligent, but has a bit of trouble with low self-esteem. My 10-year old is confident, charming and also intelligent. He likes Legos, baseball, reading and karate. The one thing they seem to have in common these days? Fighting. With each other. They fight constantly. About everything. It makes me nuts. If one says something is cool, the other must immediately expound on how stupid it is. They are both last-word freaks too. Neither will let anything go. Their one saving grace is that it hasn't become physical...yet.
The last fight they had was because Christopher was humming a Christmas tune. Apparently he had altered the words earlier to make into a song that was insulting to Daniel. It was driving Daniel to distraction that Christopher was humming the song constantly. "Christopher, stop it! Stop humming that!" Daniel was yelling at this point.
"I'm not doing anything Daniel! I'm just humming! God, leave me alone!" Christopher responded just a little too innocently.
"Mom, Christopher won't stop humming that song!" (Here it comes, one of the boys always drags me into it)
"Daniel, he can hum a song if he wants to, just don't listen to it," I respond, not knowing that Christopher has rewritten they "lyrics."
"But Mom, he's making fun of me! He made up a mean song and he won't stop humming it" Daniel tells me.
"Christopher, stop bothering Daniel and do your homework," I say.
"Mom, it's just a Christmas song," Christopher insists...and on and on. Eventually both boys wound up doing chores and both were upset with each other as well as me. I can handle them being angry or unhappy with me, but it happens so much lately. Internally I just sigh and go about my business.
Unflattering, I know. I probably shouldn't talk about my children in this way lest they read my blog at some point, but blogging is about writing about real-life stuff. Stuff that people can relate to and I need to talk about this. Perhaps if I talk about it here I can have the patience to handle their constant blowouts in a mature and effective fashion...and not sound like Sam Kinison while I do it. Who knows, perhaps someone out there in the blogosphere has some helpful suggestions for dealing with two intelligent, spirited boys who insist that they are always right. My current method does not seem to be deterring the fighting, even though I think perhaps they are listening somewhat. Every time a fight erupts between the two boys, I sit them down and make them talk it out. When we come to an impasse where one or both are not listening and they are still fighting, they get chores. If they have so much energy to argue and not enough to listen, they must have the energy to help me out around the house a bit. It is an effective distraction from bickering plus I get the added benefit of some much-needed help.
Some would say that I am wasting my time making them talk it out. They are, after all, only 8 and 10, right? How much capability do my young men have to really understand and work things out? A lot actually. I think that even when they don't DO what they should they are listening. I believe this because I see it in action. We talk about listening to each other and letting each other finish. And while many conversations are laced with frustration there is a love and respect developing between the boys.
If Daniel falls down and gets hurt, Christopher is usually the first by his side trying to make sure he is okay. Christopher, despite his protestations to the contrary, cares deeply if Daniel is sad about something and crying. Last night Christopher came downstairs and told me that Daniel was crying. I asked him to tell Daniel to come to me and worked through why the cat doesn't want to stay in the bed with him (Daniel has a tendency to squish Xavier when trying to be affectionate).
Now how can two boys who say they don't like each other care so much?
The last fight they had was because Christopher was humming a Christmas tune. Apparently he had altered the words earlier to make into a song that was insulting to Daniel. It was driving Daniel to distraction that Christopher was humming the song constantly. "Christopher, stop it! Stop humming that!" Daniel was yelling at this point.
"I'm not doing anything Daniel! I'm just humming! God, leave me alone!" Christopher responded just a little too innocently.
"Mom, Christopher won't stop humming that song!" (Here it comes, one of the boys always drags me into it)
"Daniel, he can hum a song if he wants to, just don't listen to it," I respond, not knowing that Christopher has rewritten they "lyrics."
"But Mom, he's making fun of me! He made up a mean song and he won't stop humming it" Daniel tells me.
"Christopher, stop bothering Daniel and do your homework," I say.
"Mom, it's just a Christmas song," Christopher insists...and on and on. Eventually both boys wound up doing chores and both were upset with each other as well as me. I can handle them being angry or unhappy with me, but it happens so much lately. Internally I just sigh and go about my business.
Unflattering, I know. I probably shouldn't talk about my children in this way lest they read my blog at some point, but blogging is about writing about real-life stuff. Stuff that people can relate to and I need to talk about this. Perhaps if I talk about it here I can have the patience to handle their constant blowouts in a mature and effective fashion...and not sound like Sam Kinison while I do it. Who knows, perhaps someone out there in the blogosphere has some helpful suggestions for dealing with two intelligent, spirited boys who insist that they are always right. My current method does not seem to be deterring the fighting, even though I think perhaps they are listening somewhat. Every time a fight erupts between the two boys, I sit them down and make them talk it out. When we come to an impasse where one or both are not listening and they are still fighting, they get chores. If they have so much energy to argue and not enough to listen, they must have the energy to help me out around the house a bit. It is an effective distraction from bickering plus I get the added benefit of some much-needed help.
Some would say that I am wasting my time making them talk it out. They are, after all, only 8 and 10, right? How much capability do my young men have to really understand and work things out? A lot actually. I think that even when they don't DO what they should they are listening. I believe this because I see it in action. We talk about listening to each other and letting each other finish. And while many conversations are laced with frustration there is a love and respect developing between the boys.
If Daniel falls down and gets hurt, Christopher is usually the first by his side trying to make sure he is okay. Christopher, despite his protestations to the contrary, cares deeply if Daniel is sad about something and crying. Last night Christopher came downstairs and told me that Daniel was crying. I asked him to tell Daniel to come to me and worked through why the cat doesn't want to stay in the bed with him (Daniel has a tendency to squish Xavier when trying to be affectionate).
Now how can two boys who say they don't like each other care so much?
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