Parents and Teachers

 

        I am completely honest; I hate this time of year. It is the dreaded parent-teacher conference. I have hated these things for a long time. In fact, last year I sent my husband to most of them. It helped I was pregnant, but I promise I was not using that as an excuse.

         I am always afraid of being judged. I am afraid the teacher will have one look at me and realize I don't have anything under control. I am afraid he or she will feel as if they need to rescue my children from my lack of parental know-how. A lot of thoughts go through my head right before I get called into the room:

        Did Lizzy get that slip turned in?
        Did I remember to sign the slip?
        What was the slip about again?
        What if they tell me that slip was the end all, and now my precious children will have to be schooled in Mexico where a true parent can take over?

        But this year I was very surprised. Not only did my children do much better this year than last, but the school system has a new policy that takes a lot of pressure off of moms who are trying to do it all. The school is teaching the kids they are responsible for themselves. It has now become their job to do their homework. It is their job to turn it in, and come to school with all of their stuff. My job is to sign the slip, but they are responsible for bringing it back. I felt like a big rock was lifted off my shoulder.

Who takes the responsibility at your house? Do you worry about the parent-teacher conference?

 

Messy Rooms and Broken Toes

 Only in a few houses can a messy room led to a broken toe. My house has accomplished this feat with great accuracy. Let me paint the scene:

   

    The time is 7am and my seven year old daughter can not find a sweater to wear to school. Of course, we have just ten minutes to get to the bus, and I have recently taken an oath to let her wear what she wants. Mentally I had a little bit of a debate; let her go without a sweater, be cold, and then come to me and tell me how right I was or go find a sweater, which I am sure is in her room, and make her wear it to school. I choose the latter. 

So there I am in panic mode trying to get my daughter to the bus on time, when out of nowhere, something hard appears. Oh, and the sweater. Before I know it; bang, snap, pop!!! My toe is broken and I am shouting at the top of my lungs how I am going to throw away everything on her floor. Let's see her have a hard time finding a sweater when she has nothing else in her room.

There is the story. The interesting part is what happens when I tell others about what happened. In my house, the children are allowed to keep their room however they want. However, I will normally refuse to enter their room if it is a health hazard. 

When I spoke of this rule for my household to another mom she told me something interesting. Her daughter has to clean up her room every Sunday. She says it will teach her to keep a clean house when she is an adult. She said otherwise her daughter will think "she can keep a house however she wants when she is an adult."

Isn't that part of being an adult? Keeping your house how you want? I ask in all honesty how many of us actually keep as clean as a house as we would like? This world would be a better place if we just learn to accept certain truths: messy rooms = broken toes = adult children who choose what they want and are happy about it.

Check this out:

What Children Learn from a Messy Room

          Day One

      Imagine for a moment you decided to hang everything out on the line; all of your dirty laundry. You hand up those old and torn underwear that you only wear during that 'time.' Imagine all of your unmentionables hanging on your clothesline for the world to see. Imagine your bra and lingerie colors and styles being discussed at the next neighborhood block party.

         
               Most of us cringe at the idea of others looking at all of these things. So we keep this stuff hidden. We keep many things hidden. Like the underwear the is old and torn: we choose to keep many of things we are embarrassed or not proud of hidden inside the safe haven we call our home.

              However, the time has come to lay it all out there. I am ready to expose all of the secret struggles, many obstacles, and great messes that come with being human and less then perfect. I struggle: I struggle with kids, my marriage, work, and school. I struggle with being less then perfect, and if you were honest and open you would realize you struggle too. That is ok. It is ok to be imperfect, and it is ok to talk about it.

               This blog is dedicated to the idea of being honest. I am going to share each struggle, each failure, and each less then pristine moment. I am doing so in hopes that the world can start being real. It is time to hang our 'dirty' laundry on the line in hopes to see that everyone in the neighborhood, the world, has something they are not proud of.

               This idea was born thanks to the book by Jill Savage called "No More Perfect Mom." It is a must read. It is ideal for any mom that is struggling with any issues in her life; marriage, body, kids, and many others.