Am I really that bad?

A couple of weeks ago I took three of my children to the store with me. One stayed at home watching a movie while John mowed the lawn. This was not the ideal situation for me, but I had no other option. Either let the kids wreak havoc on the house, get in trouble, and get in more trouble, OR take them with me where at least I can keep an eye on them.
So I headed out with a 7 yo, a 2 1/2 yo, and a 2 mo. old child. Now, this should not have been such a challenge, but my children were in a rare mood that morning. They wanted everything they saw in the store, of course! Keeping a 2 1/2 yo entertained at the store is a challenge. He likes to stand up in the cart, not the back of the cart mind you. You know that little seat on the shopping cart with the seatbelt to keep your kids safe? So my 2 yo plays Houdini. He can get out of that seatbelt in 2 seconds flat! I just stop bothering with it. But he does like to stand up. Maybe I have a surfer on my hands.
We were waiting to check out and my 7 yo gets bored waiting. My 2 1/2 yo gets bored and continues to stand up and climb out of the cart. I got mad at both of them. The lady behind me took it upon herself to comment about me and my unruly children. "Maybe you should stop having them if you can't handle them!" Ummm okay. I can handle my children. Why don't people just mind their own business? Obviously she doesn't remember what it is like to have a 2 1/2 yo boy who has a mind of his own!
But this incident did cause me to question. Am I really that bad? I admit I'm not perfect, but if I was perfect I wouldn't still be here, right? I try to teach my children how to behave. Actually, that trip to the store was to get items to help me teach them new chores! How ironic right?

Good lesson to Remember

A friend emailed this story to me and I thought it was worth sharing with more than I had in my email list. I do not know who wrote the story, and I have not actually checked the truth of the story. But, as a story, it still has its merits. It has great worth as a reminder to us all. Yes, this is one of those many stories about veterans, but I have a soft spot for veterans in my heart. Maybe because my own husband is a veteran of many wars. It is difficult for me to fathom how so many people feel entitled to so many things, yet they fail to remember how they retain the freedoms that we all enjoy here in the United States. I think everyone can benefit from a little reminder once in awhile!



A lesson that should be taught in all schools... and colleges.


Back in September of 2005, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a social studies school teacher at Robinson High School, Little Rock, Arkansas, did something not to be forgotten. On the first day of school, with the permission of the school superintendent, the principal and the building supervisor, she removed all of the desks out of her classroom.

When the first period kids entered the room they discovered that there were no desks.

'Ms..Cothren, where're our desks?'

She replied, 'You can't have a desk until you tell me how you earn the right to sit at a desk.'

They thought, 'Well, maybe it's our grades.'

'No,' she said.

'Maybe it's our behavior.'

She told them, 'No, it's not even your behavior.'

And so, they came and went, the first period, second period, third period. Still no desks in the classroom.

By early afternoon television news crews had started gathering in Ms.Cothren's classroom to report about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of her room.

The final period of the day came and as the puzzled students found seats on the floor of the deskless classroom, Martha Cothren said, 'Throughout the day no one has been able to tell me just what he/she has done to earn the right to sit at the desks that are ordinarily found in this classroom. Now I am going to tell you.'

At this point, Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it.

Twenty-seven (27) U.S. Veterans, all in uniforms, walked into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk. The Vets began placing the school desks in rows, and then they would walk over and stand alongside the wall. By the time the last soldier had set the final desk in place those kids started to understand, perhaps for the first time in their lives, just how the right to sit at those desks had been earned.

Martha said, 'You didn't earn the right to sit at these desks. These heroes did it for you.. They placed the desks here for you. Now, it's up to you to sit in them. It is your responsibility to learn, to be good students, to be good citizens. They paid the price so that you could have the freedom to get an education. Don't ever forget it.'

Surgery

I wasn't surprised when Emma started getting strep every four to six weeks. Nor was I surprised when her doctor said to take her tonsils out. So off we went with the task of finding an ENT to take care of her. I found one close by specializing in pediatrics with lots of experience. His credentials sounded good on paper. Then I learned my friend had gone to this same doctor for her son's surgery about a year ago. I felt better about the decision. We met the doctor, scheduled the surgery, and went about our way.

Plan A- John and I will go with Emma on the big day. We will get someone to watch Timothy and take the baby with us. Amber had school so I wasn't worried about her.

Plan A failed. John had a test in class the morning of surgery. So that leaves me by myself to take Emma. Then the hospital said I couldn't take the baby, even if I am nursing him. Yikes. Okay, this really puts a kink in the plan. Then I found out Amber had short day at school. She was getting out about 1:00 p.m.! What in the world? It seemed nothing was going to happen easily.

Plan B- My dad will go with me and Emma. Jaime will watch my boys, and Amber when she gets home. Okay, looks good now.

But wait, Plan B failed. Despite being in college, my sister couldn't figure out how to get herself to class that morning so my dad had to take her in and pick her up. Class started right about the time I was planning to leave my house. Okay, so my dad would meet me at the hospital. Then I realized Jaime was planning on going out of town that day. Oops. I was feeling like I was asking too much for her to watch my kids and get ready to leave town. But I also felt at a loss for options right about then.

Plan C- My dad will meet me at the hospital. So far it looks good. And a miracle- my brother called, said he had the day off work and wondered if we had a babysitter. He was offering. Oh sweet relief. I could relieve Jaime of babysitting duty, especially since Emma's surgery wasn't scheduled until 11:15 a.m. That would have been difficult for Jaime. And as it turns out, this was more of a miracle than I knew at that moment.

So surgery day rolls around. Despite all my best laid plans, I felt we were derailed again. Nothing ever happens according to the strict plan. I was just pulling into the parking lot of the hospital when the nurse called. "Can you come in any earlier?" Um yeah, not a problem here. I'm feeling good about things right about then. Except that was about ten minutes to eleven. By the time we got fully checked in, it was 11:15. So much for being earlier!

Finally Emma was taken to pre op. We were there only a couple of minutes when my sister calls. Yep, you guessed it. She got out of class early and needed a ride home. Seriously, there's a bus. But to each their own, I suppose. My dad stayed with me and Emma until she was taken into the surgery room. But that wasn't until about 1:20. Yep, we had been there for two hours already. Why did they want us there earlier if they weren't going to get us in earlier? I was frustrated because Emma was so bored.

But, I do have a funny story here. We started watching Tom and Jerry. It was just about the only thing on that could possibly entertain a five year old. The nurse came in and stood between Emma and the TV. Emma moved her head so she could see. The nurse tried to talk to Emma, but Emma didn't want to talk. She wanted to watch Tom and Jerry. She was glued to the TV!

So about 1:20 Emma was wheeled into the operating room. My dad and I went to the waiting room where I checked in with the volunteer and my dad left to pick up Kim. 20 minutes later and I was in a consultation room waiting for the doctor. My dad was back just after I got into the consultation room. Luckily I was right by the elevator so he saw where I was.

Surgery went well. The hardest part of it all was seeing Emma come out of the anesthesia. It was awful watching her crying and hurting. And it is hard knowing she was still hooked up to so many things it was not feasible to hold her at that moment. When it was all said and done we didn't get home until about 3:30 p.m.

Five days later- Emma has improved by leaps and bounds. She is eating more regular foods. She is talking more. At first she would only point and grunt when she wanted to talk. Her voice is higher now that she doesn't have all that blockage in her throat. And I have learned that Emma has a high tolerance for pain. I think I knew that before, but she hasn't asked for much pain meds. I haven't forced them on her either. If she complains I will give her some. She is doing amazingly well.

She was playing outside yesterday. This morning she has been teasing everybody. She is starting to feel more like herself. I am so happy to see her take this so well. And so far, she hasn't acted like she's mad at me for putting her through all of this!

Despite the many roads it took us to get everything taken care of, I'm glad it worked out. Someone knows better than I how things should go. Maybe I need to trust him more!

Oh, before I forget. Check out this link if you want to see pics from surgery day!