For some reason I have in my head that I will be knitting most of the weekend,which is probably true, but a few things have to be accomplished first!
I have decided that we need to tackle the crazy chaos of our house one room at a time. Today is the kitchen. My goal before I go to bed is that every dish be either in the dishwasher (and it running!) or on the towel drying from being hand washed. This is a HUGE goal as I have never, even as a kid, liked doing dishes and it seems impossible for every dish in my kitchen to be clean all at once.
I'm actually a HUGE advocate of the paper plate. I'm really trying harder to make a smaller footprint in the landfill so we are eating on our ceramic plates (for now!) It also seems that every time I do a cake or a specialty order, it takes longer to get the mess cleaned up. I don't know why, but I constantly go back to the kitchen and find yet ANOTHER cake pan or frosting something-or-other that never made it through the wash.
This week we have has several trying issues crop up as well. As the stress level in our household subsides, I guess my brain and my body have decided they don't remember how to operate. I've been running on stress adrenaline and lack of sleep and now that I'm sleeping, eating and not stressed I seem to be having emotional breakdowns. I've had several days where I couldn't stop crying and I have no reason to cry. It's very strange. I know I just need to give it to God and He will help me through, but sometimes that's easier said than done. I just have to keep hitting my knees in prayer though.
We had some excitement at school dealing with the teenager. I won't go into specifics, I just know that he is a good kid, but I'm not going to be that parent who says "My kid wouldn't do that!" The fact of the matter is he did do that and he got caught. The only thing that saved him was owning up to his mistake and taking responsibility for his actions. This also got him in less trouble when he got home.
Now what the boy actually did was not a huge major infraction, meaning not requiring expulsion, but it was disrespectful nonetheless and that is just not tolerated in this household. The teacher had every right to reprimand him and he took his punishment and corrected his behavior. I'm proud of that.
But I also applaud his standing up for himself. You see, my son is dyslexic and we have seen it all. We've gone 'round and 'round with our school, teachers, principles, superintendents, other parents, a couple of doctors, spent countless hours…actually we can account for it…4 hours a night screaming, crying and tearing out hair (mine not his!) and that was only spelling…never mind there's still math, social studies and science homework left to accomplish! The school is telling us to get a medical diagnosis (when it's really their job to test for this they just dont' want to spend the money) and our doctor who is laughing that our school would even suggest such a thing.
I miss his English teacher from last year who listened to a 12-year-old when he explained himself his problem and took responsibility for his own grades. It angers me greatly when a teacher won't listen to students who are genuinely trying. I guess it has become the norm for them to not care and just show up for the paycheck. I'm not saying every teacher is like that, but I'm finding that more and more of them are. I get tired of hearing that dyslexia is an excuse for not doing the work. It's super hard to do the work if you don't even understand it!
We're not rich or even well-to-do. We're like every other two-parent-working household in this country right now thankful we can pay the bills and still have food on the table. There was no way to privately have him assessed. We were having to find free or inexpensive ways to help him that wouldn't put pressure on our already fragile budget.
Then I found Susan Barton.
I had opportunity to hear Susan Barton speak at a neighboring school and I was overjoyed. You see, that year I had decided it was time for me to take the step to homeschool my kids even if it was for only a year or two and get my son back up to the grade level he should be. She applauded that. In fact, she said parents need to get control of the situation if the schools won't. I felt so relieved. She has helped our little family (without our spending a dime and just receiving her e-mail newsletter) in so many ways and she doesn't even know it.
Now if we could only curb the typical teenage outbursts and drama!!
Parenting a teenager isn't all bad and those of you who have made it through successfully know! I have only one year of this journey under my belt. Maybe I'll write a book about it along the way. A friend of mine suggested the book end with a stiff drink! I laugh but my choice wold be a thankful prayer to The Lord thanking Him for his guidance along the way!
But let's leave some other teenage talk for another time. I need to get off of here and go cook supper now.
Ya'll keep your chins up…even if you have frizzy hair on a sunny day!
