Showing posts with label growing up. Show all posts
Showing posts with label growing up. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
An open letter to my 5th grader
Dear Middle G,
Another school year is upon us and you are starting the 5th grade. You will likely change a lot this year.
When I look at you, I still see the tiny toddler with the deep voice. It sometimes catches me by surprise when I realize that you have been transformed into the beautiful young lady in front of me.
This year, boys might stop being completely yucky. Dare I say it, you may even think one or two of them are cute. The problem is they will continue to find you yucky for another year or two. This is a good thing. Trust me.
Some advice from your mama.
Choose your friends wisely. Girls are catty. They like you one day but not the next. Don't be like that. Treat everyone with respect, even if they don't deserve it.
You aren't going to be good at something the first time you try it. Everything takes practice. Believe it or not, you had to fall a couple of times before you learned to walk.
If it is worth doing, it is worth doing to the best of your abilities. Whether that's the violin, math, soccer or science always try your best.
We butt heads alot. You are stubborn. As you grow, we are going to butt heads even more. But I can promise you this, I will always be in your corner. I will always be cheering for you!
Make it a great 5th grade year. The choice is yours.
Love,
Mom
Another school year is upon us and you are starting the 5th grade. You will likely change a lot this year.
When I look at you, I still see the tiny toddler with the deep voice. It sometimes catches me by surprise when I realize that you have been transformed into the beautiful young lady in front of me.
This year, boys might stop being completely yucky. Dare I say it, you may even think one or two of them are cute. The problem is they will continue to find you yucky for another year or two. This is a good thing. Trust me.
Some advice from your mama.
Choose your friends wisely. Girls are catty. They like you one day but not the next. Don't be like that. Treat everyone with respect, even if they don't deserve it.
You aren't going to be good at something the first time you try it. Everything takes practice. Believe it or not, you had to fall a couple of times before you learned to walk.
If it is worth doing, it is worth doing to the best of your abilities. Whether that's the violin, math, soccer or science always try your best.
We butt heads alot. You are stubborn. As you grow, we are going to butt heads even more. But I can promise you this, I will always be in your corner. I will always be cheering for you!
Make it a great 5th grade year. The choice is yours.
Love,
Mom
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Writer's Workshop: A phone call I'll never forget
My sister and I grew up in a neighborhood filled with kids. Our house was home base for all of our neighborhood games. We played tag, run-down, kick-the-can and any other game we could fancy in our childish minds.
Directly across the street from us live two boys. Two boys whom we grew to love but not in that mushy, gushy, romantic love kind of way. These boys became our brothers. Our parents loved each other. Our moms were great friends. Our dads tolerated each other like most men do.
We camped together.
We played cards together.
We BBQd together.
After school all four of us came home to empty houses. It wasn't all that unusual back then. We were referred to as latch-key kids. We spent the hours of after-school until after-work alone.
My sister and I were given strict instructions not to let those boys into the house. The boys were given strict instructions not to let us into their house. Of course, we were always in each others houses. After all, strict instructions were meant to be broken.
Life has a way of evolving and soon I was a teenager off with friends my own age. We still talked and waved at each other but in a flash I was out of house and they were left behind. My sister graduated with the oldest boy and after that graduation we lost track of the brothers for a while.
We'd laugh and catch up at holidays when we all returned from where ever the wind had blown us.
I was living in Ohio when my dad called me to tell me of the youngest brother's death. He was 20. A car accident. His brother was in the car but he survived. I remember feeling empty and so very sad. He had grown into such a wonderful young man with a great future ahead of him and in a flash he was gone.
My husband and I drove six hours one way for his funeral. If I close my eyes I can still hear the guttural sobs coming from his mother as the church goers sang "and he will raise you up on eagles wings; bear you on the breath of dawn; make you to shine like the sun; and hold you in the palm of his hand."
Thirteen years later and I still feel a little empty when I think about him. I wonder what he would have become and what his children would have been like.
I still talk to his brother, but not nearly as much as I would like. God blessed him with a son who shares a birthday with the uncle he never had a chance to meet.
Makes me think maybe God has a plan after all...even if I don't understand it.
Directly across the street from us live two boys. Two boys whom we grew to love but not in that mushy, gushy, romantic love kind of way. These boys became our brothers. Our parents loved each other. Our moms were great friends. Our dads tolerated each other like most men do.
We camped together.
We played cards together.
We BBQd together.
After school all four of us came home to empty houses. It wasn't all that unusual back then. We were referred to as latch-key kids. We spent the hours of after-school until after-work alone.
My sister and I were given strict instructions not to let those boys into the house. The boys were given strict instructions not to let us into their house. Of course, we were always in each others houses. After all, strict instructions were meant to be broken.
Life has a way of evolving and soon I was a teenager off with friends my own age. We still talked and waved at each other but in a flash I was out of house and they were left behind. My sister graduated with the oldest boy and after that graduation we lost track of the brothers for a while.
We'd laugh and catch up at holidays when we all returned from where ever the wind had blown us.
I was living in Ohio when my dad called me to tell me of the youngest brother's death. He was 20. A car accident. His brother was in the car but he survived. I remember feeling empty and so very sad. He had grown into such a wonderful young man with a great future ahead of him and in a flash he was gone.
My husband and I drove six hours one way for his funeral. If I close my eyes I can still hear the guttural sobs coming from his mother as the church goers sang "and he will raise you up on eagles wings; bear you on the breath of dawn; make you to shine like the sun; and hold you in the palm of his hand."
Thirteen years later and I still feel a little empty when I think about him. I wonder what he would have become and what his children would have been like.
I still talk to his brother, but not nearly as much as I would like. God blessed him with a son who shares a birthday with the uncle he never had a chance to meet.
Makes me think maybe God has a plan after all...even if I don't understand it.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Happy 10th Birthday, Big G
Dear Big G,
I can't believe that you are 10 years old already. Sometimes, in my head, you are still the little happy baby above. The little girl who thought I was the greatest mommy in the world and the most fun person to be with no matter what.
Times are changing. I'm falling slowly down on the list of "People you'd most like to hang out with". The good news is I'm still on the list...for now.
Most people talk about these early years as "the best time of their lives". I think that's because everyone likes to feel needed, useful, loved. As our children grow, they need us less and we feel, for lack of a better word, less.
For me, I want to look back on this time and say "It was one of the best times of my life", just not THE best. I think you and I have a lot more bests to look forward too.
Don't worry, I'm not fooling myself into believe that you will rush home from school to hang out with me when you are a teenager. I wouldn't want you to. After all, I'm trying to teach you how to live life without me, which, in my opinion, is the measure of a successful parent. You need to learn from your own mistakes and I plan on being around to help you pick up the pieces.
Am I looking forward to the first time a boy breaks your heart? Of course, not. But I'll be here to listen when he does.
Am I looking forward to watching you pull out of the driveway on that first solo drive? No. I'm feeling anxious just thinking about it. But I'll be here to listen to whatever story you come up with about how you dented the side and lost the fender.
As you approach this new double digit phase of your life, I hope you remember these five things:
Even when we argue, and we will definately argue, I will always love you. There isn't anything you can do to change that.
True friends are rare, like gems. They like you for who you are, not for who they can make you be.
If you want to be better at something, whether that is violin, softball or math, you must put forth the efffort. Without true effort, you are just wasting your time.
Never forget the importance of human contact. In a world filled with blogging, email, twittering, and phones more and more like mini computers, it is more important than ever to know who your neighbors are and to interact with more than just a screen.
Count your blessings. Try to learn to be happy with what you have and not to obsess about all the things you don't.
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About Me
- kisatrtle
- I'm a 41 year old (gasp) freelance writer, school cafeteria manager, wife and mother. I have three children and one anxious and overweight beagle. I use my blog to make others laugh, to share some cool crafts, to document my lunchlady adventures and to lament about the challenges faced by us all on the journey called life. Thanks for visiting. Please leave some crack...um...I meant some comments.
