Mom's Sick, Get Out

It's hard to get back into the normal routine of my posts after the month-long A to Z Challenge, and  I didn't get my usual Friday's Odds and Ends post ready for today. Since I will be gone all day to an author event at a library, I don't have time to put a blog together. (I've got to put myself together LOL) Instead, I'll  share an excerpt from my humorous memoir again. It's been a while since I did that. Enjoy....

Have you ever noticed that when a kid is sick, he expects meals in bed, unlimited sympathy and continuous entertainment? Or when a husband is sick, he simply takes the day off work, stays in bed, and accepts juice, aspirin, and a kind word in four hour intervals? But heaven help a mother who has a cold or the 24-hour flu.

Somehow she has to carry on as if all was well, and about the only way she can get any sympathy or understanding is to be approaching death's doorway. Even then, one of the kids might ask if she has the time to wash his soccer uniform before she passes from this earthly life.

I'd like to see some type of parent-child contract drawn up that would grant equal time, consideration, and cough medicine in the middle of the night to mothers.

I'd like to see a clause included in this contract stating emphatically that when a child comes home from school to find his mother still in her robe, it doesn't mean that she was just too lazy to get dressed that day.

If a mother has red watery eyes and a runny nose, it isn't from peeling onions or from watching a sad scene in an afternoon soap opera.

If a mother's face appears to be unusually flushed, it isn't from the exhilaration of an afternoon tryst. 
If a mother is making 25 trips to the bathroom in an hour, it isn't just from a need for some solitude and serenity.

If a mother doesn't have the strength to drag her body off the couch to cook dinner, it isn't because she wore herself out playing tennis all day.

I used to believe that if we could get our families to recognize the fact that we were indeed sick, then we could work on getting them to respond in a positive helpful manner. To accomplish that goal, I considered making a big sign and hanging it in the living room where everyone could see it as they come in the door:

"Attention! The mother in this house is sick and has gone to bed. Do not disturb unless extreme emergency arises. (Needing to go to volleyball practice does not qualify.) Somebody cook supper. Wash your own dishes and gym clothes. It would be nice if someone came to check on me in about four hours to see if I'm still alive and to bring me some orange juice. Love, Mom."

Friday's Odds and Ends

A Texas jury gave Kimberly Cargill a death sentence after she had been found guilty of first degree murder for killing her babysitter and setting the woman's body on fire. Full story here:  Kimberly Cargill sentenced to death

 

No matter what one thinks of the despicable crime, is the death penalty the best choice? If you were on a jury, would you vote for the death penalty? What if you had to pull the switch or give the lethal injection?

 

 I know it is easier to make these judgements when one is far removed from the case. We don't know all the evidence against Cargill, but I still hold that life without possibility of parole is a better option. Not just because she is a woman. I think that the death penalty should stop being used, period. Over and above my concerns about the humanity of using the death penalty, there are other reasons to abolish it. It costs much less money to keep a prisoner locked up for life than to carry out the death penalty, and there is no statistical evidence to show that using the death penalty cuts down the number of murders committed each year in the United States.

 

The school year is winding down across the country and summer vacation is upon us. Students and teachers alike are probably thrilled to have a break for several weeks so they can recoup and prepare emotionally for next year. 

 

While the students have to come back, the teachers do not, and some of them won't. Some of them are too worn down by the challenges: endless paperwork, teaching to the tests, inadequate funding, unruly kids, and parents who don't care enough to discipline their kids or supporting their efforts in school. On the other side of that last coin are the parents who are such champions of their children, the teacher is never right. 

 

There needs to be a middle ground - a place where there is mutual respect for each other and for certain rules that make the learning environment more productive. And parents need to support the teachers. One Dallas-area teacher recalled an incident for columnist, Steve Blow, in which a kindergarten student called her a bitch. When she called the parent so some action could be taken, the response was, "That's what she says when she is really mad. What did you do to make her mad?"

 

When I read that, I was astounded. Our son once called a teacher a bitch, and after meeting with her and the principal and the counselor and several other teachers in a conference, I had to agree with him. The woman was unreasonable and obviously had a keen dislike for our son. On the way home from the conference, my husband and I told our son that under no circumstances was he ever to call a teacher a name. Period. It didn't matter if it was true or not, the teacher is a figure of authority and you will treat her with respect. Period. And he was grounded for a week.

 

To read the entire column by Steve Blow in The Dallas Morning News, click HERE. There is some really good advice for parents shared by the teacher, Debbie Hulme Rush.

Friday's Odds and Ends

Since the news from Japan continues to be so depressing, I thought I would focusing on positives this week…

A Methodist church in Lewisville, Texas has recently opened a drop-in teen shelter for kids who are homeless and need a place for support. At the shelter teens can get tutoring, mentoring for college applications, Internet access, and a permanent address for college correspondence.

What a wonderful idea, and good for that congregation for stepping up to help teens who want to go to college but see no way of accomplishing even the first steps toward making that happen.

Ebby Halliday, the founder of one of the largest and most successful real estate agencies, recently celebrated her 100th birthday in Dallas. According to all reports, she is still spry, sharp, and well-connected to family and friends.

I'm sure her good health, long life, and wide circle of friends and family mean as much to her as the success she has had since she started as a merchant in 1945, selling hats in Dallas.

Parents in Dallas can now access information about their child's school assignments, tests and attendance via a "parent portal." The portal is up at 50 campuses in the DISD, with plans to eventually have it district wide.

What a great way to use the advances in technology to help parents be more involved in their child's education.

And speaking of using technology in a really positive way. I just read an article by Trudy Rubin, a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer about how the recent revolution in Egypt was organized in large part by using Facebook. Young people created a Facebook memorial page called "We are all Khaled Said" in honor of the blogger who was beaten to death by police for protesting police corruption in his blog. They then connected with an Egyptian youth organization and a political group supporting the presidency of opposition candidate Mohammed ElBaradei - both on Facebook.

The connecting continued over several months while planning the massive protests and demonstrations on January 25th that toppled the Egyptian regime 18 days later. I guess we can never underestimate the power of Facebook to do more than just let us post our daily status.

And finally, kudos to the brave men and women who are working in the nuclear power plants in Japan, trying to save their countrymen. What an amazing act of courage.



What good news have you run across this week?