Posted on 12/18/2001 6:23:36 AM PST by SAMWolf
I am a huge advocate of parents getting into their children's schools on a regular basis. As a stay-at-home mom, I am able to assist in my daughters' classrooms each week. Whether helping with art projects, reading or spelling, it keeps me connected and allows me direct insight into my girls' day-to-day lives. It also affords me the opportunity to connect with other children. And connect I do. The hugs and openness with which I am greeted are huge indicators that I have broken through that Grown-up/Child barrier.
It could be that when I go into the school, I don't dress like an authority figure. You won't find me wearing Chinos, skirts, loafers, untouchable hair or any other spiffy adult attire. Instead, look for the person clad in sweatpants or jeans, a comfy sweater and a baseball cap . . . always a baseball cap. I come prepared to hug, get dirty on the playground and sweep the floor with my butt during reading circle. I also come with enough hugs to go around, twice. As a result, I have been granted access into the Inner Sanctum of the Schoolyard.
Last week while working on an art project with a rotating group of kids we talked about music, movies, swear words, parents, the holidays. As talk turned to what they hoped would be under their tree for Christmas or part of their Hannukah 7 Day Gift Haul, I decided to take advantage of my "non-threatening" status and pose the question: "Name one thing you would like your Mom or Dad to give you this season that would not cost a penny." You could have heard that penny hit the floor as silence enveloped them, and their young minds went to work. As they each took turns answering, I was moved to tears by their candor, their honesty and in some cases the heartbreaking realities revealed in their words.
It is my holiday gift to you all that I share what your kids REALLY want this year. And no, a Play Station 2 is nowhere on the lists of their hearts.
Listen To Me Please: At the top of their lists is for we parents to stop being so busy all the time and just listen to them talk. I know I have been guilty of this one. God knows, we really are not interested in hearing about the latest unpronounceable character in their Harry Potter books, but we need to stop, look them in the eye, and listen. If we don't, they will simply stop trying. And we all know that the teenage days will come when they won't want to discuss anything with us, be it Harry Potter or their newly hairy pits.
Teach Me To Cook: I was surprised by this request, but when I pressed for an explanation, it quickly became clear. We are raising a generation of Microwave Kids. They know how to use every button on the magic box, but have no idea how to simmer, bake or boil. Granted, there is great messiness in allowing your youngsters to cook with you, but take it from me, some of my happiest memories are in the kitchen with my Mom, dusted with flour and smudged with love.
Please Stop Smoking: One child spoke this wish and it was quickly echoed by many others. They have seen enough commercials to be truly concerned about your health and their own, but it goes a bit further than that. One young girl pulled me aside and whispered her reason in my ear, "The other kids say I always smell bad." I hugged her close and bent to kiss her head and she was right. Her hair did not smell of Johnson & Johnson's, but of Benson & Hedges. Not her choice and certainly not fair.
Stop Being So Busy All The Time: If guilt were a color, I would have been painted with it when I heard this one. How many of us use the phrase, "Just a minute . . ." or "Hold on . . ." too much? Personally, there have been too many times I have looked up after "just a minute" to find my child has given up waiting and is gone.
Read To Me: We tend to think that once a child can read, our job is done. Actually, these children expressed a desire to have Mom or Dad read a chapter book TO them each night. And while they would really enjoy the reading, it leads to a deeper desire . . . the other request that made me choke back a tear . . .
Hug Me More: I experience these children each week when I enter the classrooms. They cling to me tighter than a wet pair of Levi's. They are the ones that are not getting enough hugs and snuggling and attention at home. For them, I hug them not once, not twice, but as much and as long as they need. So while you are running around doing that last minute shopping, add some of these items to your own child's list. Rich or poor, they are all things that cost not a dime and we all have in endless supply. We just have to stop and open our arms and hearts a little wider.
I know moms who do exactly what the mom in the article did. They meet with the same reaction of the kiddos. Public or private school..no difference. Gosh..I actually know a homeschool mom who's too busy for her kids! We all need to step back and determine our priorities...then act on them.
But I thought the point of the article made it worth posting. The material things are not as important as the time we spend with our children.
Maybe some of us in the "we all" get tired of having to listen to do-gooders always trying to tell everyone else how to live, how to raise their kids, how to eat, etc...
Just because you felt the article served as a reminder to you, doesn't mean everyone else needed such a reminder.
Sorry, ma. The KJV has translation problems, just as does any other version. Moreover, it has serious readership difficulties due to the changes in English over the past 400 years. In addition, the newer translations tend to consider a lot more source material than was used in the KJV.
Beyond that, by condemning all but the KJV, you're implying that all biblical scholars since the time of King James are a bunch of revisionist liars -- not a terribly useful outlook on life, not to mention highly inaccurate.
My advice to you is to look at as many different translations as you can -- often the ambiguities in a passage can be resolved by seeing how various scholars have interpreted it. Here is a good place to read up to 11 translations (including the KJV) at the click of a button.
That isn't what the title of the article implies. You'll notice the article also mentions what the children HOPED would be under the Christmas tree. The items listed in the article did not appear until _after_ the writer decided to put restrictive conditionals on the answers.
Lets suppose Mom and Dad quit smoking and give each kid a hug as their only presents for Christmas this year. Meanwhile, Bobby and Susie next door got Transformers, Barbie, Bicycles, etc... Do you honestly think the kid is going to say "Gee, thats swell, thanks for the hug, this is the best Christmas ever!".
My money's on the kid would be extremely depressed.
ALL I need is one more Super Mommy with waaaaaaaaaay too much time on her hands telling me what I'm doing wrong and how I'm screwing up my kids' lives. Sheesh.
I'll just tell her this: Look, sweetheart. I'm raising 7 kids. Sometimes you HAVE to say "just a minute" or "hold your horses". I will NOT drop what I'm doing every time one of my kids wants my attention............or I'd be "dropping" more than a seagull at Coney Island. Too many parents I know cater to the whims of their little darling........and I mean EVERY whim...........and they produce self-centered little monsters as a result. That sound cold? It's a fact.
I don't have to be told to hug my kids or teach them things. I smoke and they still love me...........and they don't stink of smoke, either.
My wife's been homeschooling our kids for over 18 years. Let's see Super Mommy do that..........
Oh well, I'll climb off of my cynical soap box........
Give it a rest, guy. The lady gets paid to write on "family issues." What do you expect -- treatises on superstring theory?
My money's on the kid would be extremely depressed.
I don't think her point is "no toys, only hugs". This is a way to remind parents how important paying attention to thir kids can be.
Would you like to put that to the test? Ask each and every one of your kids (not the baby, of course) if they like it when you smoke. If they say they don't like it, would you stop? If they asked you to stop, would you?
P.S. They DO smell of smoke. You just can't smell it because YOU smell of smoke, too.
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