Mid Week Humor: Mom brain...

I just spent 10 seconds too long frantically looking for my cellphone, that I was holding in the same hand, that was looking for the cellphone... 
If that isn't mom brain, I don't know what is... 
Motherhood.

The Happy Days Blog

Another district strike... But this time, my patience is collapsing.

As the surrounding school districts are now concluded and the children collectively begin their summer break, we still have to attend school until June 28, thanks to a pissing contest between our teachers and the school board...

If you've been a reader for over a year, you know about the ongoing strike within our district. For those of you who don't, here are the two links to the articles I've written...

After a 5 week strike, we finally returned to school...

Just one mom's opinion about our teacher's strike...

This winter season has brought on a lot of snow. So much snow, that we have had many cancellations throughout the season. Now, those days could have been made up during the holidays. But instead, the administration chose to allow the families to spend ample time together and simply tack the days onto the end of the school year, along with the strike days.

With that, created a void in allotted days to strike. So the teachers were left with 1 day, where they can legally strike.

An obvious dig by the administration...

So, that 1 day threat loomed over our heads since early September, back when the first strike happened.

But the silence wasn't deafening.

The social media pages, which house the teacher's information sites, have been buzzing nonstop.

So much in fact, that I'm finally over this whole situation.

I've stayed neutral. I've kept myself objective. Hell, my posts have been praising the district. But, I've finally had enough...

And, it's not even about the contractual items, or the potential raised taxes, or healthcare, pay raises, or missed days, or any of the things that all the other families are livid about.

My final bow is over the aggression and distasteful discussions on the social media sites from the teachers/staff, directed towards the taxpayers and families of the students of whom they teach.

My allegiance is and has always stayed with my children and the other children as well. And there are teachers at that school who I'd follow into a burning building, they're that wonderful. And I support those ones (and like minded ones that I have yet to meet) full heartedly -They deserve the world and so much more... And, they're also not the ones on social media calling people "stupid," or "ignorant," or telling them to learn to educate themselves, all for having a different opinion than them.

Keep in mind, these are the same teachers who are teaching children all day. And it baffles me, that they are conducting themselves in this manner. And, it makes my head spin that people seem to be OK with it. Then, like all social media standards, the mob mentality erupts and you have a bunch of teachers/staff talking in circles, desperately trying to get people to see their point, while taking cheap shots along the way. Whereas, they don't take that extra second to see the families/taxpayer's point.

And contrary to popular belief, our district is ranked nationally because of the family involvement too, not solely the teachers. This is why you're starting to see the numbers drop, because families have had enough and aren't as actively involved, as they once were.

Students have started giving up as well...

And, I'm not saying the school board is right either, they're far from it. And I have multiple issues with them as well... But they're not creating drama over social media... 

Teachers are also in the classroom shutting down students who ask questions about the strike. Teachers are being rude in stating that the strike has nothing to do with them, however, it has everything to do with them. Teachers are in public talking about how the families/taxpayers who support anyone else, other than them, are simply wrong. But, how are the non-teachers not allowed their own opinions on this stance? Since they are the ones footing over 50% of the bill.

There has to be a third party, with nothing to gain from it all -That is why we're in this stale mate in the first place, because the teachers only see their agenda and the board only sees their own agenda. Neither can be objective. And obviously, neither sees the side of the children. 

I get that these teachers aren't all of them... Probably not even 10% of them... But, they are also going to reap the rewards of whatever gets passed... And I don't think that's right. 

I don't care how pissed off you are at the situation. This all needs to be handled better. You can't block people who disagree with you on these sites, so people can't see the discussions... Instead, now if you go onto these sites, you'll only see the supportive comments, as most people who disagree have been deleted.

Teachers are the models. They are the ones who are with the children for 7-8 hours a day/5 days a week -It's like that famous quote, "teachers have the ability to make or break a child." And right now, they are breaking them... They are suppose to put the children first... But, as a parent viewing these threads and public outcries, I don't want my children anywhere near this. And other's agree, as they have changed schools, cyber schooled, or avoided this all together by putting their children in private schools from the start...

And I also understand, that there are taxpayers/families who are being just as rude, but they don't directly affect my children.

This all has to be conducted better -from all fronts. 

There has to be more class. 

There has to be more understanding towards each other. 

There has to be more empathy.

And there has to be more compassion.

There truly needs to be a side directly for the children, with no stake in either the board or the teachers. There has to be a representative solely for them and for their rights, as unwilling participants in this charade.

That, should be priority #1.

Because after all, isn't this all supposed to be about the children?

A tornado strikes close to home...

Last night was just another one of those rainy nights that we have so consistently where I live. The humidity was a blustering 96%, and the air was thick... I finally gave in during the evening and turned on our air conditioner, to decrease the dampness in the house...

My children went to bed at their usual school-night bedtime. And my husband and I were eager to watch a movie that we've been waiting to see for quite some time - #parenthood

I made myself an herbal tea and my husband started up the XBOX - and there was thunder rumbling in the background.

Within a minute of sitting down, my phone's alert system was going bonkers. A sound that was very different from my usual alerts that usually ping. 

There was a tornado warning for my county.

I'm not sure if I've ever saw a tornado warning for our small town - there have been some 'watches' over the years. So, I posted a quick message on Facebook to see if there was a glitch because, we weren't even aware of a serious storm, let alone, a chance for a tornado to develop.

We then clicked on our local news station, who were interrupting the regularly scheduled program. And as soon as we tuned in, we heard our town, along with others, were told to take shelter...

Now people from other high storm cycle areas are probably thinking, 
"yeah, so what?" 
"What's the big deal?" 
"We have storms all the time."

Yes. Yes, you do...

But we don't...

Flatter counties around us do.

But we live in the mountains. And have higher mountains surrounding those mountains.

So I ran upstairs, not too startling, so my children wouldn't get panicked. I told them to grab their 'things' (blankets, stuffed animals, etc) and we were coming downstairs due to the storm.

We headed to our basement, where I made a bed area with a bunch of pillows and blankets, under the stairs. We laid there for over an hour, with our hurricane lamps blazing, YouTube playing on the kindles, my phone streaming the news (because our satellite was now out), and our dog and hamster were also beside us.

We joked around, played some eye-spy, and my daughter inquisitively discussed the possible tornado arrival --this is a child who loves watching the Natural Disaster TV series, so she was sharing her insight.

The time seem to drag on, but yet, fly by. My insides were shaking, as I strategized in my head how I would protect my children, if the tornado happened to pass through...

But the smile never left my face...

I stayed connected with my neighbor, who was also with her family in their basement. She was updating me when my news stream buffered or kicked me off all together.

In my head, I kept picturing that moment in the movies, when you hear the sound of a freight train drive through and everyone has no choice, except hold on and put their hands with god...

Thankfully, that wasn't the case for us.

However, only about 5 miles from my home, wasn't so lucky.

The tornado hit our shopping district. 
Concrete buildings were completely torn apart and U-haul trucks were thrown 1/4 mile from their resting place. Parts of Dicks Sporting Good Store were found 7 miles away and cars were completely flipped over.

(None of these photos are mine. They were used from our local news pages)

Thankfully, this occurred after 10:00 pm, when the stores were all closed or in the process of closing. And somehow, there wasn't any causalities. Not even injuries that resulted in emergency transportation to a hospital. 

And the emergency personal were outstanding and quick with their response. They had buildings cleared and checked within a few hours. 

We finally emerged from the safety of our basement to watch the devastation on the news. Our hearts heavy for the clean-up that will ensue over the next few months... But, feeling completely blessed and grateful that if the tornado took a slight change in course, residential areas would have been leveled down to the ground and lives would have been lost... And our home could have been one of them...

So, we all stayed awake way past a socially acceptable time frame, snuggling and reading stories... We never did watch our movie and my herbal tea sat on the counter until the next morning...

But, we were all just happy to be in our self-standing home...

Where, we were all together...

And safe.

The world of theatre and dance, with a peaceful parent...

As the weeks wind down and I begin to breathe in a moment of stillness, my brain detoxing from the whirlwind of school and extracurricular activities, I find myself even more eager to see what the summer will bring...

We started my daughter's theatre and dance journey back in early February. My daughter, along with every tweener in the world, loves Jo Jo Siwa. Then, we began watching Dance Moms together (because that's where she started from) and she quickly became obsessed with the dance world. 

Since was daughter was old enough to speak, she has always said she wanted to be a famous singer. And like every parent of a child, you hear about all these various things they want to be when they're older - ex. a princess, astronaut, etc. So I took it in stride and we went about our lives. It wasn't until teachers in school, peers, and strangers on the street (because my daughter is always singing everywhere and anywhere), started to validate her talent. And then, she placed 3rd place in our local Talent show with only 1 day preparation and singing acapello. That's when I finally started to think, OK, maybe we should begin to dabble into this talent and pull whatever we can from it. Especially since, she has such passion for it all. When other children are playing and crafting, she's trying to copy Maddie Ziegler's lyrical dances, or writing her own songs about bullying, and trying to perfect her pitch to her favorite songs. These are her idea of play.  

Here's the link to that story:
That time my daughter sung in front of a crowd...


So, we found ourselves on the doorsteps of a local studio...
It was a Tuesday in February. 
Classes had already been in session since September.
She was dressed head to toe in her new leotard. 
She was nervous, but very excited. 
Scared, but determined...

Her class went flawless, there wasn't any separation anxiety - from either of us. This place felt comfortable. And, it was made complete with a visible camera to view the children in the class. For me, this was a safety concern and also, to see how she was feeling and if she was enjoying herself.

Then, to add to our quickly rising agenda, 3 days later, she auditioned for her first musical (through the same studio). 

*For all you who have followed my posts from the beginning or know us personally, know my daughter is a sensitive soul who is thoroughly attached and requires "prep work" before going to any new situation...

Well, since I have never been part of the theatre world, I couldn't prep her of what to expect for this process...

The audition was a long 3 hours. She was hesitant walking in, which made me nervous. And after a long drawn-out separation, she only lasted about an hour until she came back out to the waiting area in full fledged tears.

She was overwhelmed.  

I sat on the floor beside her, building her up and reminiscing the reasons why she wanted to do all of this in the first place. I didn't want to leave, because she would have had immense regret. But, I also didn't want to force anything upon her, because this was going to be a big commitment. And in this industry, you have to want to do this, in order to flourish. 

So, long story short, she decided to stay...

...And left with acting lines, a duet, and a solo... And a boost of confidence that will forever be irreplaceable...

We spent the next 3.5 months rehearsing for theatre and dancing for the upcoming recital. 

Friendships were made and bonds were formed...

This was no longer an extracurricular activity, but now a lifestyle. 

In this short amount of time, this studio feels like home. My daughter doesn't hesitate to walk away from me, in fact, she runs through the door while I'm still getting out of my car. And she wishes she could be there everyday. 

It's now June, the musical production has ceased and the recital came to a close. We're moving onto the summer schedule... Where she is in another play, doing a solo lyrical routine, a group ballet dance, and taking vocal lessons...

She's only 7 years old, but this girl knows what she wants and who she wants to be...

She isn't scared to put in the work and long hours...

And, I often think back to that first audition and wonder how differently things would be, if she didn't have the courage to walk back inside. Or, if I was one of those parents who has little patience and became easily frustrated and pulled her out of the studio... How her confidence would have just plummeted and her love for this industry might have ceased right at that moment. But instead, she has made friends which carries over to her school and is allotted a creative avenue to enhance her performance personality. 

And, she doesn't just view this as fun, she views this as an education to help her become much more.

And one day, when she's famous, I'll always remember that first week at the studio. I'll remember how difficult it was for her to do something new; to make her step outside her comfort zone... 

Just to lay the foundation for the future she really wants...

And for only being 7 years old, those are some big thoughts.