Living Free

I have no idea why (::cough::), but I ended up in a loooooong conversation about school security this week. Okay, so it's more like a daily thing to end up on the topic anymore, which, how great would it be if it weren't a necessary conversation? I'd like to live in that place where school are left unlocked, there's no armed police officer walking the grounds, and kids are free to come and go.

OH. WAIT. I DID LIVE THERE. It was a fancy place called "the 90's."

Somewhere in all of the some-people-think-it's-politics-but-it-shouldn't-be talk of the week, it dawned on me -- my high school was wide open. All of the doors. I know it was because I had a fantastic scam that I pulled my last year to prevent getting hit with a tardy.

I graduated as a junior so I could go to Spain as an exchange student without worrying about credits transferring and such. Nobody at my school had ever graduated early, so it wasn't like I got permission the first time I asked and that was it. Rather, I spent countless hours in the principal's office pleading my case and proving that I was making the necessary progress on the extra work I had to do to make it happen.

And thus, I would often start my day by stopping in the principal's office. I'd touch base or ask some random question or whatever and then I'd leave with an excuse for walking into my first class late. The trick was, though, that I didn't start in the principal's office on time. I'd show up for school 10 minutes late or whatever, cut in through one of the doors in the back where the classes were, and saunter my way to the front office. If anybody knew, they didn't let on.

It was only possible because we could enter through any door. If we'd been forced to go in through the front, it would have been REAL obvious I wasn't through the door on time.

Also, I left for lunch every day. We were free to come and go from the school at any time. No signing out, no security checks, nothing. So we went to Taco John's, loaded up on cheap bean burritos, and returned for afternoon classes.

At this point, I can't bust either of the girls out of school for lunch unless I write a dissertation for the school board, get a police escort, and bribe at least three school officials.

It's a different world.

Baby Steps

Dear Alexis,

I don't write much about you in this space anymore because you're in the midst of the years that I think are the hardest of all of the years of life. Parenting might be hard, but I cried my way through sixth grade and being in that classroom is definitely harder.

Don't take that as a challenge. There's no need to show me that I can cry my way through the tween/teen years when I'm not the tween/teen. And don't start struggling yourself; that won't accomplish anything. Instead, you keep kicking butt and taking names and I'll keep being in awe of you and we'll all be happy. We just won't be publicly happy here because you've earned your right to have some privacy and such.

But, well, it has to be said - today you learned a very important lesson. Today was the day that you proved to yourself that, actually, you CAN break a rule. You CAN and you will and there is not a single thing adults can to convince you otherwise. We can't really stop you. Sure, we can dole out punishment and all of that, but we can't stop you.

Now that you know your power, I hope you will continue to use it wisely. I am WAY proud that you used it to, in your small way, cause a seismic shift in the universe. There is no doubt that thousands of other kids figured out that "they can't stop us" thing today too and you all figured it out in an incredibly powerful way.

The world will be changed because of y'all.

As I told you repeatedly the past couple of weeks, I had your back no matter what you did. You can't be stopped and the kids like you can't be stopped and the adults like me? We're here, watching your back.

Change the world, kid. It needs it.

Love ya,

Mom

Like Mother, Like Daughter

I fully realize that I'm a pampered princess who needs to get over it, but I have very strict expectations for winter weather. Snow and cold in November? I'll allow it. Snow and cold in December? YES, PLEASE! Snow and cold in January? WAHOOO! Snow and cold in February? Okay. Snow and cold in March? GTFO. NO.

March 1st has me ready to whip out the flamethrower and make it spring however I need to. I want sunshine! And chilly but tolerable temperatures! And the white stuff? SCREW THE WHITE STUFF. I want daffodils and crocuses and little green leafy buds everywhere I look. It doesn't need to be shorts weather; I'm just done with winter proper.

I do know what the calendar says about this whole thing. I don't care.

Also, it's worth noting that I am willing to allow one March snowstorm per year. I allow it to occur on a Friday evening and it should involve at least 8 inches of snow. We need to be dug out by Monday morning, but only after we have dedicated the weekend to sledding and building snowmen and such. We don't talk about April snowstorms because there should be no such thing.

So, I'm unreasonable, but not TOTALLY unreasonable. I just have standards and those standards are "meets expectations." Whatever the average temperature is supposed to be is what it should be.

Of course, today was a day when I half got my way. Half the day it was sunny and bright. The other half of the day, it was snowing so hard I couldn't see the parking lot out of my office window. Total white out. Beautiful spring day. Total white out. Beautiful spring day.

It was enough to ALMOST make me wish for one type of weather or the other. The back and forth was nuts, so I was almost willing to accept the bad in exchange for not changing.

Not Mila, though.

Mila spent the entirety of the drive from daycare to gymnastics shaking her little fist at the snow and yelling, "THE SNOW IS BOTHERING ME."

I swear she loved snow just a few weeks ago. Apparently she is going to carry on my legacy of banning snow after March 1st.