Miss J

I subbed for a third grade class today. Most of them greeted me with a smile, but one boy loudly announced his disappointment, "Oh, man! Mrs. N said we would probably have Mrs. J as a sub today!" I was happy to tell him, "You know what?! I AM a Ms J, too! Before I was married, guess what my name was?! It was Miss J!" (yes, her married name & my maiden name are the same). I told them, "So, I betcha that there's a part of me that's still used to being Miss J, so if you want, you can call me that instead of Mrs. R today." We had a chuckle and I thought we moved on, but nope, there were 2 kids that straight-faced called me Miss J all day.

And I responded without missing a beat every time.

An Official Mother Hen

Sometimes stepping out of routine makes you realize how much you take for granted. Tonight, M had a class from 6-8pm in a town about 30 min from here, so I made arrangements for E to go home w/a friend after school, which meant we picked her up at 8:30pm.

I put her on the bus at 8:40am, so we were essentially apart for 12 hours today, which is very unusual. I missed her, but at the same time it was nice to have such a huge chunk of time for just M and me. We made dinner together and even made a quick Marshall's run (trying to lighten up her Sunday wardrobe choices as we head into spring...so many dark colors in her closet!) before heading to class. I completely enjoyed my time with her, and knew that E was having a great time at her friend's house, but my heart still ached for her.

I learned a few things about myself as a mom today. 1) I am so grateful that I'm not a mom who routinely has to drop her child off in the am and pick her up again 12 hours later. 2) I am officially a mother hen who needs her chicks under her wing to feel complete. 3) That saying about roots and wings...way harder to do than to say!

The Downside of Sheltering

I believe in using good, clean, positive language. "Shut up" is not even allowed in our house, and "hate" is saved for really special occasions. But maybe I should've eased up somewhere along the way. Today in the car afterschool, M was recounting her day and asked what a certain word that starts with a "j" meant. I told her "a really dumb jerk. Why do you ask?"

"Well, we were playing the ABC game and it was the first word I thought of. I said it and my teacher talked to me and she realized I didn't know what it meant or anything but I was embarrassed and I felt bad about it."

I assured her that it was an honest mistake (we still aren't sure where she's heard it. Shrek, maybe, or perhaps it's popped up in a book?) and I recounted a time when I was in middle school & repeated a phrase I'd heard my friends say. A teacher took me aside & asked if I knew what it meant. I guessed, "That you're really mad?" She filled me in & I don't think I've repeated it since (except in my head.)

I was oddly grateful to have had a similar experience to share with her, and at the same time, it left me wondering if I'm really doing the girls a favor by keeping such clean language around here? Just kidding. I think I'll stay the course. Because I really hate - excuse me, I mean - I really dislike rude language.