Hey Everyone!
I thought you should watch this video if you have school-aged children. I have personally wondered if this is some/most of the case for my boys at school. Since they seem to have the problems only at school.
I do KNOW that the teachers my boys have are NEGATIVE and really like to dwell on the negative. One teacher, in particular, that both of my boys had, loves to play the "tattle-tale" role...and not just to me, their mom, but to everyone around...including complaining in front of the boys!!!
Not only am I appalled at this behavior, but I recently took a workshop at my company called "MicroInequities: The Power of Small" by Stephen Young (www.insighteducationsystems.com) He mentioned that with the slightest of body language and the choice of wording can really demean another person. I asked him about the teacher situation. He asked me to stay a little longer so that he could share with me. He agreed there is high potential for failing students IF the teacher is not specifically aware of what she says/how she interacts with her class.
I am enraged that one of my boys' teachers had the audacity to say in the first quarter, that "unfortunately, children like this are the ones that end up in juvenile hall and go downward". That told me...SHE ALREADY NAMED/JUDGED/DISCOUNTED ...MY CHILD!!! Of course, she is not going to think about how she talks to him.
So how do I change this? Not sure yet, but you can bet your last dollar I WILL FIND SOME ANSWERS somewhere!!!! These are my children that God entrusted me to raise. I have come close to moving mountains in their lives with His help...and I am going to keep on fighting for my boys!
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?cl=6673814
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
2008 is already GREAT!
Current mood: accomplished
Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes
As my closest friends know...my LIFE has been everything a 4-letter word could describe in the last several years!! However, I am here to celebrate the long-term goals of success! It really DOES happen for those that persevere, don't give up, and push through to the other side.
I didn't post my "goals" for the year like I usually do, but already I am seeing many of them meet reality. After a long and tough divorce that wreaked havoc on my financial situation...I was finally able to pay off my bills yesterday. I also started my 401k plan at work. Being a business graduate, this has always haunted me that I haven't been able to start building toward my future.
After all the stresses in my life which have worn on my health, thankfully I was able to start seeing a nutritionist last fall which has helped me get on track to improve my internal physical health. This has increased my energy to accomplish other goals in my life.
After several years of doing the online dating thing...I had taken the last year and a half off. My goal for this year was to "create my own social circle" of friends. When my kids are gone to their dad's house, I want to have a group of friends that I can call up and get together to hangout. Already I have been out meeting new friends and doing things I love to do!
One of the key factors in my outward success, is the fact that God has given me a great job! I am now with a company that is stable and growing, which is giving me the opportunity to further my career vs. working a job. I am eternally grateful.
None of this would be happening in my life without the strength and endurance that comes from within!
Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes
As my closest friends know...my LIFE has been everything a 4-letter word could describe in the last several years!! However, I am here to celebrate the long-term goals of success! It really DOES happen for those that persevere, don't give up, and push through to the other side.
I didn't post my "goals" for the year like I usually do, but already I am seeing many of them meet reality. After a long and tough divorce that wreaked havoc on my financial situation...I was finally able to pay off my bills yesterday. I also started my 401k plan at work. Being a business graduate, this has always haunted me that I haven't been able to start building toward my future.
After all the stresses in my life which have worn on my health, thankfully I was able to start seeing a nutritionist last fall which has helped me get on track to improve my internal physical health. This has increased my energy to accomplish other goals in my life.
After several years of doing the online dating thing...I had taken the last year and a half off. My goal for this year was to "create my own social circle" of friends. When my kids are gone to their dad's house, I want to have a group of friends that I can call up and get together to hangout. Already I have been out meeting new friends and doing things I love to do!
One of the key factors in my outward success, is the fact that God has given me a great job! I am now with a company that is stable and growing, which is giving me the opportunity to further my career vs. working a job. I am eternally grateful.
None of this would be happening in my life without the strength and endurance that comes from within!
Friday, February 01, 2008
Invisible Mom
Current mood: Touched
Category: Blogging
A dear friend sent me this email story of inspiration for moms and I found it a fantastic reflection! Ironically, earlier in the evening I had one of those "ah-ha" moments in a conversation with my oldest son. He is 10 now and showing such wisdom at such a young age. He knew I was having a chat with another single mom friend and he wanted me to share with her that I had been successful in taking care of him and his brother. What insight! I can only attribute that instinct due to the fact I am (with God's grace) building their little lives! ~Joy
I'm InvisibleIt all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the wayone of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on thephone?' Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, orsweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible; 'The Invisible Mom.'
Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Canyou tie this? Can you open this?Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number isthe Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but nowthey had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She'sgoing, she's going, and she's gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England . Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip,and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sittingthere, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at myout-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. Myunwashed hair was pulled up in a hair clip and I was afraid I couldactually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, whenJanice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'Ibrought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe . I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription:'To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are buildingwhen no one sees.'
In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which Icould pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - wehave no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expectedno credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith thatthe eyes of God saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tinybird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why areyou spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied,'Because God sees.'I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almostas if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act ofkindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, istoo small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'
At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a diseasethat is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keepthe right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of thepeople who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went sofar as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetimebecause there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he'sbringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in themorning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'dbuilt a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to comehome. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'you're gonna love it there.'
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we'redoing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world willmarvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women. Great Job, MOM!
Share this with all the Invisible Moms you know..... I just did.
The Willof God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.
Category: Blogging
A dear friend sent me this email story of inspiration for moms and I found it a fantastic reflection! Ironically, earlier in the evening I had one of those "ah-ha" moments in a conversation with my oldest son. He is 10 now and showing such wisdom at such a young age. He knew I was having a chat with another single mom friend and he wanted me to share with her that I had been successful in taking care of him and his brother. What insight! I can only attribute that instinct due to the fact I am (with God's grace) building their little lives! ~Joy
I'm InvisibleIt all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the wayone of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on thephone?' Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, orsweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible; 'The Invisible Mom.'
Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Canyou tie this? Can you open this?Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number isthe Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but nowthey had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She'sgoing, she's going, and she's gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England . Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip,and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sittingthere, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at myout-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. Myunwashed hair was pulled up in a hair clip and I was afraid I couldactually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, whenJanice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'Ibrought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe . I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription:'To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are buildingwhen no one sees.'
In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which Icould pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - wehave no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expectedno credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith thatthe eyes of God saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tinybird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why areyou spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied,'Because God sees.'I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almostas if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act ofkindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, istoo small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'
At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a diseasethat is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keepthe right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of thepeople who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went sofar as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetimebecause there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he'sbringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in themorning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'dbuilt a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to comehome. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'you're gonna love it there.'
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we'redoing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world willmarvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women. Great Job, MOM!
Share this with all the Invisible Moms you know..... I just did.
The Willof God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.
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