Slow Down, Read This ...

Every so often I read something that, as a parent, just slaps me in the face. The following article did just that. 

If I had a dollar for every time I say, “hurry up” to my boys, their college savings plans would be flush with cash! But I will say that I do now, try and take the time to stop and smell the flowers with my boys. Or, being that they are boys, stop and play with the ants or do armpit farts or climb on and jump off of everything they see. I hope you enjoy this piece as much as I did.

The Day I Stopped Saying ‘Hurry Up’

By Rachel Macy Stafford, on her blog, Hands Free Mama.

When you’re living a distracted life, every minute must be accounted for. You feel like you must be checking something off the list, staring at a screen, or rushing off to the next destination. And no matter how many ways you divide your time and attention, no matter how many duties you try and multi-task, there’s never enough time in a day to ever catch up. 

That was my life for two frantic years. My thoughts and actions were controlled by electronic notifications, ring tones, and jam-packed agendas. And although every fiber of my inner drill sergeant wanted to be on time to every activity on my overcommitted schedule, I wasn’t.

Be sure to read the rest of her post here. 

Don't Hate on the Name

Admit it. When you heard that Kayne and Kim named their daughter North you thought, “North. Kind of cute.” Then you thought, “North West. Really?!”

I did, and I have vowed to NEVER question people’s baby names. Ever. Why, you ask? Let me tell you.

I have two boys named Harlan (Did you say Harley, like Davidson? Is it Harland, like rhymes with Garland) and Taylor (That’s a girl’s name.) I also have a nephew named Jhett, one named Jace, one named Byson and one named Slade. I also have two other nephews and a niece whose names are a little more mainstream – Aidan, Brady and Ava. They can all read so I wanted to mention them too because I also adore them and I don’t want them feel left out! 

My point is, I happen to love these off-the-beaten-path names, and love those five boys to death, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that each named spurred a spirited conversation … or 50.

One such conversation almost ended in bloodshed. (Tip – don’t say something insensitive to a woman who is seven months pregnant on Thanksgiving when you’ve had two martinis and she hasn’t eaten.)

The lesson my extended family learned from all of these conversations – especially from the Thanksgiving Day near-massacre – is first, keep your freaking mouth shut. And second, a name is just a name. Kids define themselves in a million other ways. True, their name may be fodder for some teasing, but that will happen no matter what your name is. I would give you a great example from my husband – very innocuously named Jim Owens – but it was teenage boys who made up the name, so probably not appropriate for this venue.

So, name your kid Bob or name your kid Seven – he or she will be remembered more by what they do than by what they answer to!

Kids listen to us, don't they?

I decided to start this blog with the hopes that I could speak about education while wearing both of my hats – that of a professional working in education and that of a mother. The funny thing is, I make a concerted effort at work to not think like a mother, and a concerted effort at home to not think like a higher ed wonk.

So, this blog is either going to be a nice relief for me, or it will negate all of the work I put into trying to separate my two worlds.

Anyhow, as you probably know, October is College Application Month (CAM). My seven-year-old son, Harlan, heard an ad for CAM when we were listening to the Broncos game last Sunday and he asked me what it meant.

So, I started explaining to him about applying to college. I didn’t have to explain why kids need to go to college – my husband and I have been talking to the boys about it since they were infants – but I told him about the process. The letters of recommendation, the essays, and everything else that goes along with it, and how we help students to do this on the computer – everything from filling out the applications to sending them to the appropriate schools.

His response was, “Do you think, if Star Wars characters were real they would dress up as other Star Wars characters for Halloween?”

Perfect. It always amazes me how I can have a five-minute conversation with any of my three boys (I am including my husband) and at the end, they look at me with a blank stare, pause for a few seconds, and say “Ummm … what?”

If there is a game on TV – pretty much any game – they won’t even look at me, they simply grumble that phrase. Of all the wonderful things that the boys could inherit from my husband, that had to be among them? Although, many other women have assured me that it isn’t just my boys – it is innate in all males.

Anyhow, I laughed and proceeded to have a conversation with Harlan about how Darth Maul couldn’t dress up as Yoda because he is too tall, and how all of the villains would have to be double-dog dared to dress up as Princess Leia or Queen Amidala.

Then after a few minutes of quiet, Harlan said, “Mom, how did you do College Application Month a long, long time ago when you were a kid, if you didn’t have computers?”

Well look at that – he did listen. Not only to this conversation, but to one a few days ago when I was convincing him and his brother that there is more to life than their computers, iTouches, DS’s, Leapsters and Wii.

“When I was your age, we didn’t even have computers. We had to make our own fun”

Mirror, mirror on the wall, I have become my mother after all.

So, I really morphed into my mother – exasperated tone of voice and all – and told him that in the olden days, when I was in high school, I had to thumb through a book that was as thick as five Captain Underpants books put together. Then, I had to fill out every single application BY HAND and then walk them to the mail box. He was not impressed. In fact, his only comment was, “You read Captain Underpants when you were a kid too?”

Totally missed the point, kid. Anyhow, it got me to thinking about how many advantages kids now have over those of us who were totally stoked to grow up in the rad 80’s. They can find out anything they need to find out about college and careers on CollegeInColorado.org.

But, just as I didn’t give two flips about my parents’ unfortunate childhoods, growing up without color TV, I wonder if they realize how good they have it.

So, as we creep up on the last week of College Application Month, if you need any help explaining to your students how good they have it, please don’t hesitate to call on us. I really do believe, on some level, they do listen!