My Hero.

This one had to sit with me awhile.  For a lot of reasons.

E was really excited about his halloween costume, it was to be gruesome, bloody, scary, and borderline inappropriate.  Perfect for Halloween.  He dubbed it his maniac costume, among other titles.  He and Dad worked for hours on the make up, it was awesome, like hollywood good.

But he and I both caught a lot of flak for it.  I'm still trying to figure out if people really think he'll grow up to be a serial killer because we let him have fairly free rein over his costumes. He was really hurt and confused by some of the things that were said, it was a very creative expression for him, and some other parents just didnt get it.  I had to explain to him that some folks take things way too seriously.

Do they not see how empathetic he is? How wise? How loving and kind?  I guess not.  And thats their loss. 

A few days before Halloween, A friend confided to him that she was really sad, feeling all alone in the world, and that she was thinking of committing suicide. A fourth grader. Ready to end it before it began.  E went directly to the adults in charge and got her the help she needed.  He didnt ignore her, he didnt waffle about what to do.  He quite possibly saved her life.  She was terribly angry with him, and he felt like he had betrayed her.  He wrote her a note that said in part" I am so sorry I told your secret, But I really like you and didnt want you to be gone"  We talked about it afterwards, and at the end of our conversation he said "I guess it's better to have her mad at me and lose her as a friend for awhile, than to have done nothing and lost her for always" And the best part?  He was truly surprised that people were so proud of him and telling him how brave he was.  To him it was the only right thing to do.

Take that you judging bunch of mofo's.  Next time SEE the child -not the costume. Or maybe the next time you dress up like a hooker for halloween we can all assume its your true alter ego.

Now his maniac/serial killer get-up looks like a hero costume to me, and I am grateful for that, he is my hero.

Two for Mom!

I picked E up from school the other day, and on the way to gymnastics, we had this conversation:

E- 'You know why I love you so much?'
Me- 'Why pumpkin?'
E- 'Because you listen to me, you really listen, you let me ask questions and questions, you listen to my opinion, and you give me honest answers.  I dont see many parents doing that.  I really love you because when you listen to me that way, then I know you love me and that I am important.'
Me- *sniffle* 'I love you too sweetness, with all my heart'

Then over the weekend, in the driveway, sweating, in the rain, helping E to pull the staples out of garden fencing we needed for the halloween graveyard (it came out great by the way)

E- 'Mom, turn and look at me'
Me- 'OK'
E- 'Now smile'
Me- 'OK'
E- 'You look beautiful like that Mom'
Me- 'I love you too'

it makes it soooo worth it. 

I love being his Mom, and I am grateful for that

Phew! Studio!!!!

Our summer started with the hard realization that we had to move into a better school district.  E needed to be in a neighborhood where he could go to school with the local kids. So we sold the house....bought a new one... and did this to it.

Then we painted, and tiled and carpeted and did dishes in a laundry sink, using my show tables for counters.  My studio was the storeroom. sigh.  Now I have cabinets, everything is 99% unpacked, just need some counter tops and we'll be done.  ummm except for the bath remodel, thats next.....

BUT my Art Room looks like this now:

 

And I will be getting back to BIDNESS real soon!   yaay!

 

 

And I am so grateful for that.



Hahahaha! can you say BOILERPLATE?

Love this, this is the "completely noncommital - do not address any concerns specifically- CYA letter" I got back from Ms K--- Superintendent of the School District

Dear Ms. Knapp:

Thank you for sharing your concerns.  I want to assure you that at all times the safety of our students was paramount.  The decision to have school in session on Monday was based on the information available to us at the time.  We relied on the National Hurricane Center and the National Weather Service in Melbourne, as well as local information provided through the county’s Emergency Management. 
This storm proved to be unpredictable.  While I understand your concerns, I want you to know decisions regarding schools were taken seriously.  As weather conditions deteriorated, our focus remained entirely on our students and ensuring they all made it home safely from school, which they did. 

Best Regards,


Nancy K-----
Superintendent

One of the guys I work with says that the email is a paraphrase for "You guys voted me out of office so screw you"

And I am grateful we did.

A post storm letter

This is what it looked like trying to get to the school.

I wrote this to the superintendent of schools today.  I take full responsibility for not listening to my my 'mama voice' and sending E to school on the advice of the school boards anouncement.  This is all I have to say about it. I think its enough. I feel better now.

Dear Ms K-------,
As I am certain you have received numerous communications in regard to yesterdays unconscionable decision to keep the Martin County School District open, I will make this short and to the point.
As a new family to the Martin County Public School system, I am appalled at your offices lack of regard for the saftey of not only your students and their familes, but your staff as well.  As parents, we look to your office for guidance in these matters, assuming that you have much better information than we have access to. As that is apparently not the case, next time my gut instict trumps your offices information.
Trying to get to my sons school to pick him up yesterday was a nightmare, and our story is mild in comparision to others I have heard.  I can only hope that this level of shortsighted incompetence is an aberration and not the normal way you run your district.  The only saving grace is your extreme good fortune that no one was hurt. Adding credence to my complaint is the fact that the schools were closed today to inspect for damage, damage that would have been incurred WHILE the children were in school, again your good fortune that no one was hurt.
The only ray of light I can see in this debacle is that Ms M----- and her staff were absolutely on point yesterday and are to be highly commended.  You are extremely fortunate to have people of such dedication and heart working for you.
Regards,

Thank you Kelly!

Its been awhile since I wrote anything here.  I have missed it, dearly.  I stopped because I was getting flak from the mothers of the kids who bully my son.  One actually wrote a comment on the Broken Hearts post that has me wondering if she is certifiable.  She has turned it around so that she views my son as the bully.  Yeah, thats why her family was asked to leave the school, and asked to leave the Dojo, among other places- Because my son is the bully, makes perfect sense to me.  NOT.

Screw that.  

Kelly Warren of http://happyshackdesigns.blogspot.com/  I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your comment yesterday.  I came back and reread a lot of the old posts, It made me realize that if I stop writing about what I want to write about -be it a rant, a celebration, art I am working on or a share-because I am too thin skinned to deal with the craziness-then the bullies win, and I refuse to model that for my son.

Kelly- you made me realize that what I write does make a difference, even if only to me.  If it makes a difference to anyone else, thats icing on the cake.
I'm back. And I am grateful for that.

To my son. Nuff said.