The Boiling Point!!!!!

Where do we draw the line?  At what point do we risk looking like "those parents" who out right blame the school system, or do we just become "those other parents"  that let the system in place run over our children and our authority as parent`s.   Yup its another rant.  But right now I am boiling!! Fed up by all the school system B.S. and their "power" trip ability to say to a parent whatever they feel like saying without any repercussions.  I however will not be the parent that gets run over.  I am done sitting down and trying to play nice.
I can already hear the anger in some of my readers.  "Well if the parents were more involved...."  Or "If you as a parent would help...."    Trust me on this when I tell you I have been desperate to make my kids work for school.  I say that in that order because truthfully that is the relationship that should be imposed on children and the school system.  Their teachers are there to help the kids not force them to learn.  Children that go to school need to learn responsibility for their actions and produce a positive result.  My kids do not get special treatment for misbehavior.  Quite the opposite.  We work harder.  To be frank I am getting quite the "secretary butt" for sitting so long doing homework with my kids after school. 
Todays blog, as much as I'd like to get into that side of things, isn't actually on homework or whose fault it is that the kid got an "F" on his/her test.  Todays blog is on school policies and sick kids. 
I literally felt the eye roll of about half of my readers; however if you have kids then we really need to be on the same page about this.  If this hasn't effected you just yet it will that I can promise you.  Viruses are no respecter of persons and it definitely doesn't care if you give your beautiful child wheat grass and mixed fruit smoothies along with a probiotic for breakfast.  Please note, I do not mean any disrespect to your choice of food I am just laying a foundation of recognition that viruses are not 'picky eaters.'  So with that established here it goes:

It all starts in November. Just as the weather starts to turn cold you know that date.  Its usually about a week before Thanksgiving when the seasonal colds begin. If you're anything like me then you brace yourself  for an extended house arrest period and you run to the store literally clearing the shelves of  Ibuprophen and Tylenol as if you were experiencing an all out natural disaster. Knocking people to the side and grappling for the fever reducers in a "Black Friday" panic knowing that this item is literally the difference between a tyrannical sick child and a semi-coherent sick child.  If you have ever experienced the first type you know how important it is that you get this medicine. Sometimes you are lucky enough to get there before any other kids parents realize that this viral attack is an all out war and one they need to be prepared for.  If you're not so lucky then you stand there mouth wide open wondering how in the heck ALL of the childrens medicines could be gone so quickly.  You were just in here 2 days ago. 
With your dump truck of fever reducer loaded down you make it home.  For some reason this always happens at about 2 a.m., not sure why this happens, But I can honestly say I have envisioned the actual virus laughing as it says "watch what happens to the parents at the sound of this one puking, Mom, there is going to trip over that car and smash her face into the door frame in her attempt to reach him before he throws up on his bed."  You've seen it too haven't you?  With your alarm set for every 4 hours to divvy out the required dosage to each child you realize that this is only child #1 with this illness. For me, I  begin quickly doing the math to figure out 6 kids *3-5days of fever +2-5 more days each of coughing... = .....oh hell it feels like freaking forever! All of this not sleeping and constantly feeling foreheads makes you worried that you're next on the viral hit list and you suddenly feel the compelling force of OCD ticking in as you rush to the bathroom so you can wash your hands till they bleed.
I don't know about you but November started off the same way it always has and I was prepared.  Or so I thought.  November turned into December turning into January, February, NOW it's MARCH and I am realizing my dump truck load of meds is now depleted.  How could this happen?  Why weren't they getting better.  I took a look back and realized that my kids had been getting sick one at a time each week for the last 4 1/2 months. The week would start of with a small cough then they would run fevers, I'd take them to the clinic to check out their ears and make sure that they didn't have strep, go home with the causal dismiss of "it's a virus, good luck.  Lots of fluids and rest." Then the circle of madness would start all over again.  Infecting each kid in turn only to have a new virus trying to break down the strongholds of my children's immune systems.  Inevitably I'd keep them home from school because this was what the school has asked of us.  Of course I would do that anyway. I try to see things from others points of view including my children's.  If I know what it feels like to be sick and how hard it is to focus then why would I send my kids to school knowing how awful they feel.  Not only that but other kids in their class should be protected from this illness and allowed a chance to stay healthy. 

So here is where this gets interesting. 4 1/2  months divided by 6 kids minus weekends etc.  has equaled to a LOT of missed days per student; which happens to be 5 of them.  I have contacted the schools repeatedly letting them know that my ill child will not be there and I am convinced that they know my voice by now.  Every time I have called, up until this point, I have heard sympathetic responses.  "this season has been awful..."  "we've had so many students out..." etc.  However last week I received an interesting email from my daughters teachers letting me know of my responsibilities as a parent to make sure my kid was in school so she didn't get behind.   I understand this.  I have been trying to get them there.  But for some odd reason they keep getting sick.  I begin to think about it and remember hearing stories from my kids about how their friends were at school sick and how sad they felt for them.  WHAT!!!!??  Why are they there?  My mind becomes conflicted with all the emotions that come with trying to be a good parent.  I want my kid to learn, but I want to follow their policies; I want to make sure that they are improving and keeping up, but I don't want to get others sick.   I hate the fact that my brain settled upon placing blame but somewhere in my mind I realized that there has to be a balance and right now that balance between sick kids staying home to get well and parents who send their kids to school sick to appease the school system has been tipped dramatically.  So in response to this email I asked this teacher why other kids were being allowed to come to school sick and maybe the problem wasn't that I was keeping my kids home because they were sick but that other parents were bringing their kids to school while sick to appease the schools.  I also said that maybe she needed to address that situation. She didn't respond.  Of course she didn't respond.  Their only concern is to make sure that the kids grades reflect positively on "their school."  I took a look at the policies of the school and they ask us to keep the kids home if they are sick and are running a fever.  I had been complying!! Why is this the problem!?  I am the mom over here spending a small fortune on kids that need medicine because of these illnesses, taking them to the doctor, getting homework and completing it in a timely manner all the while trying to keep the school policies.  I am over here doing what they ask while other parents are bringing their kids to school sick against what the school wishes and re-infecting my kids over and over.  I pulled myself together and decided not to say any more but to continue the fight and make my kids go to school even when they weren't quite 100% despite their "rule" in the hopes that we could get to summer without much more trouble.  However my daughter who was still struggling with an illness was told at school that she wasn't allowed to go to the restroom and she messed her pants.  She was so distraught that she didn't ever want to go to school again.  I made her go to school and face her fears.  2 days later another teacher told her that if she didn't quit missing school they would kick her out because of all of her absences.  Again she came home crying.  By this time I am angry, to say the least. If you have a problem with a child missing school...contact the parents DO NOT belittle my child because of something she has NO CONTROL OVER.  Upon hearing this I waited till the next day so that my daughter wasn't around when I called the principal.  I told him of this situation and he immediately blamed my daughter.  He didn't even wait to hear the full story.  He just decided that my daughter was the one who had made up this ridiculous story.  I wasn't going to allow him this satisfaction so I politely interjected the fact that my daughter was 8 and not likely to conjure up the idea in her mind that the school would kick her out for her absences.  He realized the validity of my point and changed tactics.  "Well this is how we do things here."  My now new thoughts went something like this.....What the hell?!  You belittle children there at your school!? What kind of monsters do you have teaching students who feel it is okay to dissuade and crush the hearts of those that they should be lifting.?!!!!  As I am trying to digest his comment what came next just floored me.  "You know some kids just are meant for our school....you know.  Some just can't handle it here."  I can't decide now whether I just hang up on this man for his rude and uncalled for comment or do I drive over to the school and make a public scene.  All I wanted for him to do was to address the teacher and tell her to let me know when there is a problem and not involve my child who doesn't need to worry about the adult world just yet. However he took this problem and escalated it to a degree in which I now label the boiling point! 
This does sound a bit like a child throwing a tantrum but come on, I called to take care of an issue of miscommunication about my daughter being sick and her school absences only to find that I am considered the enemy and am now the butt of the schools disapproval!?
What in the world am I supposed to think now?!   I
I truly want them to be at school.  I want them to learn all of the incredible things that teachers have to offer them.  I want them to have social skills that will aid them as they grow older. However now its not only the virus that I am fighting but the school system as well.  How do I win?  How do I make sure that my children are seen as worth the schools time and still keep them healthy as they go?   
I honestly do not know the answers to this at this point but one thing I do know is that...

I will be setting up an appointment with the principal very soon so that My husband and I  can present him with ALL of the doctors notes and his own policy on paper and ask him what he would do in my situation.  I will take this to a higher level if I have to.  No child should be treated this way and no parent should have to make the choice to either keep their sick kid home or infect another kid in order to appease the mass of school system bigots. 
On the flip side However the root of the problem remains the same.  PARENTS!!!:  please keep your own kids home when they are sick.  We are all trying to help our kids grow and learn.  WE ALL have the same agenda and plan for them.  But if they are sick and you send them to school sick then not only are you causing your child undo stress but you are putting others at risk.  We all want them to succeed but how and when did it ever become ok to base the success of our kids upon the failure of another.  When did it become ok to please another entity, such as the school system, at the expense of your own child's health and peace. 

Parents you have more power than you know.  If  as parents we would just be parents and stop allowing the "system" to make our decisions, then less of our children would become ill; thus enabling them to miss less school.  Collectively our children would learn more and fair better in future endeavors due to the amount of school they wouldn't miss.  Let's take back parenting and stop giving it away to systems that are only concerned about numbers on a paper and a pay check.  Let's stop being afraid of raising our own children in a manner that benefits them rather than benefitting a corporation full of  Government stiffs that are there because of the amount of money per-child they get, based solely on the number of children in the school and in their seat. It is time, beyond time, to stop being afraid of the system and start being parents again.  So parents I urge you to PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, stop sending your beautiful child to school sick. Both your child and mine will thank you for helping them  to stay healthier and bettering their futures in the long run.  


Below is a link to another blog that addresses what is acceptable and not for a child to go to school.  It has an interview from a Children's hospital on the matter.
I found it helpful, you may or may not. Either way it is a good read.

http://www.neworleansmomsblog.com/2014/05/05/how-sick-is-too-sick-for-school-a-pediatricians-perspective/
Disclaimer for the blog site listed above.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this blog post is for networking and informational purposes only, and should not be used to replace the relationship that exists between you and your child’s healthcare provider. Please contact your healthcare provider for specific medical advice and/or treatment recommendations. The opinions expressed in this blog are the personal opinions of the author, not of Children’s Hospital or Children’s Hospital Medical Practice Corporation (CHMPC).

It's all a SCAM!!!!!

At the Risk of sounding like a complete idiot I am about to tell you of something that happened to our family this week.  Hang on to your seats because in a few moments you will be able to unleash all of your thoughts of "What an idiot, even I would have caught that!" out at my post. I would ask you to refrain from judgment but even I know that it's going to come whether I like it or not.  My only hope is that by telling you of our folly and miscalculated decision that you or one of your family members will be spared from doing something as "idiotic" as this.   
Last week we were in the throws of what to do with our tax returns.  Heaven knows that we all do it.  "With taxes we should buy this, or with taxes we should buy that...."  The list grows so long that by the time taxes get here you have forgotten the first needed thing on the list and you end up with a lot of wants.  Don't get me wrong the wants are WAY more fun than the needs but....now what?  This is the second year, no make that the third year in a row that you have forgotten about those needs am I right?! DANG IT!!!   No worries there's always next year...maybe.  Anyway as we pondered and tossed about ideas my husband decided to buy a camp trailer.  Yay!!! Who doesn't want one of those!?  Seriously, there's no hassle of unloading and re-loading ALL of that dreaded camp equipment not to mention our 50lb, -35* rated sleeping bags (all 8 of them). Lugging them up the stairs one at a time.  I have to take them one at a time because the last time I took 2 I pulled a muscle in my back so bad that I had to take Hydrocodone and Ibuprophen.  To any other person that sounds like a great day but I don't do well on that crap!  I lay around like a comatose patient with my eyes wide open, drooling.  When I try to talk all I do is slur, stutter, or hallucinate the someone was just trying to call me on the phone.  I lay there attempting to hand whoever is closest to me the receiver and do my best at signaling them to say answer it.  I can never figure out why they look at me like I have lost my mind.  All this and I still feel the pain.  I thought these were called "Pain Killers"?  Seriously they should be called "Reputation Killers." If anyone besides my family saw me like that I'd be put in a mental institution.  All I know is that when I read the label and it says "Do not operate heavy machinery while taking this medication."  I think holy crap I can't even operate a toaster while on this stuff why in the world would I drive anything that was considered heavy!!!!  So considering my alternative you can see why I was all for this trailer. In my mind I saw days full of the warm beautiful SUN!

 Frolicking through fields of wild flowers with deer bounding around us.  All of this set to its own back ground music! Life would be all flowers and treats with perfect hair and teeth and each child responding with "yes mom,  I will do what you ask.  I love you!"  Oh what a perfect idea for a tax return expenditure!!!  "LET'S DO IT!!!!!" My husband rifles through website after website.  We OOOOO'ed.. and AHWWW'ed over all of the trailers.  We Searched all of the amenities and decided on what we wanted and then like any other person we went to the websites where we would get it "Cheaper."  You saw that coming didn't you.  Of course you did. You've done it too.  We all want that "good" deal.  So in that mind set we searched and looked.  For a couple of days we looked and finally settled upon one that looked too good to be true.  $2000.00 for a trailer that looks new.  Yup that cheap...hence our curiosity.  We began the task of emailing and texting back and forth with the owner information about this trailer and how it will get here and such.  With the first email the seller informed us that they had other offers.  Our anticipation mounts as we are awaited our tax return.  We were nervous that someone would take our "good deal."  2 Days before our tax returns arrived my husband came home from work with the information on how to pay for this trailer through the website that he was emailed.  We were to buy some amazon gift cards and pay through this emailed amazon site and then amazon would ship the trailer to us. We would have 5 days to decide if we wanted it.  If within that 5 days we didn't like it we could ship it back to amazon.   Whoa!!! Amazon is a legit site and these terms seemed awesome. So now we were even more appeased in our endeavor.  Later that night my husband received an email asking him to decide if he was truly interested because they were receiving other offers.  If he was, he needed to begin the paperwork process. We truly were interested so we did start the paperwork but we didn't have the money and told them that we would have to wait.  The email received back caught my attention.  It said that they would wait for us and to make sure to get the money to them as soon as we could.  See if I were selling anything of value such as the trailer during which I had received other offers and one of them couldn't pay and another could then I would sell to the one who could.  It's a no brainer right???... But as I laid in bed that night I couldn't sleep.  I kept thinking that I had to be wrong about this.  I had to be just over thinking this because even though $2000.00 was cheap for a trailer it was a lot for us.  I mulled over the details.  Working with Amazon seems legit, we could keep the trailer for 5 days and try it out, ship it back on their dime if we don't like it, how could this be wrong. But for some reason I couldn't sleep.  The next morning brings anticipation of will the money be in our bank so that "Our trailer" will not be taken.  Alas it isn't there but a new email is with a note asking for the money that day.  We again tell them that it isn't there but we will have to wait.  The reply to our email says "Well just send it when you can.  You were the first to inquire about this so I want you to have first say."  Red flags in my mind fly up all over the place.  We were not the first.  They told us in the beginning that they had other offers.  Now my neurons are firing at rapid pace and all I can think about is how this is probably a scam but my emotions are at war saying no its not, Amazon is involved, it can't be a scam.   I push it aside (I know, I know...yes I'm an idiot!!!).  We wait 2 more days and in that 2 days and nights the thoughts keep returning only to be cast aside like clean laundry.  A mess I know I am going to have to clean up later but for now I just don't want to believe that this is a real problem and I should deal with it right now.  Besides How do I even know that it is a problem?!  All I have is a feeling in my stomach.
 IT'S HERE!!! is the sound I hear from my husband as he calls me from work the next morning.  He takes the day off and we plan how to purchase this trailer.  My husband is like a kid in a candy store.  However I am suddenly very aware at how peaceful I feel inside.  Weird I know, but I truly felt so calm and at peace.  At the time I didn't know why I felt this way but later I understood completely.  Together we go and retrieve the Gift cards and come back home with them in hand ready to make our purchase.  My husband hands me the information that he had printed off.   I read it over and over I and I keep noticing things I hadn't noticed before.  Like the phone numbers for all of the listings such as customer service, technical support, etc. were all the same.  How there wasn't any where on the site to put in the gift card information even though it looked just like Amazon's site; and how it looked as though someone just cut, copied, and pasted information into places on the page.  I suddenly get this thought to call the number.  When the person answered, my brain registered that this person sounded like they were in a basement and they were alone. Amazon is a huge company there should have been background noise.  I was instantly afraid.  So I just hung up.  I sat there for a moment trying to digest all that I was perceiving.  Oddly enough I was still calm despite what I was seeing unfold. My husband however was getting kind of frantic with the thought that we couldn't figure out how to pay this person and that we may lose the trailer.  My husband is not mindless I promise.  Usually he is way more in-tune to these kinds of things than I.  So the fact that I was recognizing this kind of thing for one of the first times in my life was the reason I was questioning myself.  I had a thought cross my mind that I should call the number again and see if the same person answered.  Since Amazon was such a huge company then there should be no way that the same person should answer twice right?.  I dialed the number and just as I had thought the same person answered asking for my information.  Half bewildered and half just surprised that this truly was a real scam happening to us I said out loud to this person.  "There is no way I should have gotten you twice, I am not doing this!" I hung up and immediately searched and found Amazons true customer service number, gave them the order numbers and all the information to which she replied that yes ....

 we were being scammed and that we needed to file it with the FTC (federal trade commission).  She told us that scams like this happen all the time.  These dishonest people ask for gift cards because there isn't any way to track them. Once you give the card numbers to them then the money is gone with no way to get it back.  Neither Amazon, nor the stores will refund the money so once its gone..its gone!  She asked if we had given the person any of the numbers on the cards.  Gratefully I could say no.  She was surprised and stated that we were of a handful of people that thwarted this before losing a lot of money.
 We were very lucky!!!  We couldn't get a refund but we had all of our money, on gift cards for amazon, but we still had it. 
I sat and pondered this moment in our lives.  What a great moment of learning!!! We not only learned how to spot a scam, but we also learned about how the Lord helped us and protected our family.  We ALL have something that we are given as a divine gift from above to help us.  Call it the Spirit, the HolyGhost, the Light of Christ, your conscience or whatever you will, but it is a gift and if you listen you will be guided and protected.  You see that morning I was calm because Heavenly Father knew I needed to be able to "hear" him tell me what to look for, and how to respond.  If I had been stressed or over anxious I would have missed all of the red flags.  Normally I wouldn't think to look at the phone numbers, or all of the fill in the blank spots on the forms.  Nor would I have even noticed that this person sounded like he was in a basement, and I definitely wouldn't have never thought to call again just to see if I did get the same person twice. I wouldn't have remembered that the people told us about them receiving other offers only to change what they said and tell us we were the first. But with the help of the Holy Ghost  ALL of this was shown to me bit by bit while the Lord helped me to stay calm while I acted. All of this he did so that our family would be protected.  We didn't give this person any of our Gift card numbers or any of our personal information so we got Lucky.  Very Lucky!! This could have had such a terrible ending but instead we are sharing this information with you so that you don't make the same mistake.  Please share this with all of your friends and family so that they too will know to watch out for the types of people who wish to steal from you and your family.   Good Luck out there and Buy something fun with your taxes But BE SAFE!!!!!!.  You only live once.

It is likely a scam if:
It looks too good to be true
It is being purchased through a 3rd party (i.e. Amazon or any other types of gift cards to be redeemed by the seller)
If the product information you receive doesn't allow you to input information into their website but you have to call to give them the information instead.
All of this will help you to assess if it is a scam. 

Craigslist gives good advice about how to avoid scams
Avoiding Scams:
Deal locally, face-to-face —follow this one rule and avoid 99% of scam attempts.

• Do not extend payment to anyone you have not met in person.
• Beware offers involving shipping - deal with locals you can meet in person.
• Never wire funds (e.g. Western Union) - anyone who asks you to is a scammer.
• Don't accept cashier/certified checks or money orders - banks cash fakes, then hold you responsible.
• Transactions are between users only, no third party provides a "guarantee".
• Never give out financial info (bank account, social security, paypal account, etc).
• Do not rent or purchase sight-unseen—that amazing "deal" may not exist.
• Refuse background/credit checks until you have met landlord/employer in person.

When meeting someone for the first time, please remember to:

• Insist on a public meeting place like a cafe, bank, or shopping center.
• Do not meet in a secluded place, or invite strangers into your home.
• Be especially careful buying/selling high value items.
• Tell a friend or family member where you're going.
• Take your cell phone along if you have one.
• Consider having a friend accompany you.
• Trust your instincts.
• 
  *Please send me your edge of the miracle story to (edgeofthemiracle@outlook.com). I will preview it and then keep in close contact with you before featuring it in an upcoming blog.  There are people out there that need your strength.  They need the kind of peace only your story can bring.  Even if you don't feel like it is worth a feature, just know that someone out there somewhere is needing to hear how you have overcome and the lessons that you have learned.  You may save their life or quite possibly save many lives. We need your story.
  
               

The tipping point....

                                                                                                                           

 You know the one,? the point at which you finally say ok, I will cave and explain myself so that maybe; just maybe you will change your perceptive of me and others that think like me.  That my friends is the tipping point.  I consider myself to be pretty understanding of others.  I try not to demean or belittle people because they think differently than I do.  I find value in others and the work they do and care they give. To be honest, until today,  I have never felt the sting of being discriminated against because of my choice to be a stay at home mom.  I have also never looked down upon mothers who worked.  Quite the opposite in fact! I look up to moms who can balance both worlds. I am often amazed and dumbfounded at their abilities to still look sane and poised despite a long night of a puke filled lap and round the clock alarms blaring for medicine dosing.  I actually feel almost inadequate to their magical strength of will to press on despite their bone crushing exhaustion. But I never, EVER! bought into the view that a working mom was inadequate to raising her children because she worked.  I guess in some sense I was shielded by my own ignorance of the issue.  I had seen articles written about the degradation of both "stay at home moms" and "working moms" and I have read them, all the while shaking my head and thinking how sad it was that Society felt it their right to pull all of us down because of their own opinions.  But I had never seen up close and personal the truth of how it made women feel and what that true perception was out in the "real" world.  The time was well overdue I guess, to have a hands on knowledge and a somewhat surreal and very real-life experience of this subject.  In order to experience this I realize that someone must step out of their "comfort zone" and give me their well meaning but ever demoralizing thoughts about my non-societal conforming behavior.  And this is where my day began, in an office with 6 out of 8 of my child's teachers and the school counselor.  I have a child that struggles with concepts of any kind and requires a 504 to get her through.  She is amazing and works harder than most students have ever thought of working.  She never gives up and cries until she finds the solutions.  This meeting was arranged for discussing the possibilities of allowing her extra time since homework was taking on average about 6 hours a day.  So as to not over step my boundaries I ASKED the teachers what they would be willing to do and what extra time they could give her if any.  5 of the 6 responded very nicely and gave raving reviews about my daughter; recognizing that she did have a hard time but noted that she was the "ideal" student who never acted out, always stayed on task, and worked harder than the others.  So there-fore they were willing to grant whatever extra time she needed without penalizing her.  However one teacher began to explain how this was "just life" and she needed to just continue to do things the same way or things would pile up.  I recognized this as reality so I replied that his comments were valid, but per her 504 she was allowed extra time (I emphasized) "if needed."  So again I asked him what he deemed acceptable as extra time.  At this point I am confused at his lack of understanding and I begin trying to think of ways to help him understand what I am asking.  While I am thinking he begins talking again about life only this time he begins using analogies...first high school and then college.  He is still reiterating over and over the point of wasting time and having to make up all the extra work that piles up.  I am now looking at him perplexed because he still isn't answering me.  I am not hard to please so a simple "extra time is fine" or "I'm sorry but..." would have sufficed.  But no, here we sat as he felt the need to explain life and all it's hardships to me.  It's at this moment that he decides to attack me in such a subtle but profound way.  It wasn't in what he said but the tone that he used and I knew that I was in a situation similar to ones I had read about.  So to mothers everywhere who "WORK" and those that "DON'T" this is what you get when you test MY TIPPING POINT: 
"*FAVORITE CONVERSATION OF THE DAY*..from a teacher at my kids school. Teacher: (in a very condescending tone) " Do you work?" Me:( trying to decide if I tell him I have 6 kids but don't because in this world work means a job outside the house so I hesitantly say..)....... "no."
Teacher: "Well I am sure you worked at SOME point in your life right."
Me: (realized its now time to tell him about the kids)..."yes of course!...she isn't the only kid I help with homework. I have 6 kids and 5 of them are in school so I know how this works!"
Teacher: face goes white..."Holy Cow...I thought she was the only one you were doing home work with." (silence)
My mind suddenly realized that this teacher assumed I was lazy and didn't want to help my child, so to answer his question more thoroughly......

 Yes Teacher at Franklin....I do work, from sun up through sun down and sometimes I only sleep for 2 ish hours all the while holding a child. Most days I haven't had a "coffee" break or a chance to "go to lunch". I don't usually get that 15 minute break that I am required to clock out for at other Jobs. I am a MOM my bosses are relentless and require cuddles, or someone to teach them to read, or do algebra. I am on the computer with a child by my side learning along with them so that I can help YOU teach them the new curriculum that you are trying to teach but I have never seen in my life. I am holding group conversations at the table about nouns and adverbs and what a parabola is and how to get it to look right on the x and y axis all the while holding a spoon and a bowl trying to cook a meal. I am driving kids to and from activities all the while addressing social troubles and teaching them how to balance and manage money or how to find good deals when buying groceries. I am showing them how to calculate the weight of bananas or tomatoes with the price per lb. so that they know how much it will cost and aid them in math skills at school at the same time. When it is bed time and everyone else is winding down I am walking back through the house picking up clothes, shoes, and wiping up the toothpaste left on the counter. I am tucking them in bed and making sure that everyone is safe and asleep. I pick up the computer again and go through tutorial after tutorial to figure out how to use that graphing calculator so that when my daughter needs it again she won't have to hear her teacher tell her she can't help her and to go have another student show her. At 2.a.m When the lights go off I lay awake still trying to figure out how to help one child learn how to spell that word, or another child to understand how to add and subtract fractions, or I am walking around the living room with my 5 year old because he cannot breathe from an asthma attack. When sleep finally does come it is short because it is interrupted by my 2 year old who cries and cries because of night terrors and it can take hours to calm him down. Morning comes and with crazy hair and swollen eyes I begin the morning with a kiss to wake them up and the day begins again. Breakfast, chores, reading, math, writing skills, etc. No time to sit there is too much at stake! I have to make sure that they please you and the school system. I have to prove to you and everyone else in the world that I am a fit parent and I meet all of YOUR expectations. I have to make sure that my children grow up with enough knowledge so that they too can fit in to this world and be allowed to "WORK" as well. So to the Teacher at Franklin if you must know my job descriptions well then....At my house I am the equivalent of 5 different grade level teachers, I am a cook, a social worker, a nurse, a drivers ed teacher, a custodian, a geologist, a biologist, a dry cleaner, a personal assistant to 7 people, a computer tech, a mechanic, and sometimes a Therapist for those hormonal years, I am a zoologist, a gardener, and a dietician. I am an occupational therapist, a speech therapist, and a seamstress among many other things! I( I may not have the paper in hand that grants me the "TITLE" to all of these occupations but I am already doing the work).... So YES Teacher at Franklin I DO work , I Work Damn Hard at my job, and I am good at it!!!!"

MOMS!!!! WOMEN OF ALL AGES AND RACES..... YOU ARE AMAZING!!!!!!  You were given the divine ability to nurture and love deeper than ever thought possible.  You were designed to rear and raise honest and caring children, whether they be yours biologically or yours because you love deep and wish to share it.  You are creative and giving, you have strength beyond normal capacities to deal with stress, and pain, anger and sadness...but also a deep pocket in your heart to be filled with immense joy as you witness the first steps, the giggles, the first words, and the deep breaths as the child in your arms rests safely.  Each stage monumental, each stage filling you with more and more joy.  It doesn't matter if you have a job outside the home or if your job is in your home your divine role is still the same.  To LOVE!  Having a paid position or not will never change your desire to be a better mom that comes with being a mom...we all want to be better...and it certainly will never change how your children see you.  They will see your sacrifices and your tears; They will see your smile as they progress and feel your pride in their accomplishments; They will feel your frustrations with life but learn how to handle them and will emulate them in their own lives.  Your children will be the children you raise despite your "JOB."  So mom's just be the best mom you can be with whatever life has handed you and know that we all feel frustrated sometimes and we wish for a different or better life.   However you and only YOU can be DAMN good at YOUR JOB!!

*Gina Marley.


*Please send me your edge of the miracle story to (edgeofthemiracle@outlook.com). I will preview it and then keep in close contact with you before featuring it in an upcoming blog.  There are people out there that need your strength.  They need the kind of peace only your story can bring.  Even if you don't feel like it is worth a feature, just know that someone out there somewhere is needing to hear how you have overcome and the lessons that you have learned.  You may save their life or quite possibly save many lives. We need your story.