Wonder

Several days ago, my students and I were discussing the meaning of the word, "wonder."  At first, the students wanted "wonder" to be a synonym for "ask."  We eventually decided that a better definition was "to ask oneself."


Well, this has been  a week filled with wonder.  Les was wondering what I would like for Mother's Day.  When I responded that I wanted time, energy and a clean house, his reply equated to "dream on."  I had my blood drawn this week and the doctor called wondering how I was able to stand up and walk around with such a low iron count.  I have been wondering the same thing! 


Thursday was a day filled with wonder.  4:30 in the afternoon found Les ordering pizza and me baking chocolate muffins to take to "Special Person's Night," with Cassie's class.  I was wondering how we were going to make it to school by 6:15.  Cassie was wondering what she was going to wear.  Les was wondering how we were going to keep Lacey quiet during the reading of 24 student essays.  Les and I were both wondering what we were going to do about the note from school that said Lacey had been moved to the quiet table in the cafeteria after refusing to stay seated during lunch.  Lacey was just wondering what all the fuss was about. 

Well, in case you're wondering, we made it to school on time.  The students in Cassie's class had each written an essay about a special person in their lives.  Families gathered in the cafeteria to listen to the nervous students read.  Cassie's essay was so wonderfully perceptive and thoughtful that I am going to share the entire thing.

     "A Teacher and A Mom

by Cassidy Minihan

"My mom means a lot to me.  She is kind and loves helping people around her.  She's always there when I need her.  So far my mom may not sound that different from other moms, but there are a lot of things that make her unique and special.

"My mom's a teacher, but she isn't just any teacher.  Some teachers teach elementary, some teach middle, and some teach high school or college.  My mom teaches high school which is not that special because a lot of people have that job also.   What makes her special is that she doesn't teach a grade, she teaches ESL, English as a Second Language.  When people from places around the world come to the US and they go to Arlington, they usually end up at my mom's school, Arlington Mill.  Her students range from about 18-40 years of age.  She has a range of people from gang members to maids.  Her students come from all over the world, South America to Asia.  All of her students adore her.  She teaches them English.   Every day stories of her students make their way home for my family to hear.  Many of her students are poor and work fulltime just skimming by.  But, a lot remain in school, working hard because of her.  Many say to her, "I came here looking for opportunities and that's what I am getting from you, an opportunity.'

"My mom not only offers opportunities to her students, she offers them to me too.  My mom makes sure I venture out and try new things.  When I wanted to play the violin she encouraged me to do so.  When jazz and tap were invinting, she consented eagerly.  She helps me with my homework and teaches me the little things that aren't needed but she wants me to learn.  She makes sure that my decimal points are big enough and my whole numbers look that way in a mixed number.  My mom asks about school and makes sure to go to Back to School Nights.  When we were adopting, she made sure I went along.  She's like a super hero and I'm the kid on the street watching her.  She's not only a teacher to her students, she's a teacher to me.

"My mom makes sure she's always there waiting for me and if she isn't going to be she tells me.  She meets the bus always with a big smile on her face.  She makes dinner and lets my little sister and me help.  Even if it's a frozen meal, she makes it fancier by putting it on regular plates.  She almost always takes me to ballet and does her errands during my class so we can get home when I'm done.  My mom makes sure she always takes me to violin even if she's tired.  She goes to all my tie-kwon-do graduations and is happy for me in the end.  I don't know how she always keeps that smile on her face, but she does.

"Even when I make her upset, she always stays patient.  When I won't listen she tries and tries again.  Eventually she gets through to me.  During violin practice she teaches me note after note until I know the song.  She's like a calming yellow flower.  Even if she's angry, she still acts fine.  When my mom had a big kidney surgery, she was quickly up and running again so that she could take care of her family.  She made sure she could continue teaching my sister and me as soon as possible.

"My mom wears bright colors, unique jewelry and has a style that only certain people have.  She has a sparkling personality, a twinkling imagination, and a sense of humor that makes her students adore her.  All of these things make my mom who she is and I love her for it."

What did I ever do to deserve such a wonderful kid?!

Cassie graduating to a blue belt.

Half inch plywood

Cassie reading her essay.



Cousins



A Mother's Day treat - a visit with Dillon

Spring Surprise

The day that Cassie has long been anticipating has finally arrived.  The Minihan Clan has a new member.  Please join us in welcoming, "Baby Fox!"  The littlest fox accompanied its mother to our backyard buffet for the first time on May 3, 2011.  

Mother Fox and Baby

The Littlest Fox

Reflections

Friday, my students were practicing using the verbs "need" and "want." To encourage them to extend their discussion, I introduced them to the word "reflection."  Yes, a reflection can be physical - the thing that we see when we look in a mirror.  But, there is also  self reflection, which is when we examine our thoughts, feelings and behavior.  I got the discussion rolling by asking my students to think about what they wanted when they were planning to move to the U.S.  I continued asking them what they needed when they got here and what they want now.  We ended by discussing whether their needs and wants have changed.  The students concluded that education is more valuable than the latest MP3 player.  They also decided that self-reflection is a valuable process.

Later, as I was driving home and struggling to stay awake, I groaned with the knowledge of what the evening held.   Friday was the annual Mother-Daughter Tea Party at our church.  Although this is always a highlight of our Spring, I really wasn't feeling up to it this time.  Physically, I was feeling the impact of my 4:30 a.m. wake-up.  Emotionally, I was feeling the burden of some of the problems my students present - mainly the need for work - and angst over the minimal help that I can provide.  Maybe the girls would just be happy with pizza and a movie tonight?

Well, after convincing my students of the value of reflecting, maybe I better take my own advice.  I let my mind wander back to the days when I had no children.  Whenever the Mother-Daughter Tea was announced, I would sit in church and cry.  For Cassie's first Christmas, I bought her a dress to wear to the tea party.  It was pale blue and hand-smocked, and she got it dirty because she rolled around the floor under the table during the party.  But, "Mother and Daughter," we were there!  The following year, both Gladis and Cassie attended the tea with me.  Cassie spilled juice all over the table that year!  Ah, yes, many happy memories.  I sighed as I pulled into the Kohl's parking lot and ran through the store in search of a slip to wear with my dress.  The bus arrives in 20 minutes, will I make it?

The girls got off the bus chatting about what they were going to wear and I had to force a smile on my face.  They wanted to make sandwiches for the party as soon as we got home, although I just wanted to sit and put my feet up for awhile.  So, we six-handed the sandwiches, tasting as we went.  We texted Gladis to make sure she knew what time to meet us.  We hastily painted Cassie's nails and then flipped wildly through her closet as she changed her mind yet again about which dress to wear.  We laughed when Lacey came downstairs wearing a sun dress, thick tights and boots and a winter jacket.  And, we were finally ready to go.

This year, my girls and I took up almost a whole table by ourselves.  And, I reflected on how blessed I really am. 

Best Friends and Brothers

Cassie has recently become painfully aware of the need to have a best friend.  She has asked me several times who my best friends were when I was a child.  Every time she asks me, I risk sounding like a total nerd to my nine-year old and respond that my brothers and sisters were always my best friends.  Cassie huffs and says, "Come on, Mom.  You had to have some real best friends!"  Last summer, we spent time with Aunts Mary Lee and Susan and Cassie started to understand how sisters can be best friends.  

We were fortunate to spend five days with Uncle Dave.  He did everything that an uncle is supposed to do and more.  He let table manners fly out the window, along with the kite that he bought the girls.  He took the girls kite flying, even though the wind was strong enough to knock him over.  Dave resurrected tales of some of our greatest childhood exploits.  He even took Cassie to the scene of some of our sledding triumphs. 



Trying to launch the kite



Run over there and get it.  The cactus will only hurt a little.

Forever Photogenic

Smile!

Trying again with the kite

Testing the wind

Uncle Dave, are you sure those are the right rules?

 

One morning, Cassie got out of bed at 6:00 a.m. to walk up to the top of the mesa with Dave and me.  It was a tough climb and the altitude was affecting all of us.  Dave distracted Cassie with stories of winter sledding.  He first told her how we used to celebrate a fresh snowfall by taking our sleds out around 10:00 at night.  Our reasoning was that we could sled freely, without having to worry about traffic.  If conditions were right, we could sail from the top of the hill, all the way down past the church.  This is about 1/2 mile.     Of course, this didn't always work.  We were occasionally interrupted by cars.  When that happened, we had to fling ourselves off the road into the nearest yard, as fast as we could.  

Dave also showed Cassie where he and his buddy used to ride a toboggan.  He explained that they would try to make it all the way down the hill and then jump across the road at the bottom of the hill.  Dave chuckled as he recalled how the toboggan one day shattered into pieces.  "So where were your parents?!" asked Cassie.  I'm sure you're probably thinking the same thing.  Well, it's not as though we said, "Hey, Mom and Dad. We realize that it's dark outside.  But, we're going to try sledding down the middle of the road and hope that we don't get run over.  Is that okay?"  Similarly, Dave never said, "Mom, can you give me a ride to my friend's house?  We're going to try to ride his toboggan through a cactus covered field and then vault across the road.  Sound good?"  Honestly, I don't know what we told our parents.  So, like a couple of idiots, we just assured Cassie that things were safer back then.

Thank you, Dave, for not telling the girls about how we made wine in the basement, or about how we used to hide in the creek and throw snowballs at cars!

It wouldn't surprise me at all if the girls were to start asking for a brother!

An early morning walk

Dave explaining the flight of the toboggan

Seriously - we made it all the way across the road!



No, you can't have a brother!