Tales of a First Grade Something

My boys love hearing my story about the time a mean first grade teacher played a really lousy trick on me. But for the first seven months of first grade I had a really kind teacher and they've heard these stories too:

• We practiced spelling words in small groups with the teacher showing us words on flashcards. If you didn't know a word she wrote it with a marker on a strip of paper. We'd stand in line at the end of the day and show each other how many words we had missed. I never had any. One day in our group she held up the word "something". I shook my head repeatedly to say I didn't know the word. That day I stood in line showing the others my strip of paper with my word.
• The cutest boy was James. I wanted his attention. But he liked a girl who wore a color coordinated Little Kiddle (the doll that was worn on a necklace).
• A goofy but sweet boy named Joey liked me. One day when I entered the classroom 3 girls ran over to me to tell me that I was the only girl invited to Joey's birthday party. Sure enough there was an envelope on my desk. I had fun at the party at his house.

I'm so glad I have the class picture taken in November. Because in April we moved away to a small town in Florida.My mom (who was then age 26) drove there, pulling a U-Haul behind our car. And because there wasn't room for everything my older brother and I had, she tiold us we had to give away many of our toys. I left them in front of the other apartment doors the day before we left. But I did keep a box of books.

So I started a new school about 8 weeks prior to the end of the school year. The classroom was set up with 3 large round tables. One was for the teacher's favorite boy students, another was for her favorite girl students, and the 3rd was for the misfits or bad kids and that was my table. I made friends with one girl who was "bad." The teacher made her stand in the corner a lot with her arms raised in the air for a long time. Looking back I think the teacher didn't like me because I could read really well. I remember asking her if I could read a book to the class and I did. I still have the book. I don't have any class work or report cards or other momentos of first grade, but I have kept that one book.There was a bathroom attached to the class and each afternoon I would go in there and just sit. Probably for about 15 to 20 minutes. In there I could get away from everyone. One day as I made my way back to my seat after sitting in the bathroom I saw weird looks on all the kids' faces and saw them pretend to shove invisible things into their desk areas under the tabletop. I ignored them. They faked they were chewing and swallowing. I continued to ignore them. The teacher watched me as she stood there with a lesson book in hand and I kept my poker face. Then she couldn't stand it anymore and said to one of her favorite students, "Sally, why don't you tell Michele what she missed while she was in the bathroom?"

This girl turned to me and said, "Teacher gave us CANDY!" Well, I knew this was a complete lie because these kids would've had the evidence on their faces and hands, and wrappers would be on the floor if that were true. I didn't say a word and showed no emotion.

I can't remember if I told my mom. Years later I did and she said that she didn't remember me telling her back then as she would have raised heck at the school. At the end of the summer we moved back to California and I started 2nd grade and it was again a new school (we continued to move a lot until 7th grade).

That wasn't the worst thing to happen to me when I was a kid, but it is a clearer memory than many. I smile when I tell my kids my stories and I am so glad that many things are different now than in "the Good Ole Days".

Harry Potter, Owls and Nifty Bike Seats

My youngest son and I have been reading Harry Potter (the first one). I tried reading it aloud to my oldest son back in 2002 but found it too tongue tangling to say The Dursleys aloud and I gave up. Which was fine with that son. Last week or so my youngest brought home the seventh Harry Potter from school and it made his backpack weigh about 50 pounds. He has not read any of them. I suggested that we read the first one together and that is what we’ve been doing most nights. (If you are picturing maternal bliss these moments happen after hours of chaos). Anyway, since he is the Last One I get an extra rush sharing these times and a kick out of how he's the only one to love a stuffed animal).



We agreed we had to watch the movie one weekend after we'd finish the book. We were like two old chatty ladies watching it together each making comments such as “they cut some scenes out here from the book”. And, “I thought the scar was in the middle of his forehead not the side!” And “I like how Dudley fell into the snake exhibit in the movie!” We both found the owls sooo cute.


Anyone ever have this little chunky book called Owl Babies from about 10 years ago? I didn’t think twice about owls back in 1997 when we received this as a gift—it’s about 3 owl babies waiting for mom to bring them food (how prophetic).

This past Sunday afternoon we decided to go to bike riding. I was assured this would be the smooth greenway and not the mountain biking area. Our other two sons were at a birthday party. Sometimes it’s fun to go out and pretend you are the parents of just one eight year old child.

There were many families biking and some rollerblading but not wall to wall crowded. In fact sometimes I’d be deep in thought (thinking about my blog and why don’t I have a camera handy to get a good shot of things as I rode behind my husband) ……. and then find it very weird to hear a deep voice from another biker break my reverie and say, “I’m on your left.” And then sometimes an even louder, more intense, "I'M on your LEFT"!! I told my husband I may have nightmares about that. You can tell I don’t get out much.

The bike path is miles of trail within marshes and forest. We heard a loud, almost screeching noise, stopped our bikes and saw it was a large owl at the top of a very tall tree. It then flew to a much lower tree. I never realized those owls have quite the wingspan.

I thought that was really neat that we saw Harry Potter’s owl Hedwig and then the next day saw one in the daylight.

I walked my bike back up to the truck where they were waiting for me, because I do not do hills. When I got off my bike I said, “Wow, am I sore!!!” and then I guess I rubbed my behind. My son pointed out the shape of his bike seat to me. I never noticed it before (and we have had that bike for about 5 years).

“See that hole in the seat? That is so I don’t hurt my You Know What when I ride”. I thanked him for sharing. Husband adds, “Yep, that is so that you can be able to make babies later on”.




Hey, didn’t I say that I am hanging on to this one because he is my Last One? I am going to find the little chunky book Owl Babies tonight for our reading time. And Goodnight Moon too.

Today I Will Hug Them Extra Tight

It is a beautiful day today, sunny and breezy. I will be at the baseball field again cheering on our oldest son. Nearby our middle son will be practicing skateboarding tricks and our youngest will be on the playground talking to other kids.


Later on my husband and I will fill each other in on our day and talk about the boys. I will hug my boys extra long and tight tonight. The oldest will say, "What--do I smell bad?" and then let me hug him. The middle one will smile really big and hug back a long time. The youngest will say, "Moms"! and rub his soft cheek against mine because he knows I like that and he'll get about 7 kisses.


I cannot imagine if something were to happen to me and I would not be around for these boys whom together we are trying to raise into kind and responsible men, and who need their mom so much (even when they write essays about the person they most admire is their dad)..... No matter who you are, famous or not famous, rich in funds or rich in sons, every day we love matters.

Why Baseball is My Favorite

It has been a tough year for middle school. For both the parents and this seventh grader. I certainly have some stories to tell. But one night this week my son had his first practice baseball game of the season. The weather was glorious, the full moon was out and I was relaxed in my lawn chair.

After the game my son asked us, “Did you see the triple and double that I hit? Did you see me throw out that guy at third base?” Yes, we told him we did, it was great, and we also saw his throw to second and more. Later we talked about his team, his coaches, the other team, the personalized jerseys that I am handling as team mom, and opening day on Saturday.

It was a night where we did not talk about studying for his Spanish test, the scientific theories of evolution, debating as to why he has to get online to play with the PS3, why he can’t have 3 friends spend the night this Saturday, and how it sucks that he has a (very tiny) pimple on his face, and why he shouldn’t wear shorts when it is 38 degrees outside.

I’ve realized lately that my oldest son prefers to share some details of his life with only my husband. Such as asking him if he could borrow his cell phone to talk privately in his room to a girl. Or if he can go to the movies with a girl and can Dad drive them (I would have said no. I guess the outing didn’t go well as it only happened once).

When our boys were born I said I could not possibly image myself at sports games cheering and participating. I’ve been pretty quiet at soccer games and roller hockey games and let’s not even mention the football games he’s been on in the fall (true confessions my alma mater is the national championship team but I just don’t understand the game still after all these years).

But I love watching baseball with my sports fanatic son and his new team each year, and the special camaraderie it brings to us.

Full Moon on Wednesday and There are Worms Working Hard

Last week I looked up what this month’s full moon name is and I read that it is called the Worm Moon. Ohhhhhh-K. What could I write about that? Then last week zipped by, we couldn’t believe there was snow and then this weekend the temp is in the 70’s. So I found myself working outside in my garden that I have had for two seasons. There were weeds everywhere and old tomato vines were still wrapped around a homemade wood trellis. After the weeds got pulled and everything raked away I used a shovel to dig up the dirt.




I got pretty excited to see many squirming worms under my garden that has not been touched in six months. I have always heard that worms are good for the garden but I have just done a little additional research. I now know that they are deaf, blind, and both male and female. And they reproduce. Not with themselves but with another worm. Greek philosopher Aristotle said that worms are the “intestines of the earth.”

And now I get it about March being the Worm Month. The sunlight is getting stronger and the ground begins to thaw. The worms are preparing the earth for new growth. Step aside, Groundhog--the earthworm says Spring is almost here!

Any Tips for my Fear of Flying?

The 2009 plane crash events on the news have heightened my fear of flying. Years ago I used to fly a lot for work and although I was never a perfectly calm flyer, the frequency did help with my nerves. There have been moments, such as some crazy BahamasAir flights, in which I remained calm, probably as a good example to my then toddlers.

This past December I flew to Florida—my first plane trip in over two years. Before boarding the flight back home I spoke to my husband who informed me it was Really, Really windy outside with Really Bad storms. That weather update, coupled with an intense visit to see my grandmother who was in a convalescent home, added to my nerves.

· I don’t like viewing other planes flying above and below us from my window. If I wanted to see others on the highway I would drive.

· I don’t like hearing any noises from the aircraft itself. Some sound like Morse code type signals to the flight attendants to prepare for disaster. I search their faces for clues.

· I don’t like any turbulence. I white-knuckle the armrest waiting for us to drop thousands of feet in two seconds with our beverage cups flying all over the cabin.

· I don’t like thinking about how we are in a metal container carrying people and stuff through the sky at hundreds of miles per hour. I read to forget where I am.

· I don’t like sharp turns. It makes me think we are dodging another plane at the last possible second because someone has screwed up.

We went to a New Year’s Eve party at a neighbor’s and I met a man who’s been flying for 30 years. It did make me feel a lot better to address my concerns with him. Such as bad weather: “What about that time in Dallas years ago when windshear tossed the plane to the ground!!!!” He calmly stated how much wind it really takes to do that and how experts learn tons from every event. He explained about the technology to keep planes away from each other and addressed all those plane noises. And then these things happened in January:

• This mortal god named Chesley Sullenberger landed a plane with no engines into the Hudson River.


• Vanity Fair magazine arrived with a story about those two planes that collided over two years ago over the Amazon.


• A plane took off in NJ and crashed on a house in NY.

I need to fly back to Florida to visit my grandmother again. I have to admit I have been putting off making my reservation. I'm not so bad off to allow my recent added flying anxiety to stop me from my obligations or trips for pleasure. If someone were to give us five free tickets today for a Caribbean vacation I would personally pack our five suitcases in less than an hour and not even look back. But I’d wish that Pilot Sullenberger would be flying the plane.

I Can See Clearly Now....Thanks HDTV!

Sunday night I realized the true beauty of our HDTV. The TV is not brand new—we bought it over a year ago. I really didn’t understand the need at the time. Nor why the same program will be on channel 803 and channel 3, for example.

On Sunday night I watched Ryan Seacrest chat up the stars on the Red Carpet. I am not a huge celebrity fan. I think they are over-paid. I think they should help bail out California. I think they think they learned how to be a political activist in acting class. But like many people I’m addicted to watching this annual show. And I like to play plastic surgery detective.

Wait a minute. Ryan is interviewing Kate Winslet and I am a little suspect as to why I can’t see much in the wrinkle department. Her face looked dishearteningly smooth. Hmmmph. My mind was flipping through the pages of Vanity Fair in which she states her husband does not want her getting plastic surgery.

Then Ryan Seacrest’s program ended and I made a loud request for any of my 12, 11 or 8 year old sons to PLEASE switch to the channel for the Oscar show and they obliged.

I was watching more of the same Red Carpet sightings. But what’s this! I now see eye wrinkles on Kate Winslet and she is standing on the very same Red Carpet. And on Amy Adams too. We talking about a lot of eye wrinkles at their present ages of 33 and 34. “Some celebrities are not happy with HDTV”, advised my husband after I announced to the entire house that I was seeing Wrinkles on Stars on this HDTV channel (I really need some girlfriend time).

I am anxious for these beautiful actors who have not been nipped, tucked and injected (or what do I know maybe they all have had stuff done already). What will they do in their 40’s? And notice I am not reflecting on the wrinkles galore on the faces of 40-somethings Robert Downey, Jr. and Sean Penn, etc. because it is so different being a male actor apparently. Although I think Brad Pitt has had Some Work.

Aside thoughts about last night’s show:

· I felt awkward for Jennifer Aniston (for both her new face and the whole ex-Pitt situation)
· Would it have killed Sean Penn to thank his wife?
· Why is Jessica Biel presenting? I wonder if her dress is hiding a pregnancy.
· It was nice how five former winners in categories acknowledged the nominees.
· I find it refreshing that Slumdog Millionaire won without any major stars

And now I have some major HDTV sized wrinkles on top of the usual ones from staying up so late.