A typical sunny summer day going outside to play:
Kids: Mom, can we go out and play?
Me: Sure guys. Have fun!
Kids: Ok, bye!
A typical snowy winter day going outside to play:
Kids: Mom, can we go out and play?
Me: Ugh! (knowing what is about to unfold)
Kids: Please please please please please?!
Me: Alright, go get your stuff on.
Kids: Mom, I can't find my boots! Where are my gloves? Do I have to wear a coat? So-and-so has my hat on and won't give it back! Has anybody seen my other boot?! Mom, will you help me put on my boots and my coat and my gloves and my hat? (Then, after all of these things have been put on...)Wait, Mom, we forgot to put on my snowpants! (And then it all has to come back off.) Where are my boots?!?!etc., etc...
Finally, 10 incredibly aggravating minutes later...
Kids: Bye, Mom!
And 4 minutes later...
(As 3 children walk in the door and all the way through the house looking for me, all taking different paths over hardwood and carpet alike, wearing wet slushy boots, and coats and gloves covered in snow...)
Kids: There's nothing to do out there, and it's too cold!
(As they scatter sopping winter clothing through every room in the house...)
Kids: Now can we have some hot chocolate?
Need I say more?
Monday, February 21, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
There are generally two possible reactions you get when you say the words "high school" to any given adult. One is an immediate, passionate response that expresses something similar to: "Ugh, high school was the worst! Oh man, it was terrible. You couldn't pay me to go back and do that again!" Sometimes this continues for quite a while, occasionally with T.M.I. personal examples (usually including graphic descriptions of acne and other physical insecurities) and names and accusations flying (you know, like "So-and-so was such a jerk to me" or "___ was the worst teacher ever! He/she made my life miserable")! This is the response you get from what seems to be the higher percent of people.
The other segment of the population will typically respond with something along the lines of, "Oh, I loved high school! It was awesome. I was in this sport and this club, and I was the president of blank, and I had so much fun!" And here's the confession: I'm one of those folks.
It's true, I really liked high school. It was ONE of the best times of my life. Not THE best, mind you, but that time period is definitely up there in the ranking. I wasn't in a sport, and I certainly wasn't ever the captain or president of anything. But I enjoyed myself.
I think part of the reason is that it was so much better than everything that had come before it. As far back as I can remember, I was definitely a nerd. I got made fun of and rejected quite a bit growing up. I was called names, and people played mean jokes on me. I sat alone at many a lunch table, and pretty much all bus rides. I CERTAINLY was not someone you would want to let go near any type of organized sport where there were others who could be injured by my clutziness. Don't get me wrong, I had some friends, some very good ones at times. I wasn't miserable all the time in school, just most of the time.
But about half-way through 9th grade, things started to change. A lot. I had found two things I really loved - singing and theater - and those things helped me make a lot of friends. And I grew out of that absolutely horrible stage all girls seem to go through around the ages of 13-14 that tends to make them so very unattractive and utterly awkward. In fact, I kinda got hot! By the time I started high school in 10th grade, things were going really good!
Once I was there in high school, things picked up even more. I was lucky enough to fall in with a group of friends who were really big on positive peer pressure. Really good grades and diligent church attendance were what was "in" with this crowd. I continued my involvement in choir and musical theater. As anyone who has been involved in a theater production knows, there's something amazing about the bonds it can forge. It's almost like you have an immediate group of 40 or so close friends to spend all your time with! Life was good, and what's more, life was so much better than it had been in my past, that I never really took it for granted. I knew how good I had it, while I had it.
I was also lucky enough to find my soul mate in high school. He has always made me so, so happy. There were things about finding Eric so young that may not have been "perfect." For one thing, I was young and dumb enough that I didn't think about much else, besides the fact that I wanted to spend every EVERY second possible with him. So I did. And many other things, like my friends and the activities I loved, got seriously put on the back-burner. I made myself a little miserable with that one, but obviously not so miserable that it was worth it to me to take time away from Eric to do those other things! Another not-so-great thing about finding the person I was supposed to be with when was so young is that, well, I was young. Which means I was immature and pretty much stupid. Which means that all those stupid things I did as a kid, my future in-laws got a front row seat to observe them all. That caused some rough times. I'm just lucky they are able to forget all the dumb stuff I did back then (or at least they are able to pretend they've forgotten it!!). But really, I wouldn't have changed the timing, because it was all so much more than worth it to get the amazing eternal partner that I have now!
I guess now, as an adult, I mostly think of high school as a great time because of how carefree it truly was. I know I had bad times, and bad things happened, and I certainly remember plenty of teen angst and drama. But even with all that, I knew it then and I know it now. It was a really good time. Now it tends to be the days when I am fed up with the kids, or I notice how high the stack of bills has gotten, or I see an audition announcement for yet another play I would love to be in but can't. Those are the times when a thought might flit across my mind about how easy everything was back then. I didn't have bills, I didn't have much responsibility or anyone to answer to besides my parents at curfew time. Of course, I also didn't have a place of my own that I loved that would rack up those bills. And I didn't have the sense of responsibility to serve others and the Lord before myself, the having of which has allowed me a closer relationship with my Savior than I have ever had, and a deeper understanding of some truly wonderful things about the universe. And I do have others I have to answer to everyday, and being beholden to 4 of the most amazing guys on earth, and getting to spend my every day with them, is definitely not something I would give up for the freedom.
Ok, so I wouldn't go back and do it again, even for the freedom and the fun. But it was good while it lasted, and high school is definitely not something I look back on with a cringe. Now junior high, THAT is a different story...
The other segment of the population will typically respond with something along the lines of, "Oh, I loved high school! It was awesome. I was in this sport and this club, and I was the president of blank, and I had so much fun!" And here's the confession: I'm one of those folks.
It's true, I really liked high school. It was ONE of the best times of my life. Not THE best, mind you, but that time period is definitely up there in the ranking. I wasn't in a sport, and I certainly wasn't ever the captain or president of anything. But I enjoyed myself.
I think part of the reason is that it was so much better than everything that had come before it. As far back as I can remember, I was definitely a nerd. I got made fun of and rejected quite a bit growing up. I was called names, and people played mean jokes on me. I sat alone at many a lunch table, and pretty much all bus rides. I CERTAINLY was not someone you would want to let go near any type of organized sport where there were others who could be injured by my clutziness. Don't get me wrong, I had some friends, some very good ones at times. I wasn't miserable all the time in school, just most of the time.
But about half-way through 9th grade, things started to change. A lot. I had found two things I really loved - singing and theater - and those things helped me make a lot of friends. And I grew out of that absolutely horrible stage all girls seem to go through around the ages of 13-14 that tends to make them so very unattractive and utterly awkward. In fact, I kinda got hot! By the time I started high school in 10th grade, things were going really good!
Once I was there in high school, things picked up even more. I was lucky enough to fall in with a group of friends who were really big on positive peer pressure. Really good grades and diligent church attendance were what was "in" with this crowd. I continued my involvement in choir and musical theater. As anyone who has been involved in a theater production knows, there's something amazing about the bonds it can forge. It's almost like you have an immediate group of 40 or so close friends to spend all your time with! Life was good, and what's more, life was so much better than it had been in my past, that I never really took it for granted. I knew how good I had it, while I had it.
I was also lucky enough to find my soul mate in high school. He has always made me so, so happy. There were things about finding Eric so young that may not have been "perfect." For one thing, I was young and dumb enough that I didn't think about much else, besides the fact that I wanted to spend every EVERY second possible with him. So I did. And many other things, like my friends and the activities I loved, got seriously put on the back-burner. I made myself a little miserable with that one, but obviously not so miserable that it was worth it to me to take time away from Eric to do those other things! Another not-so-great thing about finding the person I was supposed to be with when was so young is that, well, I was young. Which means I was immature and pretty much stupid. Which means that all those stupid things I did as a kid, my future in-laws got a front row seat to observe them all. That caused some rough times. I'm just lucky they are able to forget all the dumb stuff I did back then (or at least they are able to pretend they've forgotten it!!). But really, I wouldn't have changed the timing, because it was all so much more than worth it to get the amazing eternal partner that I have now!
I guess now, as an adult, I mostly think of high school as a great time because of how carefree it truly was. I know I had bad times, and bad things happened, and I certainly remember plenty of teen angst and drama. But even with all that, I knew it then and I know it now. It was a really good time. Now it tends to be the days when I am fed up with the kids, or I notice how high the stack of bills has gotten, or I see an audition announcement for yet another play I would love to be in but can't. Those are the times when a thought might flit across my mind about how easy everything was back then. I didn't have bills, I didn't have much responsibility or anyone to answer to besides my parents at curfew time. Of course, I also didn't have a place of my own that I loved that would rack up those bills. And I didn't have the sense of responsibility to serve others and the Lord before myself, the having of which has allowed me a closer relationship with my Savior than I have ever had, and a deeper understanding of some truly wonderful things about the universe. And I do have others I have to answer to everyday, and being beholden to 4 of the most amazing guys on earth, and getting to spend my every day with them, is definitely not something I would give up for the freedom.
Ok, so I wouldn't go back and do it again, even for the freedom and the fun. But it was good while it lasted, and high school is definitely not something I look back on with a cringe. Now junior high, THAT is a different story...
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