mermaids

My boys are not perfect, but, some days, they come awfully close.  Today is my birthday.  Since we had a delayed opening for school, the boys made breakfast for me.  Cinnamon rolls.  No, not from scratch, but they were still awfully yummy.  They made their own lunches and cleaned up the kitchen. 

For some inane reason, I accepted a subbing assignment for today, 8th grade science.  They were beyond horrible.  Okay, not all of them, not even most of them.  During the last month of school, some 8th graders totally lose their minds.  Even though I went postal on almost every class, there were a couple of bright spots.  One girl gave me hug after class.  She said, “You look like you need one today.”  Another girl said, “Thanks for being such a good sub.  They really deserved being yelled at.”  I hate yelling, but sometimes it is the only thing that works. 

After school, the boys resumed treating my like royalty.  They listened to my tales of woe for the day.  They prepared snacks and cleaned up.  They started their homework without being asked.  We planned to go out for dinner, but homework got in the way.  J had a paper to finish up and a cooking project for Health class.  Tonight, going out to dinner seemed like more work than it was worth.  I would rather wait until the weekend when we can all relax and really enjoy it. 

The geeking out of my sewing room was a combined Mother’s Day and birthday gift.  However, this morning, the boys and Hubski promised to help me with a couple of intensive cleaning/organizing projects weekend.  Crossing some onerous items off my To Do List is the best gift of all. 

On Tuesday I fussed at a girl for wearing microscopic shorts.  Today, she was wearing a microscopic skirt.  (I did not have her in a class yesterday, so who knows what she was wearing.) 

Me:  The skirt….way too short.  I’ve already spoken to you about the shorts.  What’s the deal?

Her: What?!?!!  It’s not that short.

I ask her to stand up and do the fingertip test.  She pulls her shoulders up to her ears and curls her fingers under.

Her:  See, it reaches my fingertips.

I tell her to drop her shoulders and flatten her hands.  Hmmm, the skirt barely reaches her wrists.

Her:  Well, it was long enough this morning.

Me:  Darling, you didn’t grow 3 inches in the last 4 hours.  Call your mom.  She needs to bring you another outfit.

Lots of sulking and glaring followed.

Ok, I took more than a 5 minute break…more like 30 minutes.  I reminded myself that a large chunk of sewing time is not simply going to fall from the sky into my lap.  I need to get back to sewing a few minutes every day, or at least mostly every day.  After dinner, I threw in a load of laundry to assuage my housekeeping guilt, then headed to the sewing room. 

I am working on a pair of longer shorts.  The school administration is finally cracking down on the dress code.  (Hallelujah!)  While I don’t wear super short shorts, mine wouldn’t make dress code.  They are using the standard “finger tip” rule.  Well, my really long arms put me at a distinct disadvantage.  There are a few end of the year events for which shorts would be the optimal choice.  I want to set a good example.  Besides, my legs are getting a wee bit old for prancing around in shorter shorts.  They are fine for times when I am doing something remotely active and need the freedom of movement.  However, for hanging out at a picnic, a little extra length is more age appropriate. 

A student started to snark at me today.  His friend leans over to whisper, “Dude, don’t go there.  Big mistake.” 

See, they can learn!   

This week is Spanish Spirit Week at school.  The students are encouraged to dress in the flag colors of various Spanish speaking countries.  There is a different color scheme for each day.  Yes, we had to take inventory of the wardrobes to make sure the boys were set for the week.  There is a wonderful friendly rivalry between the various world language classes.  The boys are a bit torn because they take both Spanish and Latin.  Tomorrow is the annual World Language Soccer Match.  The classes play against each other, no one really keeps score, no one really knows who won, but they have a lot of fun. 

The boys asked me to customize their shirts for tomorrow’s big game.  It was not as hard as I thought, but it was more labor intensive than I thought.  I could have just programmed it all into my embroidery machine, but the boys liked the more “artsy” feel of the appliquéd letters.  I drew the letters by hand, then traced over them with a Sharpie.  I pinned the applique fabric to the front of the shirt and pinned the paper to the inside of the shirt.  Since I traced the letters with a Sharpie, I could easily see the reverse side. I stitched the outline of the letters from the inside.  It took some time and patience to stitch around each letter, lots of lifting the pressure foot and turning.  Once it was all stitched, I trimmed the applique fabric from the front about an eighth inch from the stitching lines.  Yeah, cutting out the inside of those little e’s and o’s was lots of fun.  Pulling the paper off the inside was just as bad.  I used regular computer paper.  If I had been smart, I would have used a thin tear away stabilizer.  Nonetheless, the boys are pleased and it gave me something to do while we watched television. 

It is time to finally admit that I am not a “stay at home” mom.  I work.  I have a job.  There, I said it.

The substitute teaching began as a “once in a while” thing.  A teacher was out for a few weeks due to surgery.  I agreed to cover her classes since the schedule could be arranged so I only worked half days.  The teacher never returned.  The school year ended and my name was on the sub list.

The plan was to work perhaps one or two days a week.  It would be a nice way to spend time in a classroom without the pressure of a full time job.  The extra money would be fun, too.  One or two days a week turned into three or four. 

The tipping point was the district’s decision to use a web based program for scheduling subs.  Previously, teachers had to call in requests for subs.  Requesting a particular sub was cumbersome, if not impossible.  With the new program, a teacher can see if her favorite sub is available and simply click on the sub’s name to request.  Suddenly, I was getting called every day.  Now I have teachers stopping me in the hall and requesting me weeks in advance. 

I have been in denial about my working status.  I have been trying to run the house as though I were still at home every day.  My volunteer activities have reduced only slightly.  I am operating under the premise of “Oh, I can do that tomorrow when I am not working.”  Tomorrow comes, I am working, and nothing gets done at home. 

As of Monday, I am already booked to work half of May.  It is time to adopt a new mind set.  I am a working mother.  At times, I am a working single mother thanks to Hubski’s travel schedule.  It is time reprioritize some things and rework my schedule.  I need operate under the assumption that I will be working every day.  The days that I don’t get called to work will be a bonus. 

It is day three of the soft sculpture project with the 8th graders.  They are doing a fabulous job.  Ms V worked with them on sketches and designs for a few days.  On Tuesday, I came in to start sewing lessons.  46 minutes of hand stitching on a practice piece is rather dull when one has a design that is itching to become reality.  Nonetheless, they were troupers, patiently practiced their stitches and listened to lots of directions.   Some last minutes adjustments had to be made to some designs.  It is far easier to draw details on paper than it is to recreate them in fleece.  It was hard to tell them, “That just isn’t going to work in fleece.  Let’s figure out another way.”  Eventually everyone came up a with design they liked which could actually be produced with the materials at hand.

Yesterday, the students selected their fabrics and began cutting.  They were so focused.  There were some more design consultations.  I worried about a few because they seemed less than enthused by the whole process.  A couple were clinging desperately to entirely too completed designs.  However, when the bell rang, no one wanted to leave.

Today, it was exciting to see their creations taking shape.  I was impressed with how quickly some of took to sewing.  Ms V and I are so pleased with the work they are producing.  Some of the boys seemed a little put off because I used the word “cute” a few times too many.  Tomorrow, I might borrow a phrase from Project Runway’s Christian and the students their projects are “Fierce!”

C and I cut 30 yards of fleece into 12″ x 18″ pieces.  It actually was not a bad way to spend a morning.  J was at school working on the fuel cell car project.  (Yes, they work on this stuff during spring break.  Seriously dedicated teachers.)  We chatted while we worked.  C was a dedicated and efficient cutter.  Our hands are tired now…not to mention our backs, our knees…..

On Monday, the students will begin their design sketches.  I cannot wait to see what they come up with.  I think the students will be very excited when they see all the amazing materials they will have to work with.

A few bloggy friends have noticed that I have been chattier than usual.  Well, you can thank Blog365 for that.  The motto is “Blogging for 365 days, 12 months, 52 weeks, 1 lap around the sun.” You can blame thank Little Miss Sew n Sew.  When I saw she was doing it, I decided to join in.  It seemed like a good challenge….and a good way to practice what I preach to my writing students.

The best way to become a writer is to write.  I know, “Thank you Captain Obvious.”  A constant cry from students is “But I don’t know what to write about.”  I tell them to just start writing, even if it is drivel.  Drivel is better than a blank page.  Usually, once they start writing drivel, something good begins to emerge.  It is taking that first step that is the hardest.  I tell them to just think about writing one sentence, not the whole paper or story.  Just one little sentence doesn’t seem so hard.  It doesn’t have to be the thesis statement or the opening sentence.  Just one little sentence.  One sentence leads to two and then three.  Before you know it, the key board is clicking away like a room of out of sync tap dancers.  The beginning stuff is often edited out during the first revision, but that’s okay.

With blogging, it is easy to think there is nothing to write about.  Honestly, my life is not that exciting.  However, not every post has to be earth shattering, utterly profound, life altering stuff.  Sometimes I have more to say than originally thought if I just start with one sentence.  Some days, I’ve only got one sentence in me.

So why have there not been posts every day on this blog?  I did not want to overwhelm my sewing readers with too much randomness.  According the Blog365 rules, you can post on more than one blog.  My more random posts are on my old LiveJournal account which just seems more suited for randomness.

For those of you who have blogs that go post-less for weeks on end, try to build the habit of blogging every day, even if it is just one sentence.  If 365 days seems overwhelming, try it for a week, then a month.  To be a good writer, you have “exercise your writing muscles” on a daily basis.

Are you ever so proud of your child that you could just burst?  The school is trying to publish the first issue of the literary magazine, but there is currently no funding for the project.  Like most schools, there aren’t little piles of cash sitting around waiting for a project.  Last night, Hubski and I were discussing the possibility of making a contribution to help cover the costs of the first issue.  C immediately offered to donate the allowance money he has saved.  We are stingy with allowance and we don’t buy them anything beyond the basics, like clothes and shoes.  New video games and such come out of their allowance or they have to wait until their birthday.  (I know, we are harsh, but those boys know the value of a dollar.)  Anyway, I was so touched that C was willing to give his cash to help the school.  What a great guy! 

So now I am torn.  I will feel bad if C gives up his cash because he gets so little.  However, it would be wonderful for him to feel the joy of giving to something he really believes in.  Here’s my plan…tell me what you think.  I have a lot of fabric that needs to be cut for the soft sculpture unit I am doing with the art teacher.  What if I “paid” him to help me (because I *will* need help) and let that be the money he donates to the literary magazine? 

C is such a compassionate and giving young man.  Makes a mama proud.