so far, so good

So, this morning I get Katie and I "really" dressed to take Gracie to school (as opposed to pajamas, glasses, no makeup and flip flops!) I figure I'd better go into the office and check on the status of the cake decorating replacement. On the way up there, I notice that the teacher making the class placements is on carline duty. So I just walk over to talk to her instead. To me, there's something less intimidating about a teacher than a principal.....maybe because I have been a teacher but have never been a principal. Maybe I feel like the principal is about to pull out an evaluation form to grade me on my performance. HA! (only half kidding)

Anyway, I feel good after talking to her. When I asked her if Dr. B had found a replacement for the cake decorator, she said, "Oh, Karen will find one. She'll take care of it. Don't worry about it." She sounded very confident, so I'm trusting her on this one. With alot of things she said, she made me feel better. I could see myself having a similar attitude if I'd been a teacher at the school for a long time, but with me "just" being a parent, and my first year at the school, I'm just more nervous. Like Chris said, she's the one making the class placements, so let her deal with whether or not there's a replacement. He wasn't saying it to be mean, just to say, "Calm down. It's kind of out of your hands right now."

One thing I LOVED is how she handled parents who tried not to follow the rules. The form we sent home had the 8 classes listed. The students are supposed to circle "1" next to their first choice, "2" next to their second choice, and "3" next to their third choice. The classes are filled on a "first sign up" basis. Well, I guess some students circled 1,2, and 3 next to the same class OR circled 1 next to three different classes. If she came across forms like that, she promptly sent them back to the teacher with instructions for it to be sent home & filled out correctly. I love that! I told her that was great and I'm so glad she did that. If I had been doing that job as a teacher, in my former life, I would have probably done the same thing and not have thought twice about it. As a parent, in my current life, I wouldn't have felt I had the "right" to do that, so I'm glad she's in charge of this portion.

She was going to try to get finished with her part today and I'm going to pick up all that she's done after school tomorrow. I really am thankful to God that things don't seem to be falling apart. I'm still nervous, it's just my nature unfortunately, but things seem to be okay. I have prayed about this and will continue to do so. I'm just really thankful that I left the school this morning feeling good. I even treated myself to a Pumpkin Spice Latte! I passed on the danishes sitting next to the cash register, but my, it was hard!

As Jetty Betty says, "God is faithful!" I know that doesn't mean that everything always turns out the way we want it to, but He is still faithful, and I must remember that! Even if things don't turn out the way I want it to, I must trust that something good can come out of it!
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Sweet Gracie story:

Yesterday, sweet Miss S proved once again why we're so blessed to have her as Gracie's teacher! When I opened Gracie's folder, she said, "There's a letter." I'm thinking it's to me, but it's to Gracie, and the envelope is decorated with stickers. Always a plus with my daughter! She opened it up and there were 3 pictures in it. She handed the letter to me. It was from "Clue," Miss S's dog! Of course, my literal daughter had to explain to me that Clue didn't really write the letter. It was a thank you note for the doggy doughnut we'd given him for Christmas. The pictures were of him sitting for the treat, grabbing the treat, and running away with the treat. I thought it was really sweet that Miss S had done this for Gracie. I think it makes her more of a "real person" to Gracie to see her dog and to see her backyard. It helps Gracie to realize that Miss S is more than "just" a teacher.

We started talking about Miss S and how we like her. Gracie said, "I'm not going to be with her much longer." I asked her why and she replied, "Because I'll be in 1st grade." I told her that made me sad to think about. Alot of times, I'll just be silly and say things about being sad and "pretend" to cry and Gracie comforts me. A little cheesy, I know, but I do it. It's kind of a way to show that I'm sad without really crying that she's going to be in 1st grade. Make sense?

She started asking me if she would see Miss S next year when she was in 1st grade, etc. I talked about how she would get a new teacher and maybe we'll like that teacher alot, too. All of a sudden, her mood turned a little bit and she said, "I just feel like I want to cry." I thought she was kind of kidding like I do sometimes, so I kind of laughed and said, "Really?" She promptly burst in tears! I mean, she is heartbreakingly sobbing because she is going to miss Miss S! This was not "throwing a fit" crying or "I'm mad" crying. This was "heartbroken crying." Of course, I gathered her in my arms and started tearing up myself at this point! I tried to console her and tried to get her to stop crying while reassuring her that it's okay to be sad about things.

Oh man! I am so happy that her heart is tender and so happy that she feels such affection for her teacher. I know a teacher's main objective is not to get the kids to like her, because sometimes then the teacher is a pushover and not in control of her students, but if a teacher can be in control of her students and effectively teach the subject matter and be well liked by her students, then I think that's great! Of course, I had to slip a note into Gracie's folder telling Miss S about this, while asking her not to tell Gracie that I'd told her because I'm afraid it would embarrass her terribly.

Sometimes I worry about Gracie because she gets so excited over the "little things" that I'm afraid she'll be disappointed by alot in life. She's so much like me in this respect. I get excited over little things like "Chick Fil A Spirit Night" where a portion of our sales go to the school and potluck at church one Sunday night a month and special assemblies at school. To so many people, these things are just routine, mundane things, but I hope Gracie always sees the opportunity for these things to be special. I hope she always sees the chance for routine, possibly mundane things to be special times! I hope she doesn't get too disillusioned in life. Oh, I know she will some. I know I have been, but I hope not too much. I hope not to the point that she gets bitter about life.

It's so easy to be bitter. It's so easy to see the negative. I could find tons of negative things about her schoool or our church or even my friends. What would that accomplish, though? Chris' boss tells him, "Don't come in here to talk to me about a problem unless you have a solution to present as well." I think that's good advice. Don't get me wrong. I don't expect Gracie, or myself, to be a constant "Pollyanna" or to stick my head in the sand about things that could be improved, but I want to go into things believing that they can be good.
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Dear Lord,
Please protect Gracie's sweet heart & protect her physically, emotionally & spiritually. Please keep her always believing that life can be fun and special and keep her heart turned towards wanting to please You. Please help me to be a good example of positivity. I'm afraid I fail in this area constantly, but help me to be better! Thank you for Gracie. Thank you for her innocence. Please continue to help her to grow and learn at the pace You want her to. I want to continue to give her roots in You and our family, but I also want to give her wings to fly! Please show Chris & I how to do that. Thank you for precious Katie who makes us smile all the time..well, almost all the time! The same things I pray for Gracie, I pray for her as well. Please be with Chris as he goes to the doctor today and help him to get some answers for the pain he's been in. Please help me to be calm and trust in You and please, in all I do, help me to be a positive example and please let my Christianity show to all who know me.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen