New Friends and Middle School Trends

First of all, I want to welcome Max to the family. If you didn't see his posting yesterday, go read the comments. Follow the links and check out his sites. I especially enjoyed his blog where he's doing a promotional contest. He dropped a message in a bottle in the hopes that a kid somewhere will find it, return the postage paid letter inside in order to claim a prize (a set of his books). Great promo idea and good blog. Everyone go see! I look forward to getting my hands on one of his books and discussing it here.

Well, we bit the bullet yesterday and bought our eldest daughter a cell phone for her birthday. I said I'd never do it, but we did. All her friends have had one for months, and the other parents were even starting to give us a hard time. But the biggest thing is we began to realize how convenient it would be for US if she had one. I've found myself calling her on her friends' cells to see if 1. the movie is over or 2. youth group is over or 3. she's staying after for math, etc. SO it's done. I can't believe it myself. I mean, a trampoline and a cell in a matter of weeks? Have we evolved or compromised ourselves beyond reason? Are we just succombing to the world, or choosing our battles? I honestly don't know. But I hope we've done the right thing on both counts.
It's not the money. The phone was totally free and the add-on was totally free (because my husband got some kind of promotional deal for getting a new phone at the same time b/c his contract just ended, but don't tell her it was all free). Okay, off that.

It's so hot here today. I'm worried about my garden at the cottage. Maybe they'll get some rain tonight or my neighbor will take pity on me. Summer is here for sure.

Today was awards day at the middle school. All in all, I think they did a nice job. My ED received several awards, but it was interesting how, for the first time, she seemed motivated by the ones she DIDN'T get. That was good for her. I was especially inspired by a kid who received two big awards: one for the highest average in a subject and one for A.R. You see, I taught this kid second grade, and he had such a tough time with behavior, self-control, you name it. But today he is a star student. And he hasn't gotten in trouble in YEARS. Literally. I had to hug and hug him and his mom because I know how many people were praying for him to wake up and get it together. It's such an amazing thing to see a kid turn things around like that. Sometimes I think that kind of accomplishment is much bigger than a kid who's had it together all along. Like my kid, who I'm proud of but she OUGHT to be doing well. She's got supportive, nurturing parents and great aptitude for learning.

So two more awards days to go, one more teacher conference this afternoon.

And I can't resist commenting on the political climate. I'm not going to name my preferred candidate because I'm just not, but I can't help but feel sorry for ol' Clinton. Obama announces yesterday that he's engaged three people (including Carolina Kennedy, even YOU have to admit that's a brilliant move) to search high and low for the right running mate. OUCH. They'll leave no rock unturned, huh? Guess that mean's Clinton's out? I can just see her, "Hello! Over here! Hello!" I'm not saying he should choose her, I can think of a lot of reasons why he wouldn't, BUT I'm not sure any of those reasons have occurred to HER. I just think she thought it was a given, and now it's OUCH. So we've got the big step down this week-end, supposedly. Should get interesting...And my advice for McCain? Don't give any more speeches back to back with Obama, okay? It's just not the best move for you.

Redneck Political Tips for Parents:
1. Don't tell your kids which candidate you favor unless you want it blasted all over town.
2. Try not to let the overexposure of the candidates get you down. Instead, use it as a learning experience for your family. I'm thinking of using our US map to track how many times each candidate goes to each state before the election. Then we'll compare that info against who won which state. See if there's a correlation.
3. Cut out a picture of each of the candidates and put them on the fridge, so kids know their faces. One of them will be our next president, and hopefully your children will do better than my five-year-old who tells everyone our president is George Washington.
4. Having a black presidential candidate is so HUGE for this country. It's a great opportunity for a history lesson for the kids on racial equality and remind them they're experiencing history as it happens.

Alright, sports fans, have a wonderful day. I think this blog is kind of like my famous leftover stew, lots of good stuff, but I'm not sure how it works together! xoxox