Homework from H...E...double hockey sticks.....

I'm afraid to look in the mirror right now...

I envision bags of dark circles under my eyes.  Eyes glazed over, hair disheveled...  A slight tick having been developed...

This is how I feel every night my son has homework....

4 1/2 hours of math.  "Stupid math.  Dumb, ridiculous, probably won't even need it when I grow up...math!"

It's madness and mayhem when there's math homework to be done.

There are tears and screams (you'd think there was some kind of covert spy torturing going on here).  There are pleas to make it all go away.  Then calm, breathy "PLEEEEAAASSSEEEE, I can't do it annnnnyyyyymmooooorreeee".

I know what you are thinking....  This is TOTALLY inappropriate behaviour for a parent dealing with homework.  I can't help it...

Homework makes me CRAZY!

Aren't 6 hours in a day ENOUGH for our children to get learning in (ps, my son is a straight A student who gets his work done and often helps other students with theirs)? 

We have to use up a perfectly gorgeous evening trying to figure out whether or not image A has been turned clockwise or counter-clockwise???? 

OMG!!!!

After not seeing my kids all day long, we (I use the term loosely, as hubby quietly sneaks off to the basement when the "h" word is thrown around) have to deal with piles of homework, attitude and precious time wasted.

As of this moment I am boycotting homework.  I am sending a memo to my son's teacher tomorrow saying that under NO circumstances will homework be completed in this house.

I'm done with it all. 

Too fucking bad for you education system..... 

YOU LOSE!!!!

"He works hard for his money... do do do do so hard for it honey....."

I'm a lucky lucky girl...

I have a hard working husband. 

His hard work and dedication to providing for me and our family allows me to stay home and pursue my passion for healing and affecting positive change.

We make a great team.

Part of my work means that I hear alot of people complain about money worries.  Fear of lack is a real block for most people in realizing their full potential or living the life they really want to live.

During these discussions, I quite often make the point that we need to have faith that we will be provided for and we need to trust that when we follow our heart's guidance that all will be well in the financial department.

This is often the response I get... 

"That's easy for you to say, your husband has a good paying job".

(record screech...........)  Hold up!

I usually let this comment go without giving it a second thought.  Never really knowing how to answer that, because yes he has a very stable and good job.  He gets paid well because he deserves it.  Sometimes working around the clock.  There have been days at a time when we haven't seen him because he is working and he has missed many special moments as well.

Tonight as we were (once again) packing up our restaurant dinner to go and leaving behind our plans of enjoying a nice evening listening to an acoustic duo because his pager had once again alerted him to a problem at work.  I began to think about why it is that he has to work so hard.

This is what I came up with...  He is the answer to my prayer of being able to do what I need to do.  He is the gift that the Universe has sent to my life so that I may be who I am.  Mother, healer, artist, writer and wife.  Without worrying where the money will come from.

He tirelessly provides for us.  Never fussing or questioning the time of day or the inconvenient moment of being called into work.

And as much as we have missed him at special occasions, I cannot imagine the emotions that run through him when he is the one being called away from the festivities.

So, my answer now when someone makes the comment of my good fortune will be this.

"Yes, I am extremely fortunate to have had the faith to step away from my 9-5 job and $12/hour paycheque and make the decision to stay home and follow my dreams, and in turn the Universe sent me a very reliable source of financial security so that I could enjoy that freedom.  And he does it because he loves me and believes in me.  And that makes me very very very fortunate.  Thank you for noticing."

The point is, we just never know what kind of grand plan the Universe has for us.  And right now in this moment you may not know how you are going to make ends meet and what if that's the point.  What if this is the moment that you have called into your life through prayer or wishing or whatever, to give you the opportunity to let go, believe, trust in the process.

All around us is abundance, it's just sometimes hard to see with our eyes closed. 

Those were the days.....

Yesterday as I made my way in to the grocery store, I noticed two gentlemen who were canvassing for donations for the Cancer Society.

At closer glance I realized one of them was a former teacher of mine from public school.  Grades 3 & 6.

I remember the first dayof Grade 3.  Having my name called out and seeing that our class was getting the new guy teacher!

Our school was filled with "old lady" teachers.  You know the ones that never smile and liked to sit the wooden discipline hand on their desk in plain view.  So this was pretty exciting.  Plus it was the first time I would be taught by a man (don't ask me why this made a difference, it just did).

He may also have been the teacher who made the most impact on me as a young girl.

Not because of anything in particular that he said to me.  He didn't single handedly defend me against a bully, or encourage me to "come out of my shell" and be more outspoken.  He didn't compliment me on my fine penmanship or pat me on the back for acing a test.... 

Nope......

The thing I remember the most about this teacher, is his sense of humour.

He made everything fun. 

I remember one day when he came into class and instructed us to tell him step by step how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (we must have been learning about communication, or how to effectively write a story or something along those lines).  The only catch.....  He was an alien from outer space and didn't know what a peanut butter and jelly sandwich was.

I remember the giggles and screams as the entire class tried desperately to give him adequate instruction.  It was disasterous and hilarious all at the same time and we had a BLAST!  We learned the importance of clear, precise communication that day.

As I was leaving the grocery store yesterday, he approached me and asked for a donation.  I replied "sure, but only because you were my teacher in Grade 3.  The gentlemen that was with him started laughing when he said "okay, give me a minute.  I can figure this out".  And he did.  He knew the school I attended and he knew my name.  He even commented about the change in hair colour.

Not bad for an old guy :)