Mikayla left the meeting early because she had to pick up her daughters from school. She strode across the hot pavement towards her car fuming and talking out loud some of the many things she had wished to tell her colleagues. Why had they sat there so smugly, leaning back on their roller chairs complaining about student laziness? Every time a directive came from the administration, loud complaints ensued about lack of time and stupid administrative duties. Every time a speaker came with ideas about how to better educate the students, they said that they had no time for such foolishness and it wouldn’t work anyway since the students were lazy and didn’t care. Today’s meeting had centered on what to do about students who missed tests, thus causing them no end of headaches. Good grief.
She was so distracted by her indignation at the lack of effort her colleagues put into their jobs and her indignation at the blame they placed squarely on the students that she drove right through a stop sign and narrowly missed being hit broadside. She pulled over because she was shaking. She turned off the car and just sat there stunned as it got hotter and hotter inside the car. The heat at least had the benefit of calming down the adrenalin running through her system. After a while she drove on to the school.
Her daughters bounced into the car chattering away about such a number of things that Mikayla couldn’t follow the conversation. She let them talk and put all her concentration into following the rules of the road and watching for other vehicles. At a red light she tuned into an escalating argument the girls were having about what movie they were going to watch that afternoon. She felt her indignation mode starting back up. They were children. They should be moving around outside, not slouched on the couch watching movies or playing video games. They were so lazy. When they were little, she used to just open the front door and shove them outside. Now she didn’t always have the energy.
As the light changed and Mikayla drove past the mall, she realized that she was probably mostly indignant because she wanted to sit and watch the TV too. She was just like her colleagues, she thought. She was perfectly happy to slouch in her armchair while shaking her head over the laziness of her kids. Yet there were surely solutions. Ideas poured into her mind. “Girls,” she said. “Stop it. No one is watching TV this afternoon. Maybe after dinner.” They were surprised enough at her announcement that they didn’t start complaining immediately. As she stepped on the gas to get home faster, she jumped into the lull with questions about the day. Her decision to take the reins and to do the work to move the girls in the direction she wanted had filled her with heightened awareness and she was able to drive, converse with her children, make plans and avoid other cars all at the same time.
It's a wonder how differently children do in school with attentive parents who discipline them, encourage them, love them which gives the children a foundation of security, self-sufficiency.
Thank you for sharing once again!
A FAV!