Happy Birthday!

I have not written in this blog for a little while.  Things have just gotten a little crazy around here.  For those that know me well, understand that April is a critical month as it is my birthday and my birthday always makes me happy.  My husband told my mom that he gets stressed around my birthday every year because my expectations are huge.  What can I say.  It is my day and no one else's. 

I never take the day off for my birthday because I want everyone to say happy birthday to me. I track everyone who calls and who does not call and I make my list just like Santa Claus on who is naughty or nice.
For some reason it never feels like a real birthday if I don't blow out those candles no matter how many there are.  I refuse to accept the fact that after you reach a certain age you really don't celebrate.    It makes me happy to know that I can celebrate and although people here think it is crazy to have a themed birthday party for a 35 year old woman I really don't care.  This year I had a party and it was fun.  It was a lot of work and I was very tired when it was over but it was well worth it. 

I probably need to credit my mother for having gone above and beyond on all my birthdays, even though she is not a birthday person at all.  I remember all my birthdays and how great they were.  I continue to promote the birthday spirit for my kids' birthdays but even they are not as excited about birthdays like I am. 
I will continue to celebrate and make a big deal out of every birthday and will never allow anyone to take that away from me.  I will also continue to celebrate in style and not compromise quality for practicality.

Lesson of the day: Birthdays are a celebration of you; it marks the beginning of who you have become. You owe it to yourself and your family to celebrate YOU.

Great Teachers

I have not written in a while but winters are hard for our family.  The kids are usually sick which means we are worn out by the time spring comes around.  Well, I had a great experience yesterday and I have concluded that I am happy because it is still possible to find great teachers.

Most of my friends and family were running away from me for six months as I complained about my daughter’s school.  There were a lot of tears and frustrated drop offs and pickups for all of us.  Once the semester was over we made the decision to pull my daughter out and enroll her in a different school in our district.  Not an easy decision to make because as parents you always fear you could be putting your child in an even worse situation.  Fortunately my five-year old was on board and ready to change schools.  The decision was better than we expected.

We have now completed two months in the new school and I had the privilege to volunteer in my daughter’s classroom yesterday.  It was a great experience which I cannot share for confidentiality reasons but I was so impressed with the teacher and how the class was managed that I was beyond myself.  I told the teacher I thought she was awesome and that I was amazed at how she managed the class.  Her response was quite simple.  “I love my job”.   I requested from the principal a Mary Poppins for a teacher and little did I know I would get one.

 I now can say I have my daughter back, and she has recovered her love for learning despite her bad experience at the other school.   Seeing my daughter thrive thanks to a teacher who cares gives me hope that despite low compensation and morale issues in the teaching profession, there are still people who choose to teach for the love of teaching.  I would like to thank Mrs. Simmons and all the teachers who care and make our children’s experience unique and unforgettable.    

My daughter’s quote:  “Mommy you just work, teachers are actually trying to help someone learn something.”

Lesson of the day:  Choose a profession or occupation you love so you can do it well and touch people’s hearts along the way. 

Back from Vacation

Two weeks back from vacation so it is time to get back into the routine.  Vacations are never long enough but aren’t we happy we have them.  As one would expect, finding happy moments when you are just relaxing with the family is way too easy.  So I had to pick my favorites because choosing is also part of growing up. 

First and foremost, the most amazing thing happened on this trip.  I did not fight with a single person on the airplane, at the airport, parking lot, stores etc.. I never thought it would happen to me.  I don’t know if people were nicer (I doubt that), or if I decided to accept that things are not organized and run the way I think they should.  I was proud of myself for that.  So my husband did not have to worry about going to the bathroom and coming back to a full battle zone at the airport.  Resolution to not fight!

In my previous post, I mentioned the orphanage our family adopted for Christmas.  We went to the orphanage and delivered all the items we bought to the 84 kids. They sang for us and were all cleaned up to receive everything.  It was an emotional moment to see all those kids mostly taken in due to neglect and abuse.  The woman in charge is a retired teacher from the state and she runs it on her retirement salary and donations since the Brazilian government has failed to give any assistance since 2009.  My privileged children were able to see the place. My two year old was waving at them and smiling but my five year old was a little frightened by the site.  She had a lot of questions for several days on why the kids were there and why their parents did not want them and it was difficult for us to answer them but we did the best we could.  It was a great experience that will lead to a standing family tradition. I urge everyone to try giving up on your own gifts to give to those who really need it and don’t just want it.

My final happy moment was to be at the beach.  I cannot explain or quantify my satisfaction when it comes to being by the beach.  I love everything about it.  The sound of the waves breaking on the rocks is calming and almost therapeutic.  Running into the water makes you feel like you are five again.  Sitting in the sand and making castles with my kids is one of the greatest joys to me.  It is just liberating.  Aside from the beauty of the beach, I was extremely happy and surprised to see my five year old’s asthma cough go away in 24 hours after we had arrived at the beach.  Truly therapeutic.

Lessons of the day:  Take vacations; they make you think about life and what should be important to you.  Find the things you love and plan to make it part of your daily life, not just vacations.  

I want to move to the beach and feel like I am on vacation. How about you?