Thanks to a TV show I was watching last night, I was thinking about those times when it is harder to keep your head high, harder to keep your dignity intact. Whether it's simple like when you are singled out in public for an error, or a little further down the line like when during tough times you have to remove items from the super market conveyor belt one at a time, watching the total, in order to bring the amount back down to what you can pay, with a line full of people behind you. Or maybe it was a period of time in which you need to use food stamps, or a time when you found you were played for a fool, or unfairly vilified, or lost your job, your spouse, your home. I think most people have had times in their lives at various levels when you have to grab onto your dignity and hold it a little tighter and remember that you are more than what happens to you, greater than your circumstances, and as a great lady once said, "no one can make you feel inferior without your consent." Some folks sure do give "making others feel inferior" the old college try though, don't they?
Kaylee lost one of her baby molars last night-she danced around quite excitedly when she pulled it out herself. She's no tooth wuss, that's for sure! Unfortunately though she was awake until after 1 a.m. coughing. I'd given her a dose of adult cough syrup and she was STILL coughing like crazy. No fever, decent appetite, lots of energy, just a cough that won't quit. Finally she passed out and the Tooth Fairy made her appearance just before she got too sleepy for the night herself. :)
This morning I just didn't think it was a good idea to wake her up early for school after she's been recovering from whatever she had and was up so late, so I let her sleep in. She finally woke up at 10:30 a.m.!! I got her ready and went ahead and took her to school for a half day, because she was now bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and eager and fever free for 48 hours. I also gave her cough meds to try to help tame that hacking down at school, but I don't think they worked any better than they did last night, and this is the strong 12-hour stuff! When I picked her up at 3, she started yelling "I got an A on my Math Test and an A+ on my Social Studies test!" Of course that got a High Five, and then I asked her about her make-up homework for missing two half days and one full day of school. Her response was "Oh, I don't have any. I finished it at school today." I said "You finished all the back homework plus today's work plus took two tests today?" "Yep." "Did you do it right?" "Yep. I didn't have any corrections on my math or anything." Awesome-you go girl!!
There were five kids missing from Kaylee's class of ten today, all out with the flu. When she went in at lunch time, she bumped it up to at least 60% of the class being there after all. That's pretty bad...
Kaylee also said to me "You know how sometimes you just look at somebody and you feel something about them and you can't explain it?" Yes, I do. She said "There's a lady at such and such a place, that every time I look at her or catch her looking at me, I just don't feel right about her." Well, color me silly, but I trust people's instincts, and I told Kaylee that. Not that a person can't be wrong about someone of course, but those feelings can also be quite legitimate. Tonight Kaylee was also mentioning how someone at dance was yelling at the girls meanly behind the scenes at the recital last year. She said "I know she was probably just stressed out because of everything going on, but really, that's still no excuse for being mean to other people." Again, I just told her I thought she was right. I've never had a child this age before, but it wouldn't have occurred to me that an 8 year old would be able to see some of this stuff. Instead of just saying "so and so was mean to me", it's "I understand she had a lot going on back there", and still not accepting it as a valid reason, even if it is understandable. I was just kind of impressed by that, but hey, it could just be me. :)
I mostly worked today on catching up on billing again, and running all the errands I didn't do for the last four days. Plus Kaylee had dance and I needed to get to the store before the cats (and the rest of us) started eating out of the garbage can. ;) I got quite a bit done today, but I have a lot I need to do in the SMA realm now, as it has piled up on me too.
An enjoyable thing from today: I got a thank you email with several photos of a young lady (with SMA) out and about today for the first time with a van lift we were able to put in for them. And the thanks go back out to people who help me with the BBQ Bash and fundraisers here and there that make things like that possible. :)
Many years ago, a mom I knew lost her daughter unexpectedly to SMA. I say unexpectedly, because SMA or not, when the kids are healthy and thriving and doing well, and they just...die...it is still a horrible shock. I sent the mom a quote that I had recently read which had really resonated with me regarding the loss of a child. I remember feeling as though the world should have stopped, at least for a minute, when my child was gone, and it seemed unnatural and surreal to see the rest of the world skipping along as normal when my world had just collapsed into itself in spectacular fashion. I'd thought of that quote since then, but I could never find it again, even when Googling a couple of the key words. This week the mom reposted part of an entry she had posted when her daughter passed away, which included the quote I'd sent her back then, and there it was again, and it still resonates with me.
"The breaking of so great a thing should make a greater crack: the round world should have shook lions into civil streets and citizens to their dens."
~Shakespeare from Antony & Cleopatra
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