I was bouncing around the internet this evening and I came across a blog post discussing the problems with their child’s school. It reminded me of the trouble we had a couple years ago with Beth. (It’s two years later Beth still talks about that teacher every now and again.)
The purpose of this entry is to share with you (yet again) how proud I am of my daughter, and how grateful I am for the wonderful teachers and staff at her new(ish) school. This year and last haven’t been perfect, but they never will be, so we shouldn’t expect it. I still think the amount of homework they give is a bit ridiculous (though I’m careful not to share this with Beth). I still think kids can be awfully cruel. A kid that’s a little different is like blood in the water, with a couple nearby sharks carrying around nothing but empty stomachs. But the results are undeniable. Beth’s latest progress report with all ‘A’s came home on Friday and I’m a proud papa.
She’s been working me hard this week though. It started out with her declaration that she couldn’t be a good Lutheran because she believed in science, not Genesis; and led to a light discussion about allegories, and the possible purpose of some of the early books of the Bible.
We weren’t done there though. Yesterday morning (when I was still struggling to wake up) she wanted to know why there was a war in Iraq, and if I thought there was still a possibility we’d attack Iran. I’d forgotten that Iraq has been in the news for most of her life (or more than half anyway).
Beth is a curious kid, but her questions are usually a little easier to answer… like trying to explain what ‘red shift’ is (which she saw referenced in one of her astronomy books), or what the difference between ‘fission’ and ‘fusion’ is – and why one tends to produce radioactive waste, while the other doesn’t. That’s an awful lot to explain for a guy that studied the social sciences in school (with thoughts of going into counseling of some kind). It’s a good thing growing up with my dad gave me the equivalent of a minor in physics.
By the way, I’m a lousy theologian. Faith doesn’t come easy to me, and I’m afraid the only thing I can teach her is that it’s something she’s ultimately going to have to decide for herself. I hope ten isn’t too early to learn that lesson.
Thanks Uncle Fletch ;-)
I hope you guys are staying warm. The map makes it look like a little bit of cold is sneaking down your way.
I have been saying this over and over to Aunt Christy.
Thanks Stephen. Your kind words mean a lot to me.
I’ve daydreamed about it occasionally, but I like my life the way it is too much. (I’d write about the things I like in my life more, but that stuff is boring to write, let alone read ;) As it is, my job gives me a lot of opportunities to do a lot of different things… from writing, to counseling (sort of), to making the kinds of management decisions I like (training, mentoring) – without the stuff I don’t (conflict resolution), to a little bit of software development (nothing fancy, mostly just molding mini-applications out of VBA in Office). At the end of most days I feel kind of lucky for having the opportunity to help people in a lot of little different ways.
Fooling around with my blog feels just right. It satisfies a personal need to vent every now and again without too many expectations, or impinging on the other things I like to do (professionally). I know my reasons could sound a bit like a cop-out, but I think (hope?) I’m being pretty honest with myself.
I wouldn’t ever say never though.
… and I’ll never turn down a compliment :-)
Nothing on this site tells me you aspire to write professionally. Maybe you do and just aren’t saying. If you don’t, allow me to express the opinion that you’re missing an obvious calling.