Monthly Archives: June 2003

Sometimes it is hard to know how much to get involved in your child’s academic life. I hate to be an interfering parent so I usually have to get really riled up before I talk to a teacher and then I’m not usually too effective, if you know what I mean. I’m ashamed to say that I actually made one of my kid’s teachers cry. Well, if she hadn’t accused my daughter of forging my signature and stealing another child’s shoes it would definitely never have happened. At least I tell myself that was “righteous anger”. After all she was talking about my well behaved kid.

Now I have had to write a letter for my daughter who is not very well behaved about her lost homework. Maybe the teacher thinks that losing a binder at a track meet is a bit on the same level as “the dog ate my homework” excuse. Grace comes across as very “cool” and cocky and because of her sometimes too expressive body language people in authority often take her to be a smart alec rebel rather than a very scared little kid longing for acceptance. Maybe I’m just too sympathetic because I love her and want things to turn out better for her. So I hope the letter gets the results which we need here – a chance to redo her lost homework. One week to finals too.

I wish God’s wisdom was more clear when it comes to how to help our kids grow up right.

Leighton Tebay over at The Heresy has an entry which struck me. He comments that we don’t give our pastors enough support and I agree. We expect them to be there for us, giving us counsel, leading us to a deeper level spiritually but are we there for them? They are human too. Maybe one of the problems comes from their professional role. I mean – Have you ever asked your dentist if she/he brushes her/his teeth? We would be shocked and maybe not accept it very well. How would you pastors take it if we asked you how your devotional life was going? These are pretty well expected activities and sometimes we fail to live up to our own expectations

Yesterday we had a great Sunday School picnic. Today we had a few injured people in church due to the oldies versus the youngies softball game. If you want to see pictures, link to Randall Friesen.

Good day today. We had good fun over lunch with the pastor’s family. Then I went out for coffee with a friend from our congregation and had a good visit. I didn’t realize we have so much in common since we don’t get to visit in depth in church. So we got to share some of our difficulties with our children and also how God has worked in both our lives to just confirm how much he cares for us no matter how our children turn out. It was good. We should have gone for coffee a couple of years ago. I hate being too busy sometimes and also sometimes it’s my own fault not taking the time.

I also found out that she also likes to write and so I have encouraged her to blog as well if she has access to a computer. I find this is a place where I can meet and get inspiration from others out there. Thanks to all of you who have contacted me or mentionned my site.

This morning I was out walking. A light rain scares off the other walkers which is OK since then they don’t think I’m whacko talking out loud to God. Talking out loud helps me to concentrate my thoughts as does writing. Otherwise my thoughts get lost in the maze of a million distractions.

Anyway, I was thinking out loud about how the church organization, ie: the “modern” church doesn’t meet a lot of my deeper spiritual needs. Those have always been met more in my relationships with others. But sometimes I am so busy helping to keep the organization going that I hardly have time to develop relationships. I guess having a few less kids would also uncomplicate my life but those are some of the best relationships I have – that and the one with Leo – and all need a slice of my time. I know I am too busy. I have decided that housework is not high on my list of priorities so I am willing to give that up but the other things are harder to let go.

Today has been one of those days when I seem to spend most of my time in the car. First up to the track so Grace can run her race, then back home to pick up Sara to ref her soccer. Then back to the track. Two stops at fast food places along the way and then over to my office to photocopy some of the notes Grace has to replace. Back up to pick Sara up after reffing. A few minutes and then off to the Sunday School picnic. Leo conveniently got mistaken and thought the picnic would be on Sunday so has a golf game set up with one of his colleagues. At least he is able to go to Saskatoon to pick Patrick up from the plane. Patrick will drive home in Leo’s vehicle so that means I will have to drive down to Wakaw to pick Leo up later – unless I can talk Christian into doing it for me. I have to get Grace back up to the track again, return to the church for a meeting after the picnic and then arrange to pick her up again. It seems like this is becoming a typical Saturday. It is less work going to work!

You may understand why I post most of my blogs in the wee hours of the morning. Well it seems to be the only peaceful time around our house.

For those of you who have read some of my ealier blogs, you may remember that our friend Jacques was bit by a cat which died a few days later. Today he sent us a message that he got the rabies vaccine and immune globulin that Leo as a Medical Health Officer was able to procure for him and which American Leprosy Mission was able to courrier out to him and have flown up to the city where he lives by Missionary Aviation Fellowship. So he has taken his first injections and should be OK. He is always in our prayers, especially since we share children. He is where we cannot be and cares for his own people in a way no missionary can do, including being there through all of the civil war past and present.

Patrick, Kongawi’s son is performing tonight in Vancouver. I was hoping that it would be on TV live but sorry it will just be on Radio-Canada or on you local French FM station.

There are times when my lack of discipline in all areas stares me in the face. I don’t do what I know I should do. It is more fun to escape into the world of the internet than to do the housework. I try to get my children to be self disciplined and then I look at my own poor example. Sometimes, I must admit, they do a better job than I. So I am going to try very hard today not to forget to do some of the chores I need to remember – phone calls I have to make – and I hate phoning.

Last night Grace discovered at 10:00 that she had left her school binder somewhere at the track. She is not sure where or when she last saw it, but it is not here. Now, I told her that if she had thought of doing her homework earlier she would have noticed it’s loss a bit earlier too. So off we drove to the track and around we walked in the twilight, but no binder. In it are all of her notes, all of her completed and incomplete homework. She is not our most academically inclined child. The loss of her binder is a real blow. She will have to try all the lost and founds today and then if no binder, borrow and do some major note copying. I hope her teachers are a bit sympathetic but she doesn’t have a good record with them. This may just be one of life’s hard lessons – hope it turns out to be a lesson learned. Do you ever wish you could make life easier for your kids? Unfortunately, I think they follow our poorest examples the most easily.