The Poo Shoe!

        





         You know when you get dog poo stuck to the bottom of your shoes? There are always those few areas where it is impossible to get it out of the treads. That's how I felt about my parents during my middle school and early high school years. I just couldn't seem to get rid of them.
        It started when I was young. I know mom is to blame. She was always volunteering in my classrooms. She had personal relationships with my teachers. She even became friends with the principle and we drove her daughters to ballet class. When mom didn't come to school one Thursday in second grade Lara asked where she was. Even then I found this embarrassing.
        When I was in seventh grade we moved to Seaside. It was a new life and a new school. I was in middle school. There was no need for my mom to hang around but there she was. Oh yes she was. She didn't work in my class but worked in the resource room with the 6th graders. Why oh why?
         As if bothering me during school hours wasn't enough Mom and Dad both managed to come to all of my track meets, basketball games, and volleyball games. During that time I wanted to ride the bus with my friends and pretend I didn't have parents.
         When time to start high school came I was nervous and excited. I also knew my mom would be close behind. She would find a way to be around while I was doing my best to avoid her.
Sure enough she was. She worked in the counselors office filing scholarship papers. People saw her there. Juniors and seniors saw her! How embarrassing!
         We were still in the same place with the afterschool activities. Mom and Dad came to all of them and most of the time they had my rag-a-muffin niece Shade with them. Geeze! Okay, you got me, I did kind of like it when Shade came.
         My dad started to take an interest in my running. What that meant to me was he spent time talking with my coach. He kind of plotted about the other girls in the district and he bought me special vitamins. The best part was that before every race day we had pasta. Since I was the runner it was always the kind of pasta I liked. Never ever the kind that Amber liked. Sorry I digress.
         So..... These pesky parents! I just couldn't shake them. They always knew who I was with. They insisted on knowing what we were doing. They also knew all the kids at school, the staff at school, and the people I spent time with in my spare time.
         Perhaps I should have noticed that my parents were going out of their way and spending their own time investing in my life. Yeah right! That is not the way kids think.
         I did however learn to use my mom being around school once a week to my advantage. I got the idea from Evan Wickersham. His parents both worked at school. When I had his mom for Child Development I noticed he was always there. He was on to something. When mom was on campus I began to pop in to say, "Hi!" When I was there I wouldn't mind grabbing a couple dollars for a snack or having her sign a permission slip I forgot to bring home.
        From there things got better. I was becoming more comfortable with myself and school so having my parents around wasn't all bad. They are nice people and I did begin to see more clearly that not everyone got to have their parents around. I started to realize that I might be a little tiny bit lucky.
          My all time favorite memory of my parents at school was a Sadie Hawkins Dance. The dance committee decided to have marriages and asked my parents if they would officiate them. My parents stationed themselves in the corner of the cafeteria. Mom wore her cute jean jumper dress and dad wore his cowboy boots. The boots he wore my entire childhood but had opted out of during my older years for more comfortable tennis shoes. I love those boots.
          By the end of high school I enjoyed having my parents around. They weren't pushy. They didn't get involved in my social life. They were simply there.
          I think we all try to recreate the best part of our parents. I sure do. I can't spend as much time in each class as my mom did but I am doing my best.
         We are lucky. My kids go to a great school. There is a lot of parent involvement. The place I enjoy being is in the classroom. I like getting to know the kids, seeing what they are working on in class, and getting to know their teachers.
          As the kids get older the teachers seem to use parent help less. Bret was in fourth grade this year. The classroom help options were to make copies or help with math. Since the math they do would require me to study I went with the copies. His teacher greeted me with a smile and some kids gave me a nod but my sweet little Bret didn't even acknowledge me. I could be mad but I'm not. I am the poo stuck in the tread of his shoe!
         I didn't really work in Chloe's class this year. I was in and out for parties and field trips but I didn't have a regular slot of class time each week. Chloe's grade I know very well.
        The last week of school Chloe forgot her Brownie binder. When I brought it up to class I was immediately hugged by two boys. Adrian Flores and Zach Watkins rushed up and gave me a big squeeze. Bret won't look at me but these boys hug me!
         On Thursdays Mary had speech therapy at the school. I had to high tail it out of there if I didn't want to be run down by second grade girls. These girls are great. They are always full of smiles and mischief and guess who loves each and every one of them?!? Mary! She knows so many of them and upon seeing them she will twist free of my grip to join them at recess.
          Chloe can't resist running down the stairs she isn't allowed to go down for just one more hug. Maybe I am more like rainbow gum or laffy taffy stuck in her shoe. We all know she would pick it out and eat it.
         Jackson oh Jackson. When I am in his class I just can't shake him. If I am working with other kids he also needs to be right beside me. He doesn't really need my attention. He just wants to be sitting closest to me. It used to annoy me but his teacher didn't have a problem with it so why should I? In this case it's more like I am a bumble bee struggling to get away from this kid and his shoe that seems to be stalking me. Most of the time Mrs. Werner was there to set me free.
         Mary and Cutie are little. They can't shake me yet. I don't think they can understand that they might want to. Hopefully if Chloe keeps up the good example of enjoying me in her shoe the little girls will follow her lead.
         I am already plotting what I will do in the middle school. Should I start the year before Bret goes or wait until he gets there? I wonder where they hide all the nosey Aptos parents in middle school? I can't wait to find out....
         I am lucky to be able to be a part of the kids school life. I hope to always be 'around'. I don't want to meddle or snoop. I want to be in the background. Maybe they will appreciate it but more than likely they won't. Good news for me being a mom isn't about being appreciated.
                                          Perhaps that will happen when they become poo on their child's shoe.