Who is Craig you ask? I have no clue. He doesn't live here. I have no boy named Craig.
Last year, just before Christmas, we got an unexpected package from one of my grandpas and his wife. Inside were some stockings with names embroidered on them. I thought it was a really nice gesture. Between the two of them {through previous marriages} my grandparents have 15 kids and quite frankly too many grandkids and great-grandkids to count. So I'm guessing that one of the stockings got mixed up...
We had a really good laugh about it last year. Jadon thought it was really funny that he had a stocking with Craig's name on it {whoever Craig is} and he even set it out for Santa to fill. But not without some reassurance that Santa would in fact know that the stocking was really meant for him and not some kid named Craig.
This year we had a good laugh again as we pulled out the stockings. Jadon used it again but without any worries that Santa would be confused. See why HERE. And don't worry, I kept the 'fun' in dysfunctional by putting kids Mucinex in his stocking. He really has been sick lately and that medicine is like kiddie crack. Seriously, Jadon was more excited for his Mucinex than the candy. Can you believe I had to get my ID swiped to buy that stuff?
Disclaimer: This is quite possibly the longest post ever. Happy reading.
Not that there was any discussion about my "editorial" inspired by my parent-teacher conference with Jadon's teacher {at least, not to my knowledge} but I think I need to do a follow-up post on the subject of "Everyone is Special" because I don't want to give off the impression that I don't think anyone is special. I just think it needs to be clarified as to why exactly this is true. For this reason it has been on my mind lately. What can I say? I have no desire to clean or go Christmas shopping, I'm out of school, so this tends to be the result: more blog posts. Anyway, I decided to examine three different stories, meant for children {of various ages}, that address this subject and attempt to explain it.
If you are LDS or grew up Mormon, you will probably remember a Sunday School lesson or two in which the teacher failed to prepare a lesson and had you watch Johnny Lingo instead. {Oh how we looked forward to those Sundays!} The 1969 version is classic although would probably be considered a little politically incorrect, maybe even culturally insensitive, like a lot of films made in 1969. But a newer full-length film, The Legend of Johnny Lingo, was made that is better and tells the story in greater detail. Anyway, if you have 25 minutes, you can watch the original in three parts, below...
So how does Johnny Lingo attempt to explain self-worth? I thought he summed it up himself when he said, "There are many things that can make a woman beautiful, but what matters most is what she thinks of herself." I think this can be a good message because I don't think someone's self-worth should be wholly dependent on what someone else thinks of you. However, when someone sees you for who you are and gives value to it... I think there is the potential to help that person increase the value they see within themselves, their self-worth, defined as one's worth as a person, as perceived by oneself.
Here is the excerpt from chapter 21. Go read it. Now.
I love that the fox teaches the prince that, "It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important." Isn't it so true that when we spend time with someone, get to know them, grow to love them that they become special to us? I mean, it seems so simple but if I were to see a random person on the street, unless they were doing something outwardly exceptional, I wouldn't think they were very special. But that doesn't mean they are not found to be special in the eyes of someone else.
Which is actually a good sedge-way into the third piece of literature, a book for children called You Are Special by Max Lucado. Sorry, no links to chapters or story boards here but you can find a summary and review here. I think I first heard this story when I was 14 for 15, at a time when it is easy to question one's self-worth. Again, this story emphasizes how one's self-worth can be buoyed up when someone else sees your worth. But this someone else is perhaps the most important person. When we have a personal relationship with our maker and really feel like He knows us, the effects are powerful, long-lasting and life-changing.
So if I bring this full circle and quote again the constitution, that "all men are created equal," created by God as our founding fathers believed. If God is the supreme being who created us all, then we should all be considered equal in His sight. It goes back to this intrinsic value I mentioned in my earlier post. Now to take it a step further and apply it to my own life... If I were to see a random person on the street, I wouldn't think they were very special unless I remembered that they too are a divine creation. Would not this influence the way I treat them, the way I see them as not only a fellow human being but a brother or a sister? Think about this the next time someone cuts you off in traffic or the next time you see a homeless person. See if your attitude towards them changes. Consider it a social experiment if you must. The world might just end up being a little bit better of a place when we do.
Once upon a time in another life, I thought it would be nice to have a Christmas tree with matching ornaments and a color scheme. Think Pottery Barn. Of course, I thought this when we had no money and no kids. Ha!
Coincidentally, mine and Ed's families had a similar Christmas tradition started by our mothers when we were children. Both our moms kept Christmas ornaments for each of their children so we would have some ornaments to trim our tree with when we had our first Christmas on our own. So flashback to our first Christmas together when we each pulled out our little shoe boxes of ornaments. It was quite nostalgic because each ornament brought back many childhood memories. And each year, the tradition {and all the memories that come with it} repeats himself.
Since that first Christmas, we've tried to get an ornament for each of the boys and perhaps one for ourselves each year so our little collection continues to grow. Not to mention that 2/3 of our Christmas lights went missing so we're a little sparse this year. Oh and let's not leave out the way our star is lopsided. {I say it gives our tree a kind of Charlie Brown-ish charm.} The result: this little hodgepodge tree, not fit for a Pottery Barn catalog, but full of love.
I met with Jadon's teacher recently for parent-teacher conference and not only did she tell me he had a "very advanced vocabulary for his age" and a "dark sense of humor" that was "completely inappropriate for the class," she also showed me some of Jadon's work. On the first day of class she had the kids write why they were special. While most kids wrote about how they were good at some subject or sport, Jadon wrote, "I'm special because I'm different."
When I mentioned this to a friend, he replied, "Isn't that a little circular?" It is indeed, which is one of the reasons I laugh at it. Jadon certainly prides himself in being different, or unique, and I love that. I think he is quite comfortable in his own skin and isn't afraid to share what is on his mind. Yet, if you've seen The Incredibles, you would know that the irony of saying everyone is special is that it's like saying nobody is. {Great film by the way.}
I think this attitude permeates our society because we don't want to hurt the feelings or damage the vulnerable egos of America's youth. But part of this ideology can be traced back to the words of our Constitution, "that all men are created equal." While we can say that intrinsically we are equal, meaning we should have equal value, the reality is that we are not all equal. {I should also note that historically, Americans didn't think people were intrinsically equal either...Native Americans. Slaves. Immigrants. Women.} I mean, all you have to do is look around to see that. Some people are born into better circumstances than others which has the potential to cause great disparity throughout that person's life. One person might be of a certain ethnicity or sexual orientation which doesn't guarantee them certain liberties. Some are blessed with more talents than others or have more opportunity to develop them. Many people have a wide range of disabilities that have the potential to hinder them. My list could go on and on.
Individuals could never be equal in that they are the same or have the same things. This egalitarian concept is what many Americans consider to be the antithesis of their values {ie; individualism, capitalism, etc.} But wait a minute. If Americans value individualism so much, why do the homes in many American suburbs look like they all came from same cookie-cutter? And why are "social deviants" bullied? And why do we still try to tote this "everyone is special" mantra?
I suppose Jadon could be considered a genius had he purposefully written, "I am special because I am different" as a satirical jab at this social irony. But alas, no one is perfect {which could arguably be like saying that everyone is}.
1. With Christmas approaching, Jadon decided he must make his list for Santa. [I think he keeps forgetting about the whole Santa-not-being-alive-anymore conversation and I'm not sure if I should be reminding him that he's a non-believer. Also, it really worries me that if he already forgot about the Santa talk, he already forgot the sex talk too. But I'm not going to do any reminding about that.] Anyway, the list. The first half consisted of several books he would like while the second half contained the following (in this order): a Nintendo DS, a TV, a laptop, a dog and another brother.
Keep dreaming big my friend.
2. Zac was watching some Barney show about making music to which Barney said, "Everyone can make music." I asked Zac if he could make music. He smiled. Then he farted. No joke. The boy may not say much, but he sure is clever.
3. Okay, this next story really isn't funny if you are a 'normal' person because it has to do with finding humor in my son's disappointment. Nor did anything funny or enlightening come out of his mouth. I suppose the point is to illustrate how socially retarded I am. Anyway, we recently signed Jadon up for flag football [completely his idea]. Of course, I think he will have fun and do well. Then Jadon asked me today if he'll get to wear all the gear and pads and stuff when he plays football. I told him no, because he is signed up for flag football. He almost cried. And I was laughing hysterically. It was better than watching a sad clown. Oh my gosh, I'm so horrible. It just never occurred to me that he would ask to be signed up for a sport that he didn't have the slightest idea about. So perhaps I was really laughing more at myself for this error? Yeah, who am I kidding. Don't worry, I proceeded to explain to him what flag football was and told him that I thought it was a very fun game to play. That seemed to appease him.
4. Zac continuously says, "Naked boy!" any time he takes off an article of clothing. Except it sounds more like "neh-hee boy." I love it.
5. Eddie got food poisoning last week and when Jadon found out he said, "Now Dad, I've thrown up before. All you gotta do to get through it is stay calm. And don't eat much food for the day." It was really quite sweet and very authoritative.
6. Jadon found out that I've written a poem of two and decided to write his own. His inspiration: a candle that was burning in my bedroom. It's entitled, Beautiful Fire How I just love to see the candle burning Blue on bottom Yellow in middle Red on the top Of the nice, peaceful, beautiful fire
7. Jadon also typed a paper at school in the computer lab. The prompt was about helping others. He said that most kids in his class only came up with 2 or 3 things while he wrote this:
You help others by making donations and help by giving old clothing, food, and a nice home. Also you should really be nice to others. You don't know how long they'll be around. You should really be nice even if they don't like you and you don't like them. People try to help you with problems like if you're lost and you try to help them. People try to help family members, a friend, or a pet. All sorts of things help people like bugs eat insects that try to eat farmers' crops. Or the venus fly trap eats up flies. Policemen keep the city safe from robbers. There are also people like this called mall cops. They stop bad guys from robbing the mall. Helping people is great.
8. Mom, did you know that if people kept peeing until they were 32 that you and Dad would still be peeing?
