Prayers and Dr. Suess

My elementary teaching days are like my shadow late in the day.  I can see them but not touch the very top, for they are getting farther away as the sun sets.  My love for Dr. Suess has grown in the absence of the demand.  When I had to read Green Eggs and Ham over and over, my adoration for Suess' wacky nonsense wained.  Now that I am freed of this repetitive responsibility I am finding a renewed appreciation.  I am re-reading our collection of Suess books to my sons.

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I did not expect the impact it would have on our morning prayers.  I started modeling adoration, repentance, and supplication (asking) by praying over our day as we traveled to school.  Recently, my fears of being widowed with two strong-willed boys to raise haunts my thoughts.  How would they learn to shave, change the oil and fix a lawn mower?

So, my deepest worry needed voice in our prayers.  I wanted the boys to know that sometimes prayers are unanswered because God is choosing a trial for us, to make us grow.  I also wanted to make sure they knew that God's will, not our will, is the base of our asking.  (Luke 22:44)  "...and Jesus asked his Father to remove the cup of suffering. Then He surrendered, "Not my will, but yours be done."  

And with that I started ending our prayer with, "if it is your will, please bring us all back home together again tonight."  

This morning, deep in the thorniness of May, I asked the boys to pray as I drove.  The Tall One began thanking God for the natural world, family and friends.  The Little One added a prayer of thanksgiving for chickens.  His innocence shining through his words.  

Then, he closed the prayer with "if it is Your will please keep us safe from here to there and everywhere."  

Dr. Suess influenced supplication. 

I believe I will continue both the read-alouds and the spontaneous prayers led by my boys.  

Working Moms Don't Iron Tablecloths

There are many resources for stay-at-home moms.  There are reams written to justify the executive working mom.   What of the regular, middle-class working moms?  Where are the bloggers, experts and articles catering to the working moms that have to work or choose to work so that their families can have a middle-class income?

Here is what I believe: working moms don’t have time to blog or become an expert on balancing both work and family.  They are baptized in the fiery schedule of working, family, housework, meals and extracurricular activities.  I am one of those middle-class working moms.  I am terribly grateful for my husband’s sacrifice in pay for my education degree.  My degree and subsequent employment at our local public school has been the financial stability we needed over the last decade of economic depression. 

Here is a list of things I don’t do that my fraternal grandmother spent time doing:

Working Moms don’t…

1.     iron tablecloths

2.     iron sheets

3.     iron shirts or pants

4.     hand mop the kitchen floor

5.     wipe down baseboards

6.     bake homemade cookies

7.     make cupcakes for school birthday parties

8.     mend/darn socks

9.     make bread from scratch

10. homeschool their children

Working moms are happy to have a warm meal on a clean tablecloth; unironed!

Working moms are relieved that the sheets are dry by bedtime.

Working moms are masters of using a damp cloth, dryer sheet and the “dewrinkle” setting on the dryer.

Working moms use swiffers (or a damp rag and their foot).

Working moms scrub baseboards when it’s time to repaint them.

Working moms buy cookies at the grocery store in a tube of doughy yumminess.

Working moms are proud to stimulate the economy and buy cupcakes at the bakery.

Working moms can’t find the match to the holey sock anyway.

Working moms use their bread machines or visit the bakery on the way home (again).

Working moms trust the school systems to give their kids a solid education of basics.

Working moms are masters at short cuts and paring down life to its most essential. 

Working moms have good kids that are independent, confident team players.

Working moms have mad skills at work and at home.