Heather in Neverland
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Posts posted by Heather in Neverland
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Congrats!!!!
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My friend went through chemo last year for breast cancer. She is a preschool teacher at my school and my dd is in her class.
When her hair fell out she wore beautiful scarves and the children were in love! They thought she was so glamorous!!
When her hair started to grow back in my dd asked if she could have her hair cut short like that too. All the kids wanted to touch it. They thought it was the coolest thing ever!
To say "hey, it's just hair" minimizes what you are going through but it made my friend happy when her students thought her bald head was awesome. :)
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We did it on our house back in MIchigan. We converted our attached garage then built a new garage behind the house. I would not have done it without building a garage because houses in that area would not sell without a garage. But not all areas are like that.
If you plan to stay there a long time then I would do whatever would make life better for you over the next 10 years rather than be uncomfortable and squeezed for space over the possibility that you MIGHT sell 10 years from now.
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Two is fine. My mom was 1 of 12 kids with one bathroom. I grew up in a house of 6 people and 1 bathroom. Two is plenty especially if you love the house.
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We have found a replacement for one of them but we are still working on the other person. If I have to teach to pick up the slack, I will. God will provide. He always does.Heather, that's just unethical! UGH...two years is a blip in time, and a great learning experience even if difficult. Man Up is right! Live up to the committment you make and don't use God as an excuse to be unethical!
I'm sorry you are in a position to have to scramble to find someone to cover it. Will you have to teach the class for a while or will you be able to find someone right away?
Sorry for the rant, but the "God is leading me to..." excuse drives me NUTS. I'm pretty sure God is not too jazzed about it either.
If people had a true concept of the holiness of God, they might be a little more careful about ascribing things to Him that are not of Him. JMHO.
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Started reading:
The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan
Still reading:
The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman
Finished reading:
1. The Curiosity by Stephen Kiernan (AVERAGE)
2. The Last Time I Saw Paris by Lynn Sheene (GOOD)
3. Unwind by Neal Shusterman (EXCELLENT)
4. The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty (EXCELLENT)
5. The Rage Against God: How Atheism Led Me to Faith by Peter Hitchens (AMAZING)
6. Champion by Marie Lu (PRETTY GOOD)
7. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink (INCREDIBLE)
8. Cultivating Christian Character by Michael Zigarelli (HO-HUM)
9. Detroit: An American Autopsy by Charlie LeDuff (um...WOW. So amazing and sad)
10. Pressure Points: Twelve Global Issues Shaping the Face of the Church by JD Payne (SO-SO)
11. The Happiness Project: Or Why I spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun. by Gretchen Rubin (GOOD)
12. Reading and Writing Across Content Areas by Roberta Sejnost (SO-SO)
13. Winter of the World by Ken Follet (PRETTY GOOD)
14. The School Revolution: A New Answer for our Broken Education System by Ron Paul (GREAT)
15. Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen (LOVED IT)
16. Beyond the Hole in the Wall: Discover the Power of Self-Organized Learning by Sugata Mitra (GOOD)
17. Can Computers Keep Secrets? - How a Six-Year-Old's Curiosity Could Change the World by Tom Barrett (GOOD)
18. You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You're Deluding Yourself by David McRaney (GOOD)
19. Hollow City by Ransom Riggs (OK)
20. Follow Me by David Platt (GOOD)
21. The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking by Oliver Burkeman (SO-SO)
22. Falls the Shadow by Sharon Kay Penman (OK)
23. A Neglected Grace: Family Worship in the Christian Home by Jason Helopoulos (GOOD)
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2 hour window and they bring it into my kitchen for me. It is HEAVENLY.
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Dead flying ants. Everywhere.
It's been raining quite a bit here and all those huge flying ants come flying in through the windows and doors and then die and leave a mess all over the floor. Thank goodness for tile.
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For the Christians I know, it's usually somewhere between very difficult to impossible to differentiate between the two. Which is why I don't think it's rude/impolite/offensive at all.
And in the context I'm referring to it is most certainly not "blaming God." I can't even wrap my mind around how one could arrive at that interpretation.
I can't imagine a minister/priest who would be offended by it. Certainly none of the ministers I've had experience with would be bothered by it or question it. They would respect it.
Other posters here may have had different experiences, or be coming at this from a different angle. And that's okay.
The OP said her reasons are it is too far away, too small, she doesn't like the sermons and she doesn't like the music. The church is not a fit for her family and that's why she is leaving. She mentioned nothing about a revelation from God telling her it is time to switch churches.
An example of how someone can arrive at "blaming God"? I've got one for you. I have a couple working at my Christian school. They signed a contract to work for two years as new teachers do. But after one year here they just don't like it. The don't like the country and they miss their family and they want to leave. But that means they are breaking contract and going back on their word, and leaving us in a very difficult situation.
They don't like dealing with that guilt so instead they use the Christian trump card of "God is leading us..."
Uh sorry. You are going back on a promise and showing a lack of integrity and leaving a bunch of students without a teacher. God doesn't "lead" people to do stuff like that. That's your own crappy decision so man up and stop blaming God.
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For respectful and least hurtful and least likely to invite follow-up questions I would use simple but vague church speak: "The Lord is leading us to visit other churches."
I'm sorry but I find this offensive unless it is true. Is "The Lord" truly leading you away from the church or is it a decision you have made?
People "blame" God a lot for decisions they make. If you truly feel that going to a different church is what God wants you to do, then fine. But if not, take responsibility for your own decisions.
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Some of the more prestigious international schools are very upfront about requirements to get in, and have no trouble rejecting students they don't think will perform to their standards, just as elite private schools in the US do. These schools have limited student slots and reputations to maintain, if your student doesn't make the cut they are not admitted.
I recently reviewed the admittance standards of an international school I attended in Junior high. The standards were high then but they are even more stringent now, I don't think my kids would have a chance at admission.
I know this is true but I would expect any admissions counselor to have more professionalism than to tell a parent their child couldn't attend because they would drag the test scores down.
We are full and have a waiting list so admissions is a grueling process. I don't enjoy it to be honest. It feels a lot like playing God with a child's future. But it is a necessary thing and when you have 20 kids applying for one open spot you have to figure out a way to differentiate.
However, I would never be so cruel as to say something like that to a parent and no one on my staff would ever do that. Parents have feelings and we show compassion even when we have to say no to someone.
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Amen and amen. He is risen indeed.
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I apologize for generalizing too broadly--I did not intend to offend you or even to disparage these schools or their administrators.
My comments were based on what parents I know have been told by the schools who rejected their children. Your school rejects some special needs children for other reasons--I certainly don't object to your reasons for not accepting some children into your school, but I also did not intend to paint the other schools as "the bad guy." I respect their right, their need, and indeed their duty to do what they believe is in the best interests of their schools and the students they do accept. My intent was to explain what some parents have been told, not to demonize schools that are not set up for special needs students, that are not required to accept them, and that choose not to.
If a staff member at an international school actually told a parent "we are not accepting your special needs child because he might drag our test scores down" then that staff member should be fired. That is reprehensible.
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Regarding international schools and special needs... Let's be careful with the sweeping generalization that these schools don't want your special needs kid around because of cost and test scores. There are other reasons.
For one, lack of staff. Special services teachers are in short supply everywhere and especially so internationally. Also, the transient nature of international school staff means lack of stability in the program.
For instance, let's say your child is autistic and applies to my school. And it just so happens that my special services department has someone who has training in providing services to autistic children. And everything is going well.
However, that teacher is on a 2-year contract (industry standard) and when the contract ends, she leaves. Now I have to fill a special services position, hopefully with someone who has a back ground in autism so I can continue providing services to your child.
But there is a shortage and the only good special services teacher I can find does not have a background in autism...his is in learning disabilities like dyslexia. So now your child, who is not dyslexic, has no one who can provide the services he needs because none of the applicants for the position had an autism background.
So now what do I do? Ask you to pull your child out of the school? Let you continue paying for your child to attend my school even though we cannot provide the services he needs?
I have to think long term. If I accept a child with special needs, I do so with the commitment that I will provide proper services to that child for as long as he is in my school and I do not make promises I can't keep. Therefore I accept children who have mild special needs because I know I can provide services for them no matter what.
That is more often the reason why international schools have limited special services departments. It's not for all these nefarious reasons like test scores. I'm not beholden to NCLB. It is super easy for me to withhold the test scores of certain students if I want to. If I'm so evil and uncaring then I would just take your money, give limited services to your child, then keep their test scores out of the total. Easy peasy.
But I have integrity so I don't take money from people for services I cannot provide.
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I feel very blessed that my children serve God. Obviously, if one is not a Christian, you might not feel the same way. Other people are proud of what their kids do, also. Whether it's an academic accomplishment, a sports award, ... What does it matter? My friend's daughter just won a big dance competition and my friend posted about how lucky she feels to have such a talented daughter. I am happy for her. I don't dissect her motives.Okay, so I'm probably overthinking the mission trip thing.
What about someone posting pictures of his/her kids doing local ministry and saying how blessed they are to have children who serve the Lord?
FB is how I keep in touch with friends and family who are so far from me right now. If we lived closer I'd show them pictures and share my joy over the blessings in my life in person. But I can't. So I do it on FB. If one of my "friends" doesn't like it, if they can't be happy for me and instead spend time suspecting I have ulterior motives, they know where the delete button is.
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INTJ... Heavy on the T and the J.
Introverted by nature but I can play the extrovert at work when I need to.
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I didn't love it the first time I read it but the second time I read it, I really liked it!
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As an INTJ I tend to be pretty literal and goal-oriented. I like specifics. So for me 10 pages is too vague. My ds is the same way so when I assign him papers I am very specific about the number of sources, number quotes or paraphrases, number of examples, and so forth. In his younger years I was even specific about how many adjectives, adverbs, etc. If I didn't he would find new and unique ways to be concise. :)
The key for him and myself is a very detailed outline before writing.
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I think it is a good idea as well and I will also happily donate if there was that option.
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In that interview above, Bundy keeps referencing the federal government and how he obeys state law.
What does the state of Nevada have to say about the land?
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That was horrifying.
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Worth every penny! Of course, a penny goes a lot farther here...
We have a full time maid/nanny/cook. Monday through Friday she does literally everything... The cleaning, the cooking, the laundry and childcare in the afternoon for my dd while I am at work. She leaves on Friday at 5pm and comes back Monday morning at 7pm so I'm on my own for the weekend.
This service costs me RM1600, or about $500, per month.
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People often go through stages as they make a big life change. Sometimes the first phase is outright, and sometimes hostile, rejection of their former way of life. As your dh becomes more confident in his decision and as more time passes, hopefully the scorn and mocking will subside and he won't feel it necessary to do that any more.
For instance, many homeschoolers, after pulling their child from public school, will go through a "public school sucks and everyone should homeschool" phase. I know I did. Subconsciously I just needed to reassure myself that I made the right decision by completely rejecting the former way. However after a few years of homeschooling I was comfortable enough to say "homeschooling is great for my family but public school is a valid choice as well."
This is something you can teach to your dd... that you don't have to be a Christian to realize that scorning and mocking people for their beliefs is hurtful.
As far as swearing and inappropriate TV shows, etc., again, many atheists agree that some television shows should not be viewed by younger people and many atheists don't swear...it's not something only christians believe. I hope your dh doesn't equate being an atheist with being a hedonist?
Examining one's faith is a difficult thing. I am praying for wisdom and peace for you.
Resources or experiences visiting DC
in The Chat Board
Posted
Air and Space Museum on day 1
American History museum on day 2
Spy Museum on day 3
We did a whirlwind trip in DC 2 years ago and these three were our favorites by far! Especially the spy museum. The kids LOVED it.
The Natural History Museum was a dud for us too. Boring.
I love DC! Have fun. :)