Different In All The Right Ways

My daughters' education is really important to me. I have tried to do what I can as a parent to facilitate the importance of learning being imprinted in their young minds. I am no rocket scientist. But over the years I have learned that I am a whole lot smarter, stronger and tenacious than I ever gave myself credit for growing up. I wonder what could have been if I would have believed in myself? What potential I could have tapped? (With that said, I firmly believe it's never too late to turn a new leaf. I don't live in the past.) So when what is coming home from my daughter's school is invitations to test for the gifted program or straight A report cards, I find myself proud of them. Proud of them for taking the wonder of learning seriously. For caring to give their full potential a chance at coming to fruition.

But then I have those moments where my pride is magnified even further, when I realize that my girls are growing not only into good students, but good people. They are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. None of us are. But their cores contain amazing goodness. In them I see people who aren't afraid to march to the beat of their own drum, regardless of what the crowd is doing. I see people who are willing to do the right thing. People who have their priorities, even at this young age, straight.

One night as Justin and I were sitting on the couch, after the girls had gone to bed, we talked about all the ways they were different than other kids their age. Like how Maryn isn't concerned with being popular, she is concerned with being herself and seeking to be a friend to the friendless. She had a tough time last year navigating the social world of school. This year she made the decision all on her own, to go into this year with her head held high. Confident in who she is. It doesn't bother her if girls are dramatic or if her best friends at school are guys. She is comfortable with who she is and what she does.

Brynna wondered out loud one day "Why do people make a big deal out of what you wear? You go to school to learn. It's not a fashion show!" This is the child that fought me on uniforms last year and now loves them. I have had people tell me years ago "Oh wait until they get to those years where all they want is Abercrombie and Justice!" I got sucked into the labels when I was younger and the labels never brought me happiness. I am glad that Brynna is learning that what is important is not what is superficially projected from the outside, but what we are nurturing on the inside. One of her goals this year is to be a STRIVE student. STRIVE is a program at the kids' school that seeks to teach and develop positive character traits. STRIVE students are those chosen out of the student body that exemplify the purpose of the program. I'm glad Brynna knows that it's important to take care of our bodies and our appearance. But what we look like doesn't make us a better person.

One day the girls and I were watching videos about an outreach in India that supports leper colonies in bettering their lives. (Rising Star Outreach) When Maryn was a baby I sponsored one of those sweet kids and yearned to be able to go to India and volunteer. As our family grew and my focus turned to them, that dream grew distant in my mind. So it was really cool, all these years later, sitting there with my daughters watching these videos and seeing the same spark ignited in them. Maryn said it would be good to sponsor one of those kids for Christmas instead of getting a bunch of presents. We talked about how we could develop our talents to help bless the lives of others. We daydreamed of all of us going together someday. That moment made my heart full.

And grateful.

That in a world that tries to pigeon-hole you, define you and tell you who you are supposed to be, I have daughters who are learning to be themselves. To be different in all the right ways.

School Choice

An Associated Press photographer took this picture of Maryn and it was featured as Good Morning America's Photo of the Day. Pretty cool if you ask me!

This morning I had the opportunity to attend the School Choice Rally at the Georgia State Capitol. It was the first ever rally of any kind I have ever attended and it was such a great experience.

We were so grateful for the blue skies we got after so much soggy rain lately!

I am not a very politically minded individual. (I know, I should be better informed, but raising four kids...some things get put on the back burner.) But education and specifically my children's education is something that is very important to me.

Our friends, Asa and Ivy Speidel, Maryn, Brynna and Brynnie's buddy Olivia

Which is why Maryn, Brynna, our friends the Speidel's and I made the trek to downtown Atlanta today; to let politicians in the state of Georgia know that we, as parents, want to be able to choose what we feel is the right educational fit for our children.

Maryn and Brynna attend a charter school, so it is important to me to protect our right to be able to continue with a charter school education. In our area the public schools are actually pretty good (although that is not the case elsewhere in Atlanta.) I have many friends near us who are very pleased with their public school experience and some who are not. I also have a handful of friends that Homeschool. I love that despite our different opinions, needs or expectations, each one of us has had the freedom to choose what we deem to be the right environment for our children. To me that is something worth protecting and worth speaking out for.

Brynna and Olivia, those two are just a hoot together! I love the silly looks they get on their faces!

If you haven't watched the documentary 'Waiting for Superman', put it in your Netflix queue and watch it. (Watch the trailer here.) It really resonated with me because growing up I didn't realize there were or should be choices. I did have a handful of good teachers, but overall I was grouped in with a herd of teachers who really didn't care. I didn't realize then that I shouldn't have to settle for that. I didn't realize that I had potential that no one was willing to see or nurture.

I had a great teacher, Mrs. Minor, in the 5th grade who was thoughtful and really helped encourage my strong suits. But it wasn't until my Senior year in high school that I again encountered a teacher who made a difference in my life. A teacher who saw something in me and went out of her way to tell me so. She was Mrs. Schmidt, my Dental Assisting instructor at a vocational school I was attending in addition to my regular high school. (I was receiving dual credits.) I was so sick of being overlooked at my high school. So sick of no one caring. Then out of nowhere, Valerie Schmidt noticed me and made a difference.

This choir of kids from a local Atlanta academy were simply amazing. Their voices were so moving and I was privileged enough to be standing right next to them!

That vocational program was a godsend for me. It got me out of my crappy high school for half of the day and put me in an environment where I flourished. I was actually challenged and learning new things as opposed to being disregarded by teachers who were happy to read a newspaper rather than instruct. Most importantly though for the first time in a long time I felt valued and encouraged. In retrospect I am so thankful that I had that choice. To leave the school that wasn't working and find something better for me. I had beat myself up for many years after graduation for only having a vocational education. However, recently Justin showed me a Congressional testimony that Mike Rowe gave on vocational occupations that really changed my thoughts on my perceived inadequacies in my vocational education.

The bottom line is, I want my girls to do or be whatever they want to. Whether it's a lawyer, a doctor, a journalist, an artist, or even a dental assistant. I want for them if their desire is to go to college, for there never to be a question of that being supported. If they choose a vocational education, I hope they will know it was by choice because it fulfills them and not because they were made to feel they weren't good enough or prepared enough for other options. I want them to do what makes them happy. I want them to feel the stream of encouraging support throughout their entire educational journey. Not just in brief patches here and there. I want them in a place that holds teachers accountable. I want them in a place that is only open as long as it is producing good results in the lives of it's students. I want to have the peace of mind as their mother in knowing that I did everything I could to give them the tools necessary to achieve their ambitions and that is why I rallied today to have a CHOICE.

Watch local news coverage of the event here. I was caught hootin' and hollerin' in the crowd in one of the shots!