To be or not to be...

The president that is.

I have been approached by more than one person to consider the open position of PTA President. I am flattered and humbled and scared by this. While simultaneously I am excited, motivated and inspired to lead with GRACE. The humdinger is that this is an offer to consider the position on the Elementary PTA. The school where I will no longer have any children in attendance. I have been joking all year that I will be the presence at the school next year with no kids . I'll be helping with school pictures and not need to fix my own child's collar. No one seemed too bothered by this scenario but maybe that is because I am just a really well trained warm body and I am willing to do whatever is asked. So the fact that I don't drop a kid off there shouldn't really affect my job/volunteer performance.

So, is it weird? Are they just desperate? Can I add something to this organization to the positive? Will parents think it odd to be represented by a person who is not parenting a child at their school? I suppose as president I am really much more of an organizer than a representative really. I rally the troops. They carry out the tasks.

I have already agreed to being the PTA Treasurer at the Middle School next year. This is a job that scares me too but in very different ways. The treasurer has to submit paperwork to the State Comptroller and the US Treasury. That is SCARY to me. You see people on the news going to prison for messing with the Gov't. I would never intentionally defraud the government but the question is could I do it by accident and be held responsible? Gosh I hope not. It is an important job and one that I have gained much respect for this past year as I helped a friend work through the maze.

So back to the presidency position. Like I said, I am flattered that people see me as a leader. I guess all the leadership training is HS and the Marian College Student Council positions are being put to the test right here and now. I am looking upon the position as an opportunity to serve my community. We don't have strong ties to our church, and am not so inclined to become involved in the community of Frisco, I don't think I am ready for that jump yet. I don't have a full-time job and my kids are becoming increasingly independent. I find that PTA responsibilities certainly do impact our family time in the evenings but... by 7 many people in this house are ready for me to the leave for a bit so it kinda works out. I feel like if you are going to put time behind an organization and still want to be able to prioritize your FAMILY at the drop of a hat or say the spike of a fever then PTA should be a pretty forgiving organization to be involved in.

I adore the elementary school that is just 4 short blocks from my home. I see the kids from there constantly as they are my neighbors, we shop at the same grocery store and their mom's are my dear friends. I support the things they do and I want to remain a part of that. I can move forward with my boys. I can support them in middle school and still have this little elementary nugget that is mine. I will see my kinder friends who I bonded with last year, who are now first graders and will next year be second graders! I will have continued reason to interact with my buddies who call me Mrs. Bakery instead of Mrs. Baker. Or those special friends who slip and call me Miss Susan right in the middle of the hall!

I have spoken with Fred about the potential involvement and he, of course, thinks I am a little wonky for wanting to remain involved. However, he does support me in my habits and addictions and realizes that serving and volunteering is good for my soul. When we spoke at lunch time today he made a couple of very reasonable requests. He wants me to look at both PTA positions as jobs and plan a workday for each position. That is surely more easily said than done but may be a good way to carve out the time.  He of course wants me to try to limit, within reason, the impact these positions have on our family and I totally get that. He asked for me to look into some technology upgrades that would keep the Treasurer info off my computer hard drive and with his AMAZING tech support that request is more than reasonable. I love that man because he loves me and now I don't have to think any more about buying the foreclosure down the street and moving in with all of the other PTA ladies who's husbands are going to put them out because they do too much. That is such a relief. Good luck girls! I'll be sure to come by when you host GNO.

I guess that I have just convinced myself to be.

Blogging on the go!

So i have this wonderful phone that my hubby got me for my birthday last year and i find out today that i can blog right from my phone! Yippee! Hope it works smoothly!

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Boys and their toys...

Nic wanted to get a new Nerf gun today. He had a couple of gift cards from Christmas and maybe even his birthday so he figured he could spend them. Now please recognize that we already have a nice Nerf arsenal upstairs. Each boy only has two hands so I'm uncertain why we would need more than the 5-6 guns we already own. Well, something out there was better somehow and Nic wanted it.

I have tried many times to encourage and discourage certain purchases by my children. Limiting Pokemon cards, YuGiOh cards, Bakugan and most recently Bey Blades. Seems that if I give them an inch and say yes, you may buy one or two that they are unsatisfied and would of course prefer 5 or 6. Will recently used some Valentine's money from his Mamma to buy a double pack of Bey Blades. He then used some saved money to purchase a stadium for the Beys. He was satisfied with those purchases until...

Until Nic wanted a new Nerf gun. Then all the sudden Will was trying to sell me Barnes and Noble gift cards for cash so he could get a new Nerf gun too. I didn't bite. I don't need B&N gift cards and Will doesn't need a new Nerf gun. He needs to realize that they money he chose to spend on Bey Blades two weeks ago and last week impacted his ability to purchase a Nerf gun today. Tough lesson? YOU BET! Good lesson? I HOPE!

What type of mom am I?

So I was watching Good Morning America while I was on the treadmill this morning. Yes, you read right... I was on a treadmill, moving and making progress... And they had a segment about types of mothers. Helicopter, Tiger or Hippie were the options. They had three teenagers, products of the three different mothering types, attesting that they were only better off because of the style their mother had chosen.

I absolutely recognize the helicopter and hippie mom in myself at times.

I deliver lunches when forgotten (but NEVER snacks! Gotta draw the line somewhere). I remind my kids that I haven't signed a practice log or Thursday folder. I ask multiple times if they are sure they really want to sign up for _______ and do they realize the commitment that ______ requires?

On the other hand I let my kids run outside to play and not tell me EXACTLY who they are playing with and for how long. I let my kids ride their bikes to the park 5 blocks away ALONE. I'm crazy like that. A little too free for many who live around me. I even let them pick out their own clothes (although I draw the line at skulls. I refuse to buy clothes with skulls on them).

I just don't see myself as the Tiger Mom. If I were a Tiger mom my kids would be boring. I love that my kids are FUNNY! I mean really really FUNNY! They have great comedic timing and the sarcasm... It is genetic bliss. Tiger moms apparently don't encourage free thinking. They don't even encourage free TIME! I LOVE free time! I live for free time. I got really stressed this past fall when Nic was in the play and Will played baseball. There was NEVER a real conflict but just the fact that there could be stressed me out.

Sounds to me that being a Tiger mom is full-time work and I just love part-time gigs. Just like I enjoy subbing for 1/2 day. Now I do realize that parenting is a full-time job but it is not work. I love my JOB but I hate to WORK! Guess that says plenty about my future earning potential. Lucky for me mothering my two amazing boys pays in DIVIDENDS! Just as the kids on GMA gave their moms each a grade of A for parenting, I think my kids know that I am devoted and proud and feel VERY VERY BLESSED to be responsible for any small part in the amazing people that they are becoming.

Where have the blue boxes gone?

When I was growing up there was a blue mailbox two blocks east of my house. There was another one on a corner near my school and an third a little further by a mall entrance. Of course I could always take mail to the Post office, good old Bacon Station. Or I could simply put my letter in my own mail box where the smiling mailman would pick it up fight from my porch.

So recently I needed to mail a bill, which I don't like leaving in my own mailbox at the curb, and was trying to think about where the closest blue box was. I thought and I thought and that box sits outside of the USPS building 4 miles north east or three miles south west. There aren't blue boxes on any corners between here and there. There isn't one near the school. There isn't one near the mall or even the grocery. There aren't mailboxes anywhere around here except the drives in front of the post office.

That got me thinking about why there are not blue boxes on corners anymore. It surely takes time to stop and unlock and unload a mailbox. The USPS is losing money like some people lose their hair. They need to work smarter not harder so maybe that is why all of the mailboxes are gone. Additionally, there are bad people in this world who look at the USPS as their personal means to an end. They want to use the USPS to do their dirty work for them and deliver bombs or poison to people while they stand back and wait. Maybe you can't drop a letter or package in a blue box any more because the USPS wants to see (and/or record) who sends what packages through their system. Maybe there are many more reasons that the blue boxes are missing. Maybe they are expensive to build? Maybe the blue paint used to keep them bright was lead based? Maybe someone considered them more of an eyesore than a service?

I do not know the answer. There is probably more than one anyway. But I do wish there was a blue box two blocks to my east.

Looking for change in the couch.

My least favorite time of the month is bill paying day. Fred has left this task up to me for a few years. We have passed it back and forth over the life of our marriage. It's my turn but honestly I am almost ready to pass it back to him.

I always find that we are cutting it so close (which is a relative statement). We have never NOT had money for clothes or food or a fun family activity. Fred provides for our family very well and for that we are all so thankful. We have our bills and donations direct withdrawal for the most part so it's not like I am writing a bundle of checks but just clicking the accept button and watching the balance go down and down and down ain't fun.

In reality we are well provided for but I always wish I could respond to every request for funds that comes to my mailbox. St. Judes, the American Heart Association, the homeless shelter, the band boosters. Shall I go on? I suppose I just want to help and know that in order to help others you must help yourself first.

I think the root of this anxiety lies in the fact that I contribute so little financially to our bottom line. I am the primary spender not the primary earner and that is my reality. Not looking to change it but somehow wish that someone would pay me every time I cleaned a toilet, made dinner or folded a load of laundry.  That kind of sounds like I want a job cleaning houses THIS IS NOT THE CASE! I loathe cleaning and would certainly not be worthy of being paid to take on such services.

I suppose the best I can do is continue to sub and keep my personal spending in check and set a good example for my children about prudent spending and prioritizing spending, saving and giving. And if I find a $20 bill in my winter coat from last year that is a bonus that could be shared with the American Heart Association.

The boys are challenged...

This past week or two have been challenging for both boys as they wrap up a grading period, take semester exams and begin taking TAKS practice tests. It often amazes me how hard they work and how successful they are and how seriously they take it all. I mean they aren't slackers and for that I am so proud! My boys are smart but can choose to be lazy or motivated and I am always thrilled when they choose to be motivated!

The schools that the boys attend are both the type that will not let them slack. They are watched and counted and supported and that is GREAT stuff! I just wanted to take a second as Will writes a final copy of a paper on Madame Marie Curie and Nic studies for his final semester test which is Science to acknowledge that I see that they are driven. I see that they put in the time and I know that it is partly my responsibility and but mostly theirs to complete and success and commit! I love my boys!