Sunday, September 25, 2011

I'm Writing This Post For Extra-Credit

Note: Thank you all for your support after my last post.  I'm working through what I have to work through.  I have a good support system in place, including all of my blogging friends.  Thank you, again, for caring :)


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I was dubbed a “brain” almost instantly in school, a namesake that never left me, even when I struggled in certain subjects.

Calculus?  You can stay, but I’m leaving. 


I entered kindergarten already knowing how to read, so my teachers set me up as a “helper” to buddy up with kids who weren’t reading yet to help them.

I spent months in seventh grade carrying around a tattered copy of “Gone With The Wind,” my new favorite book. It was this ancient blue hardbound copy that my grandmother once owned, and I was asked by more than one fellow pupil if that was a Bible I was carrying around.

Not Jesus.  

I always missed a couple weeks of school each year to attend dance conferences and competitions.  During these absences I insisted on doing extra credit-work, even when the teacher required no extra-credit work whatsoever.

Oh, how I loved extra-credit work.  It was like insurance, should a disastrous “B” come my way.


Nooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!


So now that Preschooler is finally living up to her namesake, and entering preschool, I have a hard time holding back.  I want to be room mom, on the PTA, and a field trip volunteer, even though it isn’t feasible for me to be all those things, seeing as I have Toddler at home to contend with.
But that doesn’t stop me from believing I could, nay, should be all these things.  

I just have to keep reminding myself that there is no winner of preschool.  It’s meant to be fun, and I’m not going to suck that fun out of it just because I’m fighting off my own impossible determination to be perfect.

I always thought school was fun.  I hope she does too.

13 comments:

Ixy said...

LOL not Jesus - awesome!! I could have written this post, although my daughter's not old enough for preschool yet. I hope she loves school as much as I did too.

Angela@BeggingTheAnswer said...

@I'm so excited every day to find out what Preschooler did at school. I'm such a dork.

Anonymous said...

The girl just started Pre-K a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, she takes after me, so when you ask the question "What did you do today?" she merely shrugs and says, "Nothing."

Angela@BeggingTheAnswer said...

@Joshua - i'm sure the days of "nothing" are fast approaching. I'll take what I can get.

Betty Fokker said...

Lilo was known as the "Living Encyclopedia" in kindergarten. I was also a "brain" in school ... but with it came depression and a slew of other stuff associated with a high IQ. If I could make her a little less smart in exchange for never getting depression, I would! 'Tis a mixed blessing, no?

Anonymous said...

Pick one of those things and be the winner at it! That way you get the validation but not the stress of being overbooked.;)

chemgirljaime said...

reading is awesome.. I remember reading Anne of Green Gables, Little Women and Pride and Prejudice when I was young... it's something that sticks with you for years.

I'm sure you could do a couple of the things for school without burning out too much.. just don't do it all... as much as that's hard to do, believe me.

Angela@BeggingTheAnswer said...

@Betty - mixed blessing, indeed.

@mamamash -I always seem to overbook myself. Good advice!

@Chemgirl - reading definitely sticks with you for a lifetime. I love that I'm able to pass on some childhood favorites to my children.

TexaGermaFinlaNadian said...

Your enthusiasm and love for her school will show her that it IS fun in school :)

jacqui said...

I agree with Julie that you should pick one thing you can do without becoming totally stressed out.

I'm sure your daughter loves how excited you are to hear about what happened at school!

Angela@BeggingTheAnswer said...

@TexaGermanNadian - awesome :)

@jacqui - As long as they don't assign me the task of baking cookies, I think I'll be ok.

The Sisters' Hood said...

Enjoy the stuff you can attend.
Trust me.
Having been room mom, and field trip advisor, and party planner - its not that much fun and I believe I likened the PTA to a coven in a post once ;)

Just enjoy :)

Angela@BeggingTheAnswer said...

@By Word of Mouth - I've heard horror stories about PTA's. Time will tell!