A#1

to quote my sister.

So this is my first blog post...and i wonder how many blog posts start out with those exact words! something for tim to look up later. I'm not really sure what my purpose of this is and hopefully it stays off the radar for a while. i'm just testing out the idea of speaking my mind, no matter what it is, on line instead of chewing someone's ear off. nothing i like more than seeing someone literally lose interest before my very eyes! sheesh

anywho, my first thought is about being a parent to an elementary school kid. i'm a room parent. this means that whenever someone needs the participation of the parents of my class i am the point person between the requesting party (pta, etc) and the 'rents. it's a job that requires literally no effort but for 1 or 2 times a year. of course this pending task is mentioned up front but when the time actually arrives to be the leader to a bunch of parents you've only waved hello to in the morning the pressure sets in. coordinating a bunch of strangers to pony up money/effort/time or whatever is fairly awkward. of course the anxiety is all in my mind and things always turn out just fine but when 1 (or sometimes 2) individuals feel pressure like this it makes me wonder if the teachers appreciate the effort some parents go to in order to help out. i mean, i can't even imagine what i'd do if i couldn't afford to drop 50 bones on some teacher lunch once the time came. the guilt i'd feel for failing as a participant when i'd vowed to be one from the beginning. again, i can see the eyes rolling but that's really how i feel about things like that. when i say i'm going to do something that others are relying on i beat myself up about really coming through. i get so little back sometimes that i wonder if the teachers/administration really appreciate the individual parents' efforts. and how do they show that in return??