I can remember it like it was yesterday. There I sat on my front steps—a picture perfect, golden autumn day was unfolding all around us as my then 5-year old daughter stepped off the Kindergarten bus for the very first time. Another milestone had just taken place. My oldest child had temporarily left the nest for 4.5 hours so she could get a better handle on learning the alphabet, her primary colors and other worldly matters such as how to maneuver her very first backpack!
After just one short week of this incredible thing called school, I soon discovered two very important things—4.5 hours really isn’t that much time at all, and if I wanted to be in the know about all the goings on that take place in that blink of time the answers could always be found in that oversized pouch—the backpack. Because she was our first to venture off to school via the big yellow bus, the only communication I had with her new world was stashed in that sack. The first few weeks I unpacked it lovingly—oohing and aahing over each juice spattered Tempera painting she created on the school easel (exactly where all painting projects should take place), gently checked her lunch box to make sure she had eaten her snack (a decade ago it was ok to send Twinkies or chips), and always, always sat down to quietly read all the paperwork that was sent home from the teacher (my heart skipping a beat when I eagerly signed up to be the coveted room mother).
Seven kids later that ritual went right out the window, along with the Twinkies and chips, and as soon as they hit middle school the chances of getting anyplace near their sacred backpacks was about as likely as getting them to take a hardboiled egg to school to accommodate today’s healthy snack policy.
Most communication between school and family comes to a crashing halt during these and the high school years, so to this day I am so grateful that I didn’t take for granted the sheer ecstasy I received those many years ago when I received our oldest daughter’s very first and all important field trip permission slip! I knew immediately it was something special and not just the everyday ditto that came down the pike. You see, it was copied on orange paper and it was glowing with adorable pumpkins and a few festive bales of hay. You guessed it! The Kindergarten kids were going on their very first field trip—to the pumpkin patch!
I could barely catch my breath before I caught glimpse of the bold text glaring at me from the bottom of the page—“No Parents Allowed”. Chaperones would not be necessary this time, but the teacher assured us that plenty of other opportunities would be there for the parental taking. (Be careful what you wish for—12 years later I’ve ridden that big yellow bus loaded with boisterous cherubs to more museums and outings than I ever could’ve hoped for!)
As families across America surround themselves with freshly sharpened # 2 pencils, overpriced new sneakers and a rainbow of canvas backpacks I, too, have purchased a few back-to-school supplies of my own, starting with an un creased, blank 5-subject notebook and a shiny blue sharpie. Nope, I don’t plan on taking any classes this fall, but after reminiscing back to my oldest daughter’s first year in Kindergarten I realized I’ve been missing out on an unbelievable opportunity each September—field trips—not for the school youngsters—for me, the parent, as in “No Kids Allowed”!
I sat and daydreamed about all the places I, a fun-loving fresh off a 10-week summer vacation parent, would like to spend some “me” time (other than the loony bin) and within moments, my new blue sharpie was practically dry! I’ve got dozens of places I’d like to go visit during this upcoming school year as well as some new things I’d love to try. Destinations as simple as taking a picnic lunch, a good book and one of those contraptions people actually sit in on the sand, a chair I believe, to the beach to catching the train to Boston and meeting my husband for lunch where catsup isn’t the main course. And as crazy as this may sound, I’m going to try and make one new recipe a week from scratch for the entire school year starting with homemade apple dumplings, using apples I pick from the orchard, of course!
We look at New Year’s Eve as a magical marker for making resolutions that will improve our individual lifestyles—why not back-to-school as well? A brand new school year is an incredible opportunity for everyone who wishes to take stock in their current lives—including people who don’t have children. There is an eagerness to learn in the air as well as excitement in getting to know new friends and teachers.
What a great time for young and old alike to go within and decide if our life grades are up to snuff. I know there are several areas in my life where I’d like to strive for a few more A+’s especially where the subject matter is trying new things and exploring new places. I’m just so glad I don’t need an official permission slip to get started—or have to rely on a school bus laden with children to get me there.
As my wonderful husband loves to say around here......."Every Day is Good....Some are Better!" Follow my life as the adoring, yet sometimes harried mother of eight----proud owner of the wonder girdle and chia bra!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
The ABC's of Back To School--Best Advice from Teachers and Parents for an A+ School Year
New lunchboxes—check. Crayons and markers—check. Notebooks, binders, glue sticks—check. You’ve gone to all the back-to-school sales and loaded your pupils up with the right tools to get their new year of learning off to a great start. If only it were that easy—sharpening a dozen # 2 pencils and sending them off to a carefree, fun-filled new year of school.
Parents and teachers that are embarking on yet another new school year know better. It’s an exciting time for sure, but it’s also one of the most stressful seasons that families face each year as well. If you’re looking for some great advice on a smoother transition from the lazy days of summer to the schedule oriented months ahead, here is a report card full of A+ tips from some local teachers and parents that can help.
Students of All Ages
· Establish a school-year sleep routine. This may sound quite elementary, but the consensus amongst teachers at all grade levels is in reference to getting enough sleep. Approximately two weeks before those school bells ring, parents should begin to wean their children off of their summer bedtime routines and ease into an earlier regimen where TV and electronics are off at a reasonable time, personal hygiene care such as showering and brushing teeth are taken care of and then they can have some quiet time before heading off to dreamland.
· Plan a fun family day before school starts to make the most of the summer and prevent back-to-school blues.
· Read! Our Class-A teachers couldn’t stress enough--read, read, read! Although students receive a summer reading list, parents can be instrumental in keeping their kids on task by encouraging them to read not only throughout the course of the summer but during the rest of the year too. If this means trading computer or iPod time for 45 minutes of page turning per day—by all means, do it! For younger children, you’ve heard it before—snuggle in and read to your child often—it is that important!
· Do not take too much stock in "hear say" about certain teachers. Every child is different and while personalities meshing are certainly important both our teachers and parents highly recommend not listening to your neighbor’s opinion of why one teacher is better than another. If there is a particular concern you have about your child’s learning style, a personality quirk, an anxiety issue etc, communication is key. Start the new year off with a note (or e-mail if appropriate) to your child’s teacher addressing any of these issues so he/she can help your child have a pleasant and confident start to the new year.
· Get it ready the night before. Taking a few minutes the night before school to organize backpacks, homework, lunches, gym clothes, musical instruments, field trip slips etc. can add years to your life! This small investment can prevent that stressful chaos of wondering if Tommy’s left sneaker is actually buried in his closet or is hidden in the toy box. Get your kids involved so they too can breathe easier when the morning rush hits.
· Attend Open Houses. Most schools hold an Open House at the beginning of the school year for parents to meet their child’s teacher(s) and visit the classroom. This is an excellent opportunity to introduce yourself and say hello but our teachers have all noted that the Open House visit is not the time to conference with them about your child’s progress or other such matters.
· Get to know the principals and the office staff. This little gem was something many parents have found invaluable. Whether you have one child or several attending the school, it’s always helpful to introduce yourself to the principals and the school office staff. These people will be interacting with your children also, so help them put a parental face to your child’s name. Remember—it takes a village to raise a child!
Elementary School Students
· Be reassuring. One of the best pieces of advice that our group of teachers have offered is to simply tell your children that they will be fine! Talk with your kids a couple of weeks in advance about what to expect as they head back to school and seek their input as to what they are looking forward to as well as what they might be concerned with. The end of summer is a great time to encourage them to reconnect with school buddies they may not have seen during vacation. Several parents recommend letting your children make a scrapbook or journal of favorite summertime events to share with friends and teachers when the kids return to school as a bit of an ice breaker.
· Visit your child’s classroom before school starts. This tip was high on the list from all our elementary and middle school teachers when asked what parents can do to help anxiety ridden youngsters that are nervous about beginning a new school year. During the end of summer vacation teachers are setting up their classrooms by organizing the different centers, decorating bulletin boards, arranging desks and furniture. If it is okay with your individual school, arrange to drop in and introduce your child to his/her new teacher. They will have some quiet time to interact with the teacher as well as a chance to roam the classroom and become familiar with their new learning environment.
· Set the stage. Spend time thinking together about quiet time and reading and work space in the house. Choose special places, like corners of rooms, or certain tables or chairs, to show your kids that you'll help them find space where they can do the things that matter, like reading and homework.
· Resist the urge to involve your child (or yourself) in everything. Parents get bombarded with beginning-of-the-year paperwork including many pamphlets advising of all the after school clubs, sports and programs available. Give both your child and yourself several weeks to settle into the new school routine before signing up for everything that comes down the pike. Know your child’s limits and better yet, know your own before committing to too many activities!
· Volunteer in the classroom. If your child’s classroom is looking for parent volunteers and you have the time and desire, sign up. It means a lot to your child and it can be very rewarding to work with his/her new friends as well as helps you form a closer relationship with the teacher.
· Freeze the juice boxes. Our savvy parents freeze their children’s juice boxes the night before and then place one in the lunch each morning, and it keeps the whole lunch cold until cafeteria time.
· Keepsake photos. Whether you are a scrapbooker or not, several parents love the idea of taking a photo of their cherubs on the first day of school holding a sign stating the date of the first day of school and the grade. This is fun to do on the last day of school as well, that way you can really see how much your child has changed and grown. Keep a box of Kleenex handy!
Middle School and High School Students
· Label everything clearly. Color-code for different subjects--green folder, book cover, and notebook for science, yellow for English etc.
· Make an instant hit with the teacher by sending in a note to ask if there are any needed supplies in the classroom that they could use. Science teachers, for example can always use donations of things like paper towels and Windex or Fantastic!
· Make your teenager smile (or blush!) by packing her/his sandwich in a Hello Kitty or Spiderman baggie. And yes, a few notes of encouragement packed in their lunches throughout the school year never hurts either.
· Never fall for the “I don’t have any homework” line. It’s not always easy for the parents of middle and high school aged students to know exactly what’s going on in each of their child’s individual classes. If you continue to hear from your child that he/she doesn’t have any homework, be pro-active and check in via e-mail with the teacher to make sure your child is exactly where he/she should be. Don’t wait for progress reports to come out—by then it might be too late.
· Cell phones and texting. The majority of students in middle and high school have cell phones that they bring to school each day. While communicating with parents during the school day is sometimes necessary, texting throughout the day back and forth is a big distraction to your student, those around him and the teacher. There is a time and a place for texting, parents need to be respectful of this and encourage their children to be respectful as well.
· Think in terms of rectangles. One of our middle school teachers likes to refer to rectangles in the context of school readiness. Books and soccer fields are powerful rectangles as well as dinner tables and basketball courts, but video games, Xbox, iPhones and other unsupervised computer access are less healthy choices that do not promote academic success for most children. Suggestions: Set time limits for screens. Look over the phone bills and note the times texts are sent...more than five texts during school hours is too many. Texting late into the night has also been observed as an explanation often for sleep deprived, cranky students. Monitor rectangles and praise your child for the books read and time spent doing social things.
· Parental support. Many teachers are parents as well. They realize the many balls that parents are juggling on the home front and are committed to helping your child be the best student he/she can be and are most appreciative of the support families extend to them throughout the school year.
Back to School Shopping
Let’s face it, each year the back-to-school sales start earlier and earlier. This year, ads were being run on the 4th of July! New supplies are necessary, and it’s always fun to have some new items in our children’s school wardrobes, but our smart and frugal bunch of teachers and parents hope you’ll pay attention to their advice on this highly overrated subject below:
· Don’t shop the sales until you know exactly what your child’s teacher wants. Some schools will post the needed supplies on the school website prior to the first day of school, but most teachers will send a list of necessary items home within the first few days of school. Here are a few key items to keep in mind:
· Backpacks: practical and simple. Always consider the size of your child. The pack should not ride on your child’s bottom. It should sit on the back.
· Writing instruments: Good old fashion #2 yellow pencils, these are a pencil sharpener’s best love. (These also make an excellent teacher gift!) Mechanical pencils are great for the older kids as long as you keep them amply supplied with refills.
· Crayons, Markers, Colored pencils: The deluxe sets are not needed in the classroom. Start with a basic supply. Chances are high that by the winter holidays they have lost them all and will need replacing.
· Folders and Binders: Although school supply stores provide a suggestion list, here you are better off waiting to hear from your child’s teacher.
While back-to-school does present its share of harried and stressful moments, it’s also an exciting time of year to celebrate your child’s individual growth and learning. New skills will be learned, new friendships made and milestones both small and large will be met throughout the new school year. Local Physical Education teacher and author of Mother Daze, Christine Carr, shares a passage from her book that will surely make you smile—In a letter sent home to parents from a school's principal: "If you promise not to believe everything your child says happens at this school, we will promise not to believe everything he says happens at home.". “A good education takes time to unfold but teachers can't do it alone -- it takes a team effort: child, parent, and teacher. With everyone on board, our children will certainly be ready to take flight and experience the valued benefits of a quality education.”
Parents and teachers that are embarking on yet another new school year know better. It’s an exciting time for sure, but it’s also one of the most stressful seasons that families face each year as well. If you’re looking for some great advice on a smoother transition from the lazy days of summer to the schedule oriented months ahead, here is a report card full of A+ tips from some local teachers and parents that can help.
Students of All Ages
· Establish a school-year sleep routine. This may sound quite elementary, but the consensus amongst teachers at all grade levels is in reference to getting enough sleep. Approximately two weeks before those school bells ring, parents should begin to wean their children off of their summer bedtime routines and ease into an earlier regimen where TV and electronics are off at a reasonable time, personal hygiene care such as showering and brushing teeth are taken care of and then they can have some quiet time before heading off to dreamland.
· Plan a fun family day before school starts to make the most of the summer and prevent back-to-school blues.
· Read! Our Class-A teachers couldn’t stress enough--read, read, read! Although students receive a summer reading list, parents can be instrumental in keeping their kids on task by encouraging them to read not only throughout the course of the summer but during the rest of the year too. If this means trading computer or iPod time for 45 minutes of page turning per day—by all means, do it! For younger children, you’ve heard it before—snuggle in and read to your child often—it is that important!
· Do not take too much stock in "hear say" about certain teachers. Every child is different and while personalities meshing are certainly important both our teachers and parents highly recommend not listening to your neighbor’s opinion of why one teacher is better than another. If there is a particular concern you have about your child’s learning style, a personality quirk, an anxiety issue etc, communication is key. Start the new year off with a note (or e-mail if appropriate) to your child’s teacher addressing any of these issues so he/she can help your child have a pleasant and confident start to the new year.
· Get it ready the night before. Taking a few minutes the night before school to organize backpacks, homework, lunches, gym clothes, musical instruments, field trip slips etc. can add years to your life! This small investment can prevent that stressful chaos of wondering if Tommy’s left sneaker is actually buried in his closet or is hidden in the toy box. Get your kids involved so they too can breathe easier when the morning rush hits.
· Attend Open Houses. Most schools hold an Open House at the beginning of the school year for parents to meet their child’s teacher(s) and visit the classroom. This is an excellent opportunity to introduce yourself and say hello but our teachers have all noted that the Open House visit is not the time to conference with them about your child’s progress or other such matters.
· Get to know the principals and the office staff. This little gem was something many parents have found invaluable. Whether you have one child or several attending the school, it’s always helpful to introduce yourself to the principals and the school office staff. These people will be interacting with your children also, so help them put a parental face to your child’s name. Remember—it takes a village to raise a child!
Elementary School Students
· Be reassuring. One of the best pieces of advice that our group of teachers have offered is to simply tell your children that they will be fine! Talk with your kids a couple of weeks in advance about what to expect as they head back to school and seek their input as to what they are looking forward to as well as what they might be concerned with. The end of summer is a great time to encourage them to reconnect with school buddies they may not have seen during vacation. Several parents recommend letting your children make a scrapbook or journal of favorite summertime events to share with friends and teachers when the kids return to school as a bit of an ice breaker.
· Visit your child’s classroom before school starts. This tip was high on the list from all our elementary and middle school teachers when asked what parents can do to help anxiety ridden youngsters that are nervous about beginning a new school year. During the end of summer vacation teachers are setting up their classrooms by organizing the different centers, decorating bulletin boards, arranging desks and furniture. If it is okay with your individual school, arrange to drop in and introduce your child to his/her new teacher. They will have some quiet time to interact with the teacher as well as a chance to roam the classroom and become familiar with their new learning environment.
· Set the stage. Spend time thinking together about quiet time and reading and work space in the house. Choose special places, like corners of rooms, or certain tables or chairs, to show your kids that you'll help them find space where they can do the things that matter, like reading and homework.
· Resist the urge to involve your child (or yourself) in everything. Parents get bombarded with beginning-of-the-year paperwork including many pamphlets advising of all the after school clubs, sports and programs available. Give both your child and yourself several weeks to settle into the new school routine before signing up for everything that comes down the pike. Know your child’s limits and better yet, know your own before committing to too many activities!
· Volunteer in the classroom. If your child’s classroom is looking for parent volunteers and you have the time and desire, sign up. It means a lot to your child and it can be very rewarding to work with his/her new friends as well as helps you form a closer relationship with the teacher.
· Freeze the juice boxes. Our savvy parents freeze their children’s juice boxes the night before and then place one in the lunch each morning, and it keeps the whole lunch cold until cafeteria time.
· Keepsake photos. Whether you are a scrapbooker or not, several parents love the idea of taking a photo of their cherubs on the first day of school holding a sign stating the date of the first day of school and the grade. This is fun to do on the last day of school as well, that way you can really see how much your child has changed and grown. Keep a box of Kleenex handy!
Middle School and High School Students
· Label everything clearly. Color-code for different subjects--green folder, book cover, and notebook for science, yellow for English etc.
· Make an instant hit with the teacher by sending in a note to ask if there are any needed supplies in the classroom that they could use. Science teachers, for example can always use donations of things like paper towels and Windex or Fantastic!
· Make your teenager smile (or blush!) by packing her/his sandwich in a Hello Kitty or Spiderman baggie. And yes, a few notes of encouragement packed in their lunches throughout the school year never hurts either.
· Never fall for the “I don’t have any homework” line. It’s not always easy for the parents of middle and high school aged students to know exactly what’s going on in each of their child’s individual classes. If you continue to hear from your child that he/she doesn’t have any homework, be pro-active and check in via e-mail with the teacher to make sure your child is exactly where he/she should be. Don’t wait for progress reports to come out—by then it might be too late.
· Cell phones and texting. The majority of students in middle and high school have cell phones that they bring to school each day. While communicating with parents during the school day is sometimes necessary, texting throughout the day back and forth is a big distraction to your student, those around him and the teacher. There is a time and a place for texting, parents need to be respectful of this and encourage their children to be respectful as well.
· Think in terms of rectangles. One of our middle school teachers likes to refer to rectangles in the context of school readiness. Books and soccer fields are powerful rectangles as well as dinner tables and basketball courts, but video games, Xbox, iPhones and other unsupervised computer access are less healthy choices that do not promote academic success for most children. Suggestions: Set time limits for screens. Look over the phone bills and note the times texts are sent...more than five texts during school hours is too many. Texting late into the night has also been observed as an explanation often for sleep deprived, cranky students. Monitor rectangles and praise your child for the books read and time spent doing social things.
· Parental support. Many teachers are parents as well. They realize the many balls that parents are juggling on the home front and are committed to helping your child be the best student he/she can be and are most appreciative of the support families extend to them throughout the school year.
Back to School Shopping
Let’s face it, each year the back-to-school sales start earlier and earlier. This year, ads were being run on the 4th of July! New supplies are necessary, and it’s always fun to have some new items in our children’s school wardrobes, but our smart and frugal bunch of teachers and parents hope you’ll pay attention to their advice on this highly overrated subject below:
· Don’t shop the sales until you know exactly what your child’s teacher wants. Some schools will post the needed supplies on the school website prior to the first day of school, but most teachers will send a list of necessary items home within the first few days of school. Here are a few key items to keep in mind:
· Backpacks: practical and simple. Always consider the size of your child. The pack should not ride on your child’s bottom. It should sit on the back.
· Writing instruments: Good old fashion #2 yellow pencils, these are a pencil sharpener’s best love. (These also make an excellent teacher gift!) Mechanical pencils are great for the older kids as long as you keep them amply supplied with refills.
· Crayons, Markers, Colored pencils: The deluxe sets are not needed in the classroom. Start with a basic supply. Chances are high that by the winter holidays they have lost them all and will need replacing.
· Folders and Binders: Although school supply stores provide a suggestion list, here you are better off waiting to hear from your child’s teacher.
While back-to-school does present its share of harried and stressful moments, it’s also an exciting time of year to celebrate your child’s individual growth and learning. New skills will be learned, new friendships made and milestones both small and large will be met throughout the new school year. Local Physical Education teacher and author of Mother Daze, Christine Carr, shares a passage from her book that will surely make you smile—In a letter sent home to parents from a school's principal: "If you promise not to believe everything your child says happens at this school, we will promise not to believe everything he says happens at home.". “A good education takes time to unfold but teachers can't do it alone -- it takes a team effort: child, parent, and teacher. With everyone on board, our children will certainly be ready to take flight and experience the valued benefits of a quality education.”
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
You've Got Text
Well, now I’ve gone and done it, not that I really had much of a choice. After adamantly holding steadfast that pigs would fly before Cheryl L. Butler learned to text, I caved during baseball season and let my fingers do the talking. This isn’t something I’m necessarily proud of, but if I wanted to be at the right baseball field to see the right kid play at the right time on any given day for the past four months, my only shot was to pull out my cell phone, my magnifying glass and learn to do what most adolescents, and savvy adults can do blindfolded—send a text message.
How hard could it be, I thought? I can type nearly 100 words per minute, so texting couldn’t possibly be any different. Maybe not if your Tinker Bell, but if you own a cell phone that is as old as George Washington’s wooden teeth like I did, finding the letters on each tiny key and then figuring out how many times to press that silly little key to get the correct letter to pop up was near maddening. If I was going to be successful at this, I needed to call in the Big Dogs, one of my teens.
First, you need to know that my cell phone was at least 8 or so years old. This boggles most people’s minds, but you must remember that as a mother of 8, talking on the telephone is quite foreign to me. If I am to have any type of a lucid discussion with anyone—be it the folks from that fabulous new resort in the West Indies calling to tell me I had won a free vacation for four, or my own husband needing a reminder of what he was suppose to be bringing home in a brown paper bag en route from work, the chances of actually exchanging intelligent conversation without chaos in the background is zilch.
That said, I could’ve cared less if I ever made a call from my closet, never mind from my car on a cell phone. Then something unbelievable happened—my kids started growing up! They were no longer just playing in the backyard or over at the neighbor’s house. They had the gall to decide they wanted to join things! Sporting teams, after-school programs, summer jobs—all these wonderful opportunities that I could no longer offer them from home so with that came their next step of independence—getting their own cell phones.
I fought this off as long as I could but soon realized that I was only hurting myself. Communication is key with our kids today, so my husband and I painfully came on board to the world of cell phones and family plans. Better late than never! Though texting seems to come naturally to many, I found it to be as frustrating as standing up on a greased surf board. (No, I don’t surf!) It took a bit of work, but I finally did it. Sent my very first text to my son which I believe was the following: Hi, Love Mom. Short and sweet and it only took me 10 minutes.
With that, word spread like wildfire that Cheryl L. Butler had learned to text and before I could get my phone back in my purse, I began receiving so many messages I thought sure my new nickname would soon be Alexander Graham Bell. There was only one problem however, I couldn’t understand them!
For you regular texters out there, you already know that texting has its very own language. For newbies like me, however, it is much like learning French or Spanish. I “no speaka the text” so reading the following was quite frustrating:
Hwru? DdUheAd PTA mtg wz movDagn? Let’s gt2gtha wen skool gets ot. Ive so mch 2 telu. U won’t bleeve w@ hapned @d clb yesterday. I cUd Jst di! Don’t wrk 2 hrd. Ive 2 run. Bbacinabit. ?4U, so cll me. MsU! Is it Chardonnay or Mrlo 4U deez days? LOL
Translation:
How are you? Did you hear the PTA meeting was moved again? Let’s get together when school gets out. I have so much to tell you. You won’t believe what happened at the club yesterday—I could just die! Don’t work too hard. I have to run. Be back in a bit. I have a question for you, so call me! Miss you! Is it Chardonnay or Merlot for you these days? Laugh out loud!
2.5 billion text messages are sent in the USA each day so obviously texting is much more than a trend. While I’m slowly learning the lingo and my way around my new and highly sophisticated cell phone , and am grateful to have an instant way to keep in touch with my kids when they are out and about, I doubt I’ll ever rely on texting as my major means of communication. Texting may be hands on and convenient but it has its time and place besides, it can never replace the adrenaline rush I get while making a dental appointment from our landline with a dog and a gaggle of kids going bonkers in the background, LOL!
How hard could it be, I thought? I can type nearly 100 words per minute, so texting couldn’t possibly be any different. Maybe not if your Tinker Bell, but if you own a cell phone that is as old as George Washington’s wooden teeth like I did, finding the letters on each tiny key and then figuring out how many times to press that silly little key to get the correct letter to pop up was near maddening. If I was going to be successful at this, I needed to call in the Big Dogs, one of my teens.
First, you need to know that my cell phone was at least 8 or so years old. This boggles most people’s minds, but you must remember that as a mother of 8, talking on the telephone is quite foreign to me. If I am to have any type of a lucid discussion with anyone—be it the folks from that fabulous new resort in the West Indies calling to tell me I had won a free vacation for four, or my own husband needing a reminder of what he was suppose to be bringing home in a brown paper bag en route from work, the chances of actually exchanging intelligent conversation without chaos in the background is zilch.
That said, I could’ve cared less if I ever made a call from my closet, never mind from my car on a cell phone. Then something unbelievable happened—my kids started growing up! They were no longer just playing in the backyard or over at the neighbor’s house. They had the gall to decide they wanted to join things! Sporting teams, after-school programs, summer jobs—all these wonderful opportunities that I could no longer offer them from home so with that came their next step of independence—getting their own cell phones.
I fought this off as long as I could but soon realized that I was only hurting myself. Communication is key with our kids today, so my husband and I painfully came on board to the world of cell phones and family plans. Better late than never! Though texting seems to come naturally to many, I found it to be as frustrating as standing up on a greased surf board. (No, I don’t surf!) It took a bit of work, but I finally did it. Sent my very first text to my son which I believe was the following: Hi, Love Mom. Short and sweet and it only took me 10 minutes.
With that, word spread like wildfire that Cheryl L. Butler had learned to text and before I could get my phone back in my purse, I began receiving so many messages I thought sure my new nickname would soon be Alexander Graham Bell. There was only one problem however, I couldn’t understand them!
For you regular texters out there, you already know that texting has its very own language. For newbies like me, however, it is much like learning French or Spanish. I “no speaka the text” so reading the following was quite frustrating:
Hwru? DdUheAd PTA mtg wz movDagn? Let’s gt2gtha wen skool gets ot. Ive so mch 2 telu. U won’t bleeve w@ hapned @d clb yesterday. I cUd Jst di! Don’t wrk 2 hrd. Ive 2 run. Bbacinabit. ?4U, so cll me. MsU! Is it Chardonnay or Mrlo 4U deez days? LOL
Translation:
How are you? Did you hear the PTA meeting was moved again? Let’s get together when school gets out. I have so much to tell you. You won’t believe what happened at the club yesterday—I could just die! Don’t work too hard. I have to run. Be back in a bit. I have a question for you, so call me! Miss you! Is it Chardonnay or Merlot for you these days? Laugh out loud!
2.5 billion text messages are sent in the USA each day so obviously texting is much more than a trend. While I’m slowly learning the lingo and my way around my new and highly sophisticated cell phone , and am grateful to have an instant way to keep in touch with my kids when they are out and about, I doubt I’ll ever rely on texting as my major means of communication. Texting may be hands on and convenient but it has its time and place besides, it can never replace the adrenaline rush I get while making a dental appointment from our landline with a dog and a gaggle of kids going bonkers in the background, LOL!
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