You Need to Think Big!

     Written while the housework and laundry pile up around me. Honestly, I am not sure why I continue to keep up with either.

     It was with a sigh of relief that I arrived at Sunday School this past weekend and realized that there is a two week hiatus and I just had to get through this week. Most of my students piled into the classroom, and I braced myself for the usual shenanigans. The kids weren't too bad this week, and, while I hold no illusion anything I taught actually penetrated thru the skulls of even one of those kids, Joe sort of amazed me.
     There is this girl who occasionally wanders into Religious Ed and completely hates every minute of it. Having her cell phone confiscated every week does nothing to improve her opinion of the class. Actual quote this week: "I need to look at the phone, because I wanted to see the time."
      "There is literally a clock hanging on the wall five feet in front of your face."
      "You expect me to tell time on that???"

      Anyway. When this kid does tune in, she doesn't like anything that is being said. With no phone and no one to talk to, she decided to argue whatever I was teaching. She asked a question I did not know the answer to, so, I hauled out one of my reference books, and read the answer to her.
     
     "I still don't understand what you are saying, or why things have to be that way." she pouted. Unfortunately for her, she sits next to Joe every week.
     "That's because you don't think 'Big' " said Joe.

      "What?" She snapped crossly

     "You don't think Big. I mean you want to think what you think, and you don't want to open your mind or your brain and think outside the box. You know; think "Big". You just heard the answer, but, because you didn't like it, you are saying you don't understand. You do understand, you are just refusing to think Big, or outside the box, and learn something that you don't want to, because it's not what you want to think. You will never learn anything if you are not willing to think Big, and think that maybe just because it's something you don't want to hear, that it's not the right thing. No one is going to change everything because you don't like it. So, open your brain and think!"

     My mouth dropped open, as I listened to my kid sum up pretty much the general problem with society in one paragraph. Meanwhile, the girl glared at me and informed me Joe was weird, and to please make him shut up.
   
     Sunday school was just a small part of this past weekend. Lexi turned 14! For her birthday, she wanted money and a trip to her favorite mall near Buffalo. Listening to weather forecasts that were calling for sleet and freezing rain, I took her up early in the day and proceeded to follow her twice around the entire mall. Upper and lower levels. It was exhausting.
       While there, I took care of my once yearly foray into the makeup store. As usual, a very young and perky girl bounced over to me and, with the enthusiasm of a puppy who just found her very best friend, begged me to let her help me. Digging out last year's lipstick tube, I told her I was looking to replace this color, please. At which the poor thing became crestfallen, as, if I had just kicked her and hurt her to the core, and told me that they no longer carried that color. She did stand right there and excitedly help chose new colors though. Two lipsticks and an eye liner later, I was told with no small amount of excitement that I now qualified for three free items. I was dragged all over the small store. "Lotion! You need lotion!" she informed me happily. "No, I'm good. I just bought lotion over at the "Pink" store."
      "Why would you DO that?? That stuff smells like chemicals. It's full of chemicals, too! Are you trying to die???"
      "I will smell good when I go, I suppose. Let's look at something else."
      "Makeup remover!" she bubbled, running over to another corner of the store. "Look! I will spray it here on my arm where we tested your lipstick, and it will come right off!"
      "It doesn't appear to be coming off..." I pointed out.
      "That just shows you how great our lipsticks are! They will last you all day! How about lip conditioner? It get's rid of gunk on your lips!" she said, rubbing it on her arm. "OW! Well. Maybe not. This hurts." she decided, putting it back.
      We managed to find six things, and I escaped the store for another year.

      I do have to say, taking my 14 year old shopping was this side of shocking. Most of the stores we entered featured clothes that were not particularly decent. Short shorts, half shirts, half sweaters, and skin tight everything seemed to be the general trend. My daughter walked into and then right out of most stores. If the clothing wasn't indecent, it was pre-torn. It seemed as if the current look is somewhere between the "can't afford nice things" and the "Most likely to post pictures of myself on social media that my mother can never ever be allowed to see."

     Update on the dishwasher situation: It is now sitting on the front porch. If it isn't gone by Saturday, I have decided to take it to the local dump myself and be done with it.
      Update on Kaila's car: it's still sitting dead in front of the house. However, she starts her first non babysitting job on Thursday, and is hopeful she will be able to fix or replace her car in the near future. Which would be a good thing, because, she will be taking my van on the nights she works, and I will be effectively without transportation on those days. I may as well get used to it. Lexi and Joe aren't terribly far behind the driving age.

     Kaila decided she needed to get serious about a job shortly after I had her in a bar recently by accident.

      One of my brothers also sings and plays guitar. He does a lot of "open mic" nights, and has been asking me to come to one forever now. Recently I agreed to make the hour long drive to open mic to see him, and, per his instructions, brought Kaila along with me, as, she's a singer too.
      We arrived at a very small brewery/bar that was packed shoulder to shoulder. Hauling Kaila thru the crowd, we found my brother by the bar. "I'm the last singer, so, it's going to be a few hours" he shouted over the noise, and, wincing that it was a school/work night, and, that I had my kid in a packed bar, we settled in to wait. My brother mentioned maybe selling his beautifully babied and maintained SUV to Kaila, (who is dead broke) and Kaila decided on the spot that she needed to step up the job game and get either fix or replace her car. The night wrapped up with Kaila getting up to open mic and belting out a One Republic song. With a crowd of drunk people, and no one filming her, she figured no one would remember much anyhow, and really loosened up and rocked the song right out. On the way home, she told me she wants to do open mic again. And, that she couldn't wait to go to school and tell her friends that her crazy mother had her out late singing in a bar.
      I didn't get a call from the school asking me to explain myself, so, she presumably didn't announce it too loudly. She was perfectly safe the entire time, and surrounded by my brother, his girl friend and myself. Memories and stuff.

      That's about it. Tomorrow is root canal day. I kept sneezing today at work, and, when a coworker remarked upon it, I thoughtlessly said "Wonder what happens if you sneeze mid-root canal?" at which we both stopped in horror thinking about the possibilities. And now, it's pretty much all I can think about in regards to the root canal. I don't imagine it would kill me, but, I do think it could make things a little more interesting. Wish me luck!