Well, it's not really Leah. But sometimes when I think of Leah at school, I think of this little girl. Does she look bored out of her mind or what? I got a call from Ashley the other day. Based on the time, I knew she had just picked Leah up from school. Ashley wanted to know if she was bad when she was little.
Ashley: Was I bad when I was little?
Me: No.
Ashley: Why is my kid so bad?
Me: What happened now?
Ashley: Leah's teacher told me that she didn't share, and she spit on a kid!
Leah: (in the background): I didn't spit!
Ashley: Well, the teacher didn't actually see her spit, but the kid told on her.
Leah: (in the background): I didn't spit!
Ashley: Well, you didn't share and you know you're supposed to!
Leah: (in the background) Can I talk to Oma? (Pause) Oma?
Me: Hi Sweet!
Leah: Oma. OK. I didn't share the pencil, but I did NOT spit. I was just talking and water flew out of my mouth!
Me: (Silence)
Ashley: (Silence)
Let's examine the picture above more closely. Notice how all the other students are sitting up straight, feet under their desks, hands clasped together waiting for instruction. But not our little Leah. Her posture suggests that if she has to sit in that desk one more minute she'll die---no really, D-I-E! And what about that errant foot of hers which will certainly (accidentally, of course) manage to trip her teacher at least once, maybe twice. And if you ask me, I'd say this girl is definitely plugging her ears not giving a rip about what her teacher has to say. She has not yet conformed.
Ok. Maybe I'm exagerating when I compare our Leah to the girl in the picture. After all, Leah has learned all of her sight words and is learning to write in the right direction! Pretty dang good for only two months. But society suggests that her behavior leaves something to be desired.
I disagree--totally! (I'm the grandmother--I can do that)
To Leah I say, "Never lose the ability to spit in someone's eye! Believe me, the day will come when someone will be so disrespectful, so demeaning, so deserving that a spit in the eye will be the perfect, one and only response. Spit is OK. You just have to know the appropriate time to use it, and when that time comes don't hold back! Let it fly!"
. . . I'll be a little sad when Leah conforms to all the rules society will slap on her. The teacher will have only glorious things to report, Ashley will proudly call to share her daughter's wonderfulness, and I will blog it. But I will secretly look back at this post and giggle at what a little pistol Leah started out to be!
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