LiveSlow: Civil War

I'm pretty sure God is laughing at me. Not in a mocking sort of way, just a "Be careful what you pray for" kind of way.

Miss Sassy has a favorite teacher; he's a slightly scary and tough Social Studies teacher who challenges the kids in his class. Here's a mental snapshot of when I first met him on Orientation Day:

I noticed "Mr. X" immediately because he appeared out of place among the nervous 8th graders and well dressed parents. He commanded the small crowd around him, but scruffy faced, dressed in a t-shirt, cargo shorts and flip flops, was sitting casually on top of a student desk. His big legs were dangling off the desk and they were completely covered with superhero tattoos; Superman, Iron Man, Batman - it was hard not to stare. He was barking instructions: "In this class, I teach High School level work. I understand you're in Middle School but I don't care. By the time you leave my class, you'll be prepared for the High School level. Parents: I give homework every night. If your child tells you he has no homework, he's lying." I stayed near the back of the room.

To say he's intimidating is an understatement, but there's something about him that makes his students want to go above and beyond. My daughter's afraid of him but loves him at the same time and comes home every day with a "Mr. X" story. For instance today......"Oh, it was so funny. Mr. X threw a kids shoe out the window; it was okay though 'cuz it landed on the roof and the kid could just go out and get it."

He frequently keeps the class in order by letting them know that he " didn't take his medication." He's a veteran who regales them with war stories and missions and personally I think he's an ex-Navy seal (said he swam a lot), but I wouldn't ask because he'd probably have to kill me.

Back to me and God laughing: A short while ago, I was thinking about my kids - I was thinking negatively by the way - and how they don't really appreciate a challenge. They never choose to do difficult things and I started to worry about them choosing the path of least resistance for their futures. I prayed about how I could parent them differently. Enter Miss Sassy: She came home from school a few weeks ago and said, "I'm so proud of myself!" "Why?", I asked. "We have to do a "Do It Yourself project based on the Civil War for Mr. X's class and I picked the best thing. It wasn't even on the project list and Mr. X was so impressed that he said if I actually did it I'd get an A!" I was excited for her excitement. "Well, what's the project?" I asked. "A quilt!" she beamed. "I'm going to make a Civil War quilt!" It's due in 5 days. She was given 3 weeks but we were on vacation for part of it and have spent the rest of the time trying to get a clue as to how we're supposed to pull this off and then fighting about it.

Forgive me for not posting. I recognized this as an opportunity to support my daughter in a difficult endeavor and it has caused a Civil War of sorts in our home. I'll post more about my bad attitude later and what God's teaching me through this.