Tonight, we were walking out of Target after a 3 day bender. For me, a 3 day bender means a 3 day migraine. I’d gone to the walk-in clinic last night and a magic Dr. gave me magic shots that make me sleep and make the bad migraine take a break. Or, not necessarily go away, but I feel them less, which is what happened in this case. I’d slept most of today and the edge was off of my migraine.
It was time to get out of the house and try to regain sanity after being sick most all of the week.
A.J. had scrounged up some pocket change. I have no idea where he found it, but my guess is that he raided couches and bathrooms and tables. He had almost $5. In little boy world, this is a fortune and can be spent on things that will drive your parents absolutely nuts.
He’d scored some Halloween window clings from the $1 bin and some matchbox cars. Of course, they had to be done in separate trips to a very patient cashier who counted out his change with him. She deserves an award.
As we walked out to the car, in the pouring rain, without umbrellas or coats (we laugh in the face of pneumonia), I heard him softly singing next to me: “I ammmm a happy boy, a happy boooooy, a happy BOY! I ammmm a happy boy, a happy booooy, a hap-eeee-BOY!”
You really can’t have a blog named “Blueshelled.com” and never talk about Mario Bros. You just can’t. It tells you a lot about me as a person as well as my age and my hobbies as a child and adolescent. I remember the first time I saw a Nintendo and my first experience with the game. I went over to my friend Maria’s house and she had a Nintendo. I’d grown up on a farm and the concept of a Nintendo was new to me. We’d had an Atari, so I knew about Pong and Pacman, but what was a Mario Bros (which I pronounced then as “Maw-ree-o Bras”)?
My first question, when watching Mario play was “Yes, but how do you fall?” Oh, I was to learn how to fall pretty quickly in the coming weeks, as I slowly became nothing less than an addict. Later, when I got my own Nintendo, I moved on to Final Fantasy I, which is still my favorite game ever (Fighter, Thief, Red Mage, Black Mage for the win, people), but Super Mario Bros is where Nintendo and I became friends.
At one point, during that first summer of meeting new people and spending time with my new friend Maria, she accused me of only playing with her for her Nintendo. I’d like to think that wasn’t true, but when I say I was addicted, I’m not kidding and addicts do crazy things. I enjoyed time with Maria, but, when we moved a year or so later, there was a lot of childhood drama and our friendship faded quite a bit. We still talk to this day, thanks to Facebook, but I have her to thank for introducing me to the gaming system that single-handed stunted my social life.
Every now and then, I find something that reminds me of my Super Mario Bros addiction and will make me laugh until tears run out of my eyes. This video is one of those things. It is Steve, who really enjoys his Super Mario Bros and is quite animated about.
Warning: There is some foul language in this video, as there generally is when you aren’t very good at a video game.
On Wednesday, I picked up a subdued AJ from school and prepared to bring him home. I expected him to be jubilant as he’d spent all day on a field trip and it was his last full day of school for for 3 months! As a child, I remembered the last week of school as being an exciting time full of joy and the thrill of the upcoming summer. When I asked AJ if he was excited about his last day of school being Thursday, though, I watched his lip wobble and he looked at his feet. Sometimes I forget that he’s still a little guy because he’s so tall.
“Yes. No. I don’t know, maybe.”
Color me confused because this is not the reaction I would have if I was in my last week of school. Most of his classmates cannot wait to get out of school. Earlier in the week, he’d asked me if he could get his teacher, Mrs. C, a card and I’d said yes. After Leon came home from work, we headed to Target, to get some necessities, some non-necessities and the card for Mrs. C.
Immediately, after arriving at home from the store, AJ began digging in the sack for his card for Mrs. C. I asked him to write her a short note and then sign it. When he showed it to me, I immediately saw why he was so sad to be leaving school.
Thank you for all you did for us this year. Your the best teacher. In the world. don’t leave But say goodby .
From,
AJ
(all spelling errors, punctuation and smilies are AJ’s)
He asked me to not take a picture of his writing, but even the writing looked sad on the card. He looked at me and whispered that he “didn’t want to leave Mrs. C” and that he would “miss her so much.”
I’ve mentioned before that this particular teacher made a huge impact on my child. The knowledge that he has is that he will either have a teacher that understands him and his learning style or he won’t. I think there is quite a bit of fear that he will have a teacher that doesn’t and that he will be in the same position he occupied in K-1, where the teachers often misunderstood him.
As a mom, it’s time for me to step in and remind him that he was lucky to have this teacher while he did and that she was precious. However, we’ve learned that he is capable of putting forth a great effort and making some amazing changes in himself that serve him well no matter who he has as a teacher. He will still be in the same school and this teacher will be loving and supportive of him regardless of whether or not he is in her classroom. We will say goodbye gently and lovingly and remember what she has taught him about himself and life and tackling challenges that seem insurmountable. I cannot thank her enough for teaching him something that I could not teach him at the time.
It truly takes a community to raise a child. I’m thankful for the one in which I live. They are wonderful people.
Life is like a game. We all have challenges, thoughts, opinions and beliefs. Often, it feels like something out there, life, karma, catty people, or blue shells (for the Kart lovers), seeks to bring us down. Luckily, we always get up. This is where I wear my heart on my sleeve and my foot in my mouth.
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We are members of one great body. Nature planted in us a mutual love, and fitted us for a social life. We must consider that we were born for the good of the whole.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca
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Tonight, we were walking out of Target after a 3 day bender. For me, a 3 day bender means a 3 day migraine. I’d gone to the walk-in clinic last night and a magic Dr. gave me magic shots that make me sleep and make the bad migraine take a break. Or, not necessarily go away, but I feel them less, which is what happened in this case. I’d slept most of today and the edge was off of my migraine.
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Life is like a game. We all have challenges, thoughts, opinions and beliefs. Often, it feels like something out there, life, karma, catty people, or blue shells (for the Kart lovers), seeks to bring us down. Luckily, we always get up. This is where I wear my heart on my sleeve and my foot in my mouth.
