Can I still get a PELL grant?

Well, well, well. It appears that some people can accomplish quite a bit in eight years. I mean, not me, but others can. I just received in the mail my alma mater's English department newsletter. Let me start by saying HOLY MOLY.

Since graduation, I have taught high school English in two wonderful schools and earned a Teacher of the Week certificate and a  . . oh wait, that's the extent of my accolades.

But my classmates? Let's see, they have earned Master's degrees and PhD's and awards like "Outstanding Graduate Student" and the distinction of summa cum laude in their graduate programs. From Yale. They are adjunct professors at major colleges around the country and are interviewed by news organizations such as the BBC. They are published. Some have a PhD and a national board certification and children.

(I am friends with some of those people on Facebook. If you are one of those people, hi! And also, wow.)

So I feel sort of . . . boring. Ryan told me he would support me if I wanted to pursue a Master's or PhD from Yale. He said it would be hard to work out the logistics but that it could be done. HAHAHAHAHAHA OH MY WORD NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN. I think he was trying to say that I am capable of earning some cool, intelligent distinctions, but I was too busy yelping out of actual physical pain at the thought of going back to school that I didn't hear him finish his point.

And this is the difference between me and my former classmates: they are out there studying at prestigious schools and teaching at respected institutions and writing for legitimate publications. And I? I am laughing and cringing all at the same time and then yelling out, "Oh! I can BLOG ABOUT THIS!"

A parenting boomerang

When I was eleven and attitude-y, I often found myself fighting with my mom. One day as she was driving me to school (thanks, Mom!) we were engaged in yet another power struggle. She turned to me in exasperation and said, "Katie, why don't we try this-- you be the kid and I'LL be the mom." I turned to her, narrowed my eyes, and snapped back, "We already tried that and it didn't work."

You know how they say what goes around comes around? This happened in our home yesterday:

Coralie: Mom, don't sit in that chair. My toys were in that chair.
Me: Well, Coralie, I need to sit here because I am holding Madeline and this is what works best for me.
Coralie: But my toys go there. You need to sit somewhere else!
Me: Coralie, you do not tell me what to do. If I want to sit here, I will sit here.
Coralie: Mom, you just need to move.
Me: Coralie, do not tell me what to do. I am the mom, you are the child. I don't have to obey you.
Coralie: Then I want to be the grandma and then you will have to obey me.

Not only is she smarter than I was in that she circumvented the hierarchy problem, but she gave me this attitude an entire EIGHT YEARS before I gave it to my mom.  I've said it before and I'll say it again: heaven help me.

PS-- Happy Labor Day!
PPS-- Sorry the comments feature seems to be wonky. I have no idea what to do to enable all of you to comment, as the extent of my troubleshooting capabilities is clicking a bunch of stuff. So I don't think I fixed anything, but I sure tried!