Clinton News-Record, 1985-10-09, Page 70SF
br
By Rachel 4n, Gab
e parer.. g(.ve birth
to our children (and
each birth is an entire
story); feed them soy
formula if they are•
allergic; bathe them
in room -temperature water on a
sponge mat so they shouldn't
bump their heads if they slip;
take their temperature each time
they sneeze; and stimulate them
with books, colorful moving
objects, classical music and
baby aerobics.
Then the little ingrates grow
up and leave us for another
major authority in their lives
the teacher.
When my daughter waved
goodbye and the playschool
door closed the first time, I
swooned back into a chair and
contemplated the significance of
the moment. She had been
willing to leave the comfort of
her home and an adult whose
idiosyncrasies she knew for the
mysterious horizons of a new
place, a new grown-up and lots
of new little faces almost as cute
as her own. .
After another mother (who
had already sent two others off
Ow; morning) revived re with
am ninninnta Winker, 1 realized
that a good thing had happened
and that •my husband and 1 had,
done A pnatnenc 4ble• job
preparing her for the world.
1,19 r xt parent test came as
she watched me making her
favorite almond cookies, as she
had done on so many mornings
at home together. "My teacher
doesn't do it like that," she
remarked scoldingly. "She
makes the top flat when she
measures. She says cookies
won't taste right if you do it
that way."
A knife wound to the chest
would have been preferable to
the feeling 1 experienced at that
moment. That teacher had
sullied a special time my
daughter and I had together
with her "right way" directions.
Worse was my daughter's
willingness to believe that
stranger over her own mother.
After I became more rational,
it struck me that sometimes my
cookies were a little bland
because of too much flour or
not enough sugar. Maybe, I
realized, I should be delighted
that my child pays attention,
learns things in School and
wantsto share them with her
mom.
1 recovered, not unscarred,
from that morning, though
almond -cookie baking will
never be the same.
Another more devastating
moment came when I was at my
daughter's school on
observation day. My child
walked up to her teacher,
tugged at her skirt, and asked
absentmindedly, "Mommy, can
I feed the gerbils?"
What had all those hours
awake in the middle of the night
meant to her? What about the
trip to Disney World, the
Cabbage Patch doll I had
fought to buy her at risk to life
and limb, the mornings spent
watching "Sesame Street" when
I was craving a dose of Phil
Donahue?
And getting down to basics,
what about the stretch marks
that will forever govern my
bathing -suit style?
Time has healed that hurt,
too. We instilled trust for
others, in our daughter. She is
comfortable with other adults in
her life and that is good.
".Mo nitt " means help and
comfort, so calling her teacher
that name was a natural mistake
for the child to make. I've
gotten entirely aver the incident.
Of course, it happened six
and a half years ago.
Now our kids challenge every
other word, armed with
something their teachers said
which automatically became law
'the moment they spoke it. They
want me to dress in jeans for
mirk, the way Ms. So -and -So -
the -Teacher does. They can't do
multiplication the way I showed
them or they'll get an "E." And
if they made a capital G in
cursive writing the way I do,
they told me they'd have to do
the whole paper over again.
I don't begrudge teachers one
bit of the love my children have
for them. They have earned it
with hundreds of reminders to
wipe noses, thousands of hours
planning field trips to the zoo
for my children to remember as
special times and millions of
supportive touches and words
when I couldn't be there.
Thanks, teachers, from them
and from me. e_
Campbell Appliances in Exeter is having a
FREE MICROWAVE COOKING DEMONSTRATION
WHEN Wed., Oct. 16 at 7 p.m.
In Cenjusfion with
LITTON IDFFflT
Seating is limited. Please call
us to reserve a spot for you.
LITTON M O F
All
Microwaves
LID
Reduced
Some as
low as
f275
Special "Starter -Pack" of
microwave cookware, Free
with each microwave
purchased.
Campbell, Appliances now of-
fers a full 5 year parts and
labour warranty on all
microwaves
Campbell Appliances
Exeter 63 Main St. S. (Lower level) Telephone 235-1501
-40