G-d Save the…Tis of Thee!

 Another eventful week has passed in the Clayden household. Last weekend is all a blur- if anyone knows what I did, please let me know!

Not knowing clocks change is a good thing. In the past I have always planned for it and hoped I might avoid any ill effects and tried to minimise a negative outcome. This never works and I always end up having a bad night’s sleep. This year, I have no idea why, but I was oblivious that last weekend was one where we lost an hour- or did we gain? I think we gained but I don’t really understand. Either way, I woke up feeling perky on Sunday morning, glanced at the clock which has special magic powers allowing it to know when to change the hour( therefore proving itself more intelligent than I ) and was dismayed to see that once again I had failed to take advantage of it being a Sunday and had woken at 7.30. I then looked at my watch and it read 8.30. That sounded far more Sunday like and I went on to enjoy a productive day( although I have no idea what I did). 

 

Monday was a tad stressful due to the demands of work, Girl Scouts and having to prepare all of Benj’s dinners for his four day school trip given that they weren’t providing kosher food for the predominantly Jewish population of Great Neck North Middle. I have come to expect more from this area!! The Girl Scouts Veterans’ Day meeting was excellent and every time I attend such an event I learn something about this country and as I always say to my kids- it’s good to learn new things. Still on the topic of Veterans Day, we had an uplifting assembly at work when the ex-marine father of one of the students spoke to us about the Navy. This was followed by the second graders signing a mix of patriotic songs with such joy and pride in their faces it was truly uplifting. I have been confused this week, unable to understand why they keep playing G-d Save the Queen on the radio. I finally realised that they think of it here as My Country Tis of Thee..!

Tuesday was Parent’s/Parents’ Day at work (I put both options not because I am apostrophe ignorant but because I disagreed with the school’s choice of apostrophe placement!). This involved the parents of all the students accompanying them to all lessons for the morning and then enjoying a delicious buffet lunch which was my favourite part of the day! My lessons went well but I rather think I embarrassed one of the dads. I was teaching comparisons to my 7th Grade French group and when planning the session had decided it might be fun to involve the parents in my explanation. As my guests entered the room, my eyes could not fail to be drawn towards a very tall father. He was at least 6’5″ and I knew he would be up for the task in hand. I continued with the lesson and soon called him to the front and looked for a smaller parent with whom to compare him. Suddenly, all I could see before me was a sea of Japanese fathers. Not traditionally known for their great height, I chose the tallest of the bunch. He reluctantly obeyed my instruction to come to the front of the class and as he approached I realised that he was only just taller than me…All was fine when we said that Monsieur P was plus grand que Monsieur S, but I felt sorry for the latter when one of the students uttered the phrase; Monsieur S est plus petit que Monsieur P! His daughter quickly piped up with a supportive, it’s ok Daddy, you’re average height really! Both men seemed to survive the lesson unscathed but I was amused to see how one positively embraced his role at the front of the class whilst the other appeared to continue out of politeness whereas in reality he wanted it to be over as quickly as possible! It was as if one man was amusing because he chose to be and the other was yet more amusing in his utter failure to accept his fate.

I was having a really lovely productive Wednesday and was pleased to have thoroughly organised Jemima’s birthday presents and tea party to take place the following day. I had both girls in bed by eight and had enjoyed making a decorating fairy cakes with the two of them after school. Benj was still away, dinner was ready and waiting so I had plans for an easy, child free evening of TV watching with Daniel… But it was not to be. He managed to trip on an uneven piece of pavement( sidewalk) whilst running towards Penn Station to catch the train home…he thought he’d broken his ankle but managed to hobble on to a train and catch a cab home from the station. We consulted a doctor friend on the phone and decided to wait until morning to go to urgent care for an X-ray despite  his considerable pain. I was once again impressed by the speed and quality of the walk in clinic and thank gd it was a bad sprain and not a break as feared. It brought back horrible memories of his …. double break six years ago which left him unable to bend his knee for 6 months. I was not cut out for nursing as Dan will (unhappily) testify.

Jemima had been counting the sleeps until her birthday for about a month so was relieved that the day could finally arrive. The night before her birthday she asked me to remind her she was 6 when she woke up! Zara was clearly too excited to celebrate her sister’s birthday as she burst into our room at 5am asking if we could wake Jemima?! She managed to contain herself until a (marginally)more respectable 620 when we gathered on our bed for the traditional giving of presents and cards. Zara really understands the thrill of giving ( unlike Jemima who is all about the receiving!) and was so excited to give Jemima the colour it yourself bag she had been given herself the previous year but had never used. Jemima was over the moon but Zara was ecstatic! Jemima loved all of her presents and insisted on reading aloud the entire contents of most of the books she received until we had to stop her for fear of being late for school. She was full of giggles and smiles- just as a birthday girl should be. I made”English” pancakes and then allowed Jemima to scoot to school through the autumn leaves. As she went on her way, a car window wound down and someone called out “happy birthday Jemima!”. I waved and smiled but was clueless as to whose voice it was until the end of the day when Jemima’s teacher asked if we knew it was she who had waved that morning! After her dance class that afternoon, I bravely had 6 little girls over for a tea party. Zara was a children’s entertainer extraordinaire and we had a fantastic time. An exhausting day but worth the effort !

Friday was my last day at work. It still hadn’t sunk in that I am now unemployed as I haven’t had time to think about it yet… The day was overwhelming in many ways. My 7th grade class had organised an enormous and beautifully decorated ice cream cake which was delivered and consumed during my lesson. They had written me cards and bought me really lovely gifts including some technical gadget called a livescribe which I am yet to fathom. I was also the bemused but grateful recipient of cash gifts from various parents in the form of crisp new $100 bills which I most believed to be Disney dollars- so unlike they were to the money which normally resides in my wallet. The mother of one of my 7th Grade boys came to deliver her gift in person and said her son had spent the night crying over my departure 😦 she gave me a beautiful book of quotations entitled  If Only I Knew.and had bookmarked the page where the following was written:

If only I knew..

I would never hear your voice again, I would cherish your every word, every inflection of your voice with all my heart.

She also inscribed the book as follows:

My son said” I love her voice. How full of joy she is!” Clearly I cried and she cried too. It’s so lovely to be appreciated but I feel a bit of a fraud as I’d only been there for a couple of months. Further appreciation followed at lunchtime when the Deputy Head announced my departure and asked for a round of applause which became my first ever( and very likely last )standing ovation!

I sadly had to rush off at the end of the day as Benj’s school trip arrived back early. A friend kindly dropped him home for me and as I walked through the door he ran towards me and catapulted himself into my arms. This was a beautiful moment for me but less so for my dress as I was carrying a plate with the left over ice-cream cake which I had brought home for the kids to enjoy! He then regaled me about every moment of his wonderful trip for a whole hour before his joyful reunion with Minecraft!

Winter seems to be well on its way. I took the girls to the park yesterday afternoon whilst Benj played in his football match and despite the many layers I was wearing I couldn’t wait to get home for some warmth. Zara was predictably wearing a t shirt! The highlight of my day was snuggling on the sofa with the family post park and watching Strictly Come Dancing. Of course the other highlight was dinner out with lovely friends at the rather good Mint restaurant.

This week will be a not be a restful one. I have no idea when I would have found the time to work, given the myriad appointments, meetings, nursing duties and chores which require my time.

Enjoy your week and my apologies for another (unintentionally)long post.

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