Two Broken Glasses

We took the three youngest children out to eat yesterday and left two broken glasses. One..Aminah accidentally dropped and another accidentally knocked over by an undisclosed adult. That was a first. The adventures never stop! But we also accepted that not all restaurants are 'family-friendly.' Next time, we will go to the restaurant that has plastic or paper cups.

In Less Than Two Weeks..

In less than two weeks, I will return to work full time. I need time to process this reality.

Role Reversal

In addition to being a wife, mom, and principal, I am also a daughter and sister. I have 11 brothers and sisters. My parents are very dear to me and I cherish the fact that they are still alive at 75(dad) and 70(mom.)..which is why it is so hard to see my parents age.

When I was growing up, my dad was always a strong provider. I never went a day without food, clothing and shelter. I even had some of the extras, including a car at 16 and name brand clothes. My father worked sun up to sun down to provide for all of us. My mom held down things at the house. She always made sure we had hot meals every day, a clean home, and we did our homework. While she was a trained nurse, she spent most of her years taking care of our ailments instead of those in the hospital. It seems like every kid had some kind of health challenge.

As my parents age, I consider it an honor to do for them what they did for me. Of course I can never fully repay them for everything, but hopefully I will at least put a drop in the bucket.

I'll talk about being a sister later..I gotta go to bed. It has been a long physically and emotionally draining week.

Sometimes I Feel Overwhelmed

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed. It is in that moment I take a much needed break.
Some alone time...which can include an hour of writing at Starbucks or a couple of hours watching a movie.

It is in that moment I realize that I can not do all that I do by myself
in my own strength..
I am only human
One woman
With one body
two hands
two feet
one mouth.
I realize that I need
my family
my God
to live
to survive
to erase the feeling of overwhelmed
and replace it with
Relief!!

Aminah and Princess Tiana

The new Disney Princess is important to my daughter. When I was a little girl I loved watching Disney movies, but not one princess who looked like me. The lack of representation definitely had an effect on me. However, with the new princess in town, Tiana, my daughter is having a totally different experience.

I bought the DVD a few weeks ago and she loves watching it! Not only that..when she puts on her pull ups, she specifically looks for the ones with Princess Tiana and the other princesses. When I attempt to put one on with just Cinderella or Snow White, she declares, "NO! Tiana!" When she prepares for sleep, she wants to hear the Tiana story, have her doll next to her and the blanket covering her. And when she sneaks to her brothers room later in the night, she brings all of those items with her.

I truly wonder if other black girls across America are having a similar experience. Of course, Princess Tiana will not be the main ingredient in determining how little black girls see themselves. However, I do believe it is having a positive effect. And I am anxious to see how this will influence their definitions of their own beauty.

I Was Kicked Out of Dance Class

When I was a little girl my big sister Marie took me with her to dance class. She asked the teacher if I could participate and she agreed. There were a few of us little ones in the class. However, I was eventually kicked out. Why? I wanted to do my own thing. I thought it was a waste of time to do the same dance as everyone else.

I believe that my rebellion in that dance class was truly a representation of what kind person I would become..one who would not just go along with what the majority was doing. I was raised in East Oakland. A place where the majority of my peers were not trying to go to college, but I was. A place where many of the young people in my age group were smoking blunts, and I was not even going close. I actually got teased for being a "nerd," and I always saw it as a compliment because I knew that someday it would pay off. And I thank my hometown for preparing me for life!

Today my 2 year old has her dance class once again...our Saturday morning ritual. She definitely does her own thing. However, I will say that she doe s pick up the routines and does them when she feels like moving with the crowd. It will be interesting to see how this experience is manifested in her life in years to come. In the meantime, hopefully she will not get kicked out :)

Mrs. Pope, Look in the Mirror!

So I went to pick up my daughter the other day and as soon as I walked into the lobby the principal looked at me..eyes wide..and said, " Mrs. Pope, look in the mirror." I looked in the full length mirror and a stranger was looking back. It was actually the woman from the BET commercial(I believe it's Dr. Miracle) with the wild hair. She looks like she stuck her finger in an electrical socket. For the next couple of days I wore head wraps and today I actually combed my hair. Curled it and everything.

I've always been the type that could care less about what people think about me and will walk around town with sweats and a T-Shirt. Of course, I go to work and church suited and booted. But when I have no particular place to go, I thoroughly enjoy casual wear and hair. Yet and still, I need to do the basics...like comb my hair. Especially since I am picking up my babies. I cannot be 'that parent.' The one who the other children make fun of...LOL

To Stay or Not Stay at Home With the Kids?…That is the question.

About four years ago, I was a part of a women’s group called “ Working Women Who Want to Stay at Home (or work from home.)” We met on a monthly basis and discussed the joys and challenges of being working mothers. In addition, we shared various work at home opportunities and supported/nurtured each others ideas. I looked forward to our meetings each and every month. Not only because it gave me a chance to get out of the house, but to also be around an awesome group of women.

However, I am not too sure if working at home or from home is something I desire any more. It may have something to do with the fact that I absolutely love my current job and cannot imagine living without the daily adventures of being an elementary school principal. Yet, I do recognize the serious task of learning how to balance it all. Sometimes I get it right and sometimes I don’t. I probably will not have it all figured out until I retire and then I can write a book about it all.

In the meantime, I make leaving work at a decent time a priority. I make sure I read with my babies most nights and try to make sure the weekends are “special.” I even transferred my oldest son to my school so we could spend more time together. Although he tries to work his “connection” at times, it’s actually working out quite well. I seek support from other working moms. I give myself a break for not getting it right all the time. Ultimately, being a working mom is the choice for now. That could change…we’ll see what happens.

"Hello, I'm Glenetta and I am a diabetic."

Fall of 1995 I began my first year of teaching. I had a class of boys...special education..in Long Beach, CA. They wore me out! I worked from 6 -6, picked up some fast food and was in bed by 8 every night. I assumed my exhaustion was simply from demanding students. However, I soon realized there was another factor involved. In addition to always being tired, I was thirsty and hungry all the time. I specifically remember sending my students to the cafeteria to grab me some juice, milk and chocolate chip cookies. In the midst of it all, I was loosing significant amounts of weight. I was down to a size 1-2. The most drastic symptom came when I was driving one day and my right foot cramped up in pain and I had to used my left foot to get home.

I began talking to Chris' mom (who would eventually become my mother in law) about what was going on. She suggested I get checked for diabetes. She had a blood sugar monitor at the house since she was a nurse. She pricked my finger with a small needle and when the reading came back, my blood sugar was almost 500. Normal is 80 - 120. She immediately took me to the ER, where they officially diagnosed me with diabetes and prescribed pills.

When I was first diagnosed, I cried for about a week. I thought about other relatives who also had diabetes and lots of complications..loosing eyesight, limbs, having difficult pregnancies, etc. I was scared! However, many of my fears were lessened when Chris' mom began to educate me on how I could take control of the disease and not let it overtake me. Slowly, but surely, I began to feel empowered.

As I said before, initially I was on pills..which didn't work. Next, I took 3-5 shots daily for about 10 years and now..Fast forward to today, 15 years later, and I am now on an insulin pump. An insulin pump works like an actual pancreas because the insulin is slowly let into my system all day long. And if I need extra, I just press a button. It's a small pager like machine attached to my body through a small tubing which I can easily take off as needed. I absolutely love it and thank God for the invention.

One day when the family was in the car, my oldest son, Jahlel, saw me giving myself a shot and he said, "Mommy, I know you gave me my looks, because I look like you. But please don't give me that...pointing to the shots." In his 6 year old way, he was asking me to not pass on the diabetes. I almost started crying. Instead, I used it to fuel my efforts to take care of myself and make better health choices for my family as a whole...in meal planning, exercise, etc.

Each day with diabetes is a challenge. I just pray that I stay on the right path. Also, I hope I can be a support to other people with the disease.

"I'm gonna wash that gray right outta my hair!"

I remember seeing and hearing the commercial which sang "I'm gonna wash that gray right outta my hair." What a catchy jingle..back then I just thought it was cute. Now, I'm about to look for that product. With each child I have, I notice an increase of gray hairs..especially along the edges of my hair. Am I paranoid about looking old? Certainly not. Although I was a bit put off when one of the parents at my school asked if my hubby was my son..what the heck? She claims her words just got "mixed up."

Anyways..I just like how my hair looks..all one color :) when I start to fully gray..I will let it take over. I will definitely not become one of those blue haired elderly ladies..how does that happen anyway? Are they trying to to dye it black and it comes out blue. Anyways..

Spring "Break"

Today starts the second week of Spring "Break" for the Pope household. Jahlel and Aminah's Break was last week. This week Elyaqiym's(Qiym) break begins. Jahlel went to spring break camp and Aminah had daycare at her school. Qiym and I will be hanging tough with the baby all week. Honestly, Qiym presents the greatest challenge. He has Aspergers Syndrome. Which means...if I do not plan/schedule each hour of each day I will have a problem on my hand. The only thing on the agenda today will be taking the baby for his check-up. Thank God for Nintendo DS because that will keep him busy @ the doctor's office:) The rest of the day...I must plan..arts and crafts, homework, play time, etc. Good Times!