it's interesting to me how my kids' moods affect mine. i told second period today that they should know that their teachers love them and really DO care about them. so, here's how today played out (which is how that conversation started)...

coffee stopped by before school to tell me that he had been nominated for who's who among american h.s. students. he just wanted to share his success. then first period, he stopped by so we could chat about it and what it means (or could mean) for his future. i'm pushing him to go to college. he's still debating. it kills me that this is a debate for him. when i was in high school (or rather, where i went to high school), there wouldn't even have been a debate with somebody as bright and talented as he is. i just don't want him to be thirty and looking back on the past 10 years and saying to himself, you know, i really could have had some doors opened for me if i'd made connections in college. he's so talented, you guys. this should not be a debate.

another one of my kids was in ISS today (probably didn't have his shirt tucked in or something stupid like that - who knows?). anyway, i pulled him into the hall to talk to him because he looked upset. as soon as i asked him what was wrong, he burst into tears. wouldn't let me hug him, couldn't stop crying (which, as those of you who have been around when i'm upset know, is how i get upset too), cried deeply for about 10 minutes. wouldn't talk about it, just cried like his heart was breaking. he sent me a note later so that i would understand why he was upset. sometimes i just don't know what to do, how to respond to their pain, when it swallows them up.