On the way

to school this morning we were forced to take a detour. There had been an accident and the road going up to the school was blocked in both directions. While we took a back route that wound it's way through a thick eucalypt forest the girls decided to say some extra prayers (for those involved in an accident) as the prayers finished and as we neared the crest of the hill we were forced (delighted) to stop the car so that a koala could cross the road. I desperately wished that I had brought my camera, but alas I did not. He ambled along so slowly there were plenty of potentially fabulous shots. There were no cars behind us so we had the chance to sit and admire him as he shuffled into the bush. The girls were completely smitten, Bayan was entirely thrilled, and I was grateful for the timely reminder about what it is that makes country living so special. There may be twisty streets and steep hills (and the possibility of accidents- though they may happen anywhere) but there is an untamed beauty and peaceful tranquility that is sorely lacking in other parts. There are very few places on earth where you can pause on your way to work or school to watch a koala cross the street and I love that my kids are getting a chance really see some of what makes Australia so special.

End of Year Concert

The end of year concert was combined with the year seven graduation this year. The evening was long, but very worthwhile. The graduation ceremony was one of the nicest I've seen, very personal and individualized and a lovely recognition of the effort and achievements of some very special students. In the end of year concert part of the evening Anisa played a shepherd with her friend S. as part of a Christmas production that their class prepared. We are looking a little tired at this stage, but never fear- she perks right up and more than gets in to her role. Meanwhile Ruhi joined her classmates for some bush dancing. The girls had a great time and Bayan was extraordinarily patient throughout. Here is one last photo of Anisa and her friends hamming it up on the stage. Somehow I cannot imagine the original shepherds clutching each other while watching the sheep with these expressions on their faces. But maybe it's just me.

Teacher's Appreciation Day

"Among the greatest of all services that can possibly be rendered by man to Almighty God is the education and training of children." ~ 'Abdu'l-Baha (Baha'i Writings)

Every year our Baha'i community tries to organize some sort of teacher appreciation event to demonstrate our gratitude for all the individuals who spend the year teaching our children. This year, for a change of pace, we opted to organize gift bags which would be individually presented to teachers. Because the girls school is rather small and staff share the responsibility of teaching different classes or learning areas we wanted each teacher to have something.

Each bag contained: a tea cup and saucer (perfect for staff room morning teas), a small box of chocolates, a teacher appreciation magnet, a pen with a quote about the station of teachers, a thank you card with a handwritten note from the student (see first photo), and a certificate of appreciation with a beautiful Baha'i quote on the importance of Education.

After dropping Bayan at Martha's house on the way to school this morning (thanks again Martha) I spent a couple hours making lavender bath fizzies with the year 6/7 class. They were great. They worked so well together and we got through a fair few batches. These are being added to the end of year Christmas boxes which will be sold as a fundraiser for the school. After rushing back to pick up Bayan and getting a quick tour of Martha's new house (Congratulations!) we dashed home to have lunch and start baking because, as I was planning to crash the school's staff meeting with the kids, I thought it would be nice to offer everyone a little afternoon tea as well.

Bayan and I baked a sumptuous batch of chocolate chip cookies and prepared a couple of fruit platters with watermelon, strawberries and grapes. We set up the staff room table and had the gift boxes standing by when the teachers came into the room. They were so touched and surprised. I only wish that I had taken a picture in the staff room, but in between keeping a rudely awoken Bayan satiated by succulent chocolate cookies, helping the girls give the right bag to the right teacher and eloquently explaining to the staff what we were doing and why all thoughts of photography were gone.

It didn't matter. The teachers were so delighted as they looked through their bags, admiring their certificates and cups and exclaiming over every extra thing they found in the bags. One teacher looked as though she had tears in her eyes when she thanked Ruhi for her beautiful card. One of the staff members who is not officially a teacher, though she works just as hard as anyone else at the school and is often called upon to do supporting roles told me quietly the next day that what we had done could not have come at a better time. The school was under a special audit that each school, at some stage, will have to go through. It had been a highly stressful previous couple of weeks and there had been some sort of unsavory incident where a parent was commenting on teachers and teaching in a very negative way and it had really unnerved and upset some of the staff. This staff member was indignant because she sees what the teachers do and knows first hand how hard they work and she said that what our community offered was just what they needed ( a feeling that was echoed by every staff member at the meeting) for someone to acknowledge their efforts and to simply say thank you for the very important, and very difficult job that they do.

'One hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, what type of house I lived in or what type of car I drove, but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.' ~ Source unknown

Count with me...

315 workbooks to mark and correct

300 odd grades to assign, photocopy and deliver to teachers

150 bath bombs to make

25 boxes of stuff to find homes for

12 pinatas to make, stuff and suspend with fishing wire


11 classes to teach

10 loads of washing to hang out, fold, and put away

8 the number of nights our pathetically inept tooth fairy has forgotten to come and collect Ruhi's tooth. I think we need a new tooth fairy

7 Teacher appreciation gift bags to prepare and deliver along with an impromptu afternoon tea to organize for the staff at the girls school

6 extra trays of bath bombs to concoct... because the first round was not enough

5 cabinets to empty and clean out

4 very important phone calls to make

3 children to care for, cook for and entertain

2 birthday parties to attend

2 music lessons to prepare for

2 fabulous friends who have helped watch Bayan and make it that little bit easier to get a few more things done

1 classroom to move

1 movie to review


1 unit convention to attend

1 shepherd costume to organize

1 dinner invitation


1 vomiting child

It has been one heck of a week.

Hatching

Bayan has developed a bit of an egg fetish. He no longer just tucks them on couches, sets them on bookshelves or hides them behind the exercise equipment, no-now he has taken to retrieving them from the refrigerator and walking the floors while cupping them in his hands. He will occasionally pause to kiss the egg and gently stroke it's shell. My repeated requests that the egg be returned to the refrigerator are generally met by emphatic protests. "Oh, no Mummy. No. I hatching the egg." Humph. Indeed.

At the Clothesline

Life is a little harried at the moment. And I am still feeling like I don't give the children enough individual attention. It is especially challenging after school as both Anisa and Ruhi have so much to tell me about their days and Bayan, not to be outdone, suddenly has a thousand things to tell me as well. This afternoon as I dashed about in a frenzy, cursing myself that I hadn't managed to make dinner before collecting the kids from school, helping with homework, cooking and getting some desperate washing done Ruhi came out to the clothesline and very quietly began handing me piecing of clothing to hang up. We had a lovely little chat and some much needed one on one time together. It was not long, but it was just right and it reminded me that sometimes the most simple and mundane things can be very meaningful, especially when you slow it down and share the task with someone else. I hope we can do a lot more of this and thanks Ruhi you are absolutely extraordinary.

A glimpse

Anisa has always reminded me of someone, but I have never been sure of exactly who. She does not directly resemble either Mehran or myself, but is somehow a slight mixture of both. I am often told that Ruhi looks lust like me and Bayan resembles Mehran. Anisa rarely gets this as she has inherited features and made them her own, but always, just below the surface there is something familiar, something that I have seen before but could not place. Tonight, it dawned on me as I glanced up at her face and for the briefest moment I caught a glimpse of my grandmother. It was fleeting, something in the shape of her face, the expression in her eyes and then it was gone. But it was there. It was so clear that I don't know how I ever missed it before and I am so grateful for that glimpse, no matter how brief, of someone that I can no longer see in this life.

I remember the talks that she and I shared whenever we visited their home in L.A; the hours I spent with her in the kitchen as she bustled around making and baking everything from scratch while I watched her every move, chatted happily and munched on the delicious nibbles that only she could prepare. These moments were made all the more precious as they were few and far between. Living on opposite sides of the country we didn't get to see them as often as I would have liked. My children never had the chance to meet her as she passed away when Anisa was still a baby, but she is never far from our thoughts or hearts and I am very grateful to have caught a glimpse of her reflected in my daughter's face.

"Mine"

According to Bayan the following things are his:

• this house
• our car
• me
• the moon
• the lemon squeezers
• the citrus juicers
• the rolling pin
• the pizza cutter
• the eggs
• the can openers
• the graters
• the measuring cups
• the melon baller
• the egg beaters
• the wooden spoons
• the rubber spatula
• the tea leaf strainer
• the ice cream scooper
• essentially all of my cooking and baking supplies
• and the kitchen cabinets (contents included) which double as Bayan's personal fortress.

And yes, I am still procrastinating.

Procrastinating

The end of the school year is rapidly approaching. I have so much to do that I can hardly think straight and while I should be organizing final lessons, marking over 300 workbooks and various assignments, cleaning a house that has not seen a dust cloth in, well...a long time, shopping for ingredients and preparing food because we are finally having S. and her husband over for dinner something that has been put off more times than I care to count, or helping to organize Holy Day programs and Teacher Appreciation gift boxes...instead I am sitting here typing a blog post and wondering how on earth I am going to get it all done.

Then there is the fact that I decided that I absolutely could not tolerate that hideous, horrible, hard to clean, plastic table covering for one more second. I simply had to make a proper tablecloth. Right away. Now that the cloth is on the table I really should do some marking, or... perhaps I shall just make some matching napkins with the leftover fabric...