from the director | october 2015
Vicki Rutledge
I have made an adjustment to my parenting playbook this fall. For several years now I’ve expected Hunter and Sarah Beth to pack their school lunches. I grew up in a household where I was expected to do chores. So this seems like a realistic and normal expectation to me. And to be candid, they had started grumbling about the food I packed. But this year, I reversed course. I am back to packing lunches for them five days a week.
There are two reasons why:
To reduce maternal nagging. They are in high school and we’ve got lots of weightier things to “nag” them about that don’t involve peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
They will both be at college soon. I see light at the end of the lunch packing tunnel.
These reasons make all the difference to me. I think about why I am packing lunches whenever I start complaining in my head about it. In this season in my parenting, it’s worth the effort.
At a much deeper level, this is how I feel about our upcoming school fundraiser, Fun Fair. Why we do the Fun Fair makes all the effort worth it. The purpose of the Fun Fair is to raise the money it takes to run a high quality preschool program. Preschoolers are in a season of remarkable growth and development. Because they are incredibly receptive to learning, it’s our passion to give them the gift of a good start in school. The Fun Fair helps us do this with excellence.
A parent once grumbled to me that we talked too much about the Fun Fair, sent too many flyers home and made too many announcements about it. To be candid, she said, she would be glad when it was over. I’m not sure what I mumbled in response at the time. Probably something like, “I’m sorry, we just gotta do what we gotta do.” What I would say now is, “The reason we make such a big deal about the Fun Fair is because it’s how we pay for the excellence your child experiences at Weekday School. We think your child deserves the best. All great schools, including public and private, fundraise.”
So our fundraising playbook remains the same year after year. In the weeks leading up to Fun Fair, you are going to hear a lot about it! Unapologetically. It’s my hope that every family will find a way to support this great event. Check out the “Link Round-up” for all those details.
I think one of the coolest things Jesus ever said about young children can be found in Matthew 18:10. He says, “See that you don’t look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.”. Amazing. Angels assigned to watch over children have direct access to God. Why? Because they deserve the best.
In His Service,
Beth Hewitt