"I Just Know There Are!"

This morning, I went to speak with Samantha's academic counselor about an issue with her AP Stats and Trig teacher. No big deal, I just thought it would be nicer to speak with her counselor in person rather than communicating my questions via email. When we finished talking about her math situation, we began speaking about some of Samantha's activities.

I have always told Samantha that if she has a passion for a specific interest and no club exists to facilitate that interest that she should think about starting one. I started one organization at Lawrence University (VDay) and co-founded one at UCHastings (Law Students for Reproductive Justice) that gave me an outlet for important activist work that I otherwise would have had difficulty engaging in on my own. Well, Samantha has decided to create a club and it is a doozy.

Apparently, my girl has approached her counselor and is working with the school social worker to start a club for kids whose parents suffer from a chronic illness or who have lost their parents to illness or injury. This morning, her counselor told me that Samantha said to her, "I just know there are other kids like me out there. I just know there are!" (Cue my tears and a feeling like I have been punched in the gut.)

I know that my diagnosis affects her. I know that. Of course I do. But I didn't know how much she craves the association of other individuals whose parents are dealing with the same kinds of issues. It makes perfect sense... after all, one of the primary reasons I write this blog is that I crave connection with others while weathering these particular circumstances. But I hadn't put two-and-two together in regards to her need for connection. And I admit, that lack of empathy and understanding on my part makes me feel pretty crummy.

With that said, I am now eager to support her endeavors and I am proud that she took my advice to seek connection and an outlet for a particular interest/passion by initiating her own group. I sincerely hope that she finds what she is looking for and will do anything I can to help.

If you are aware of any resources that a teen struggling with a parent's chronic illness diagnosis could benefit from, please don't hesitate to reach out!

Points

Stephen Colbert is a Tolkien FREAK. Apparently, Peter Jackson got wind of this fact and invited Colbert down to New Zealand while he was directing one of the Tolkien films. For funsies, a trivia contest was held. And Colbert absolutely spanked everyone else in attendance. Tolkien experts, researchers... Colbert bested them all by a long shot. And thank God for that. Because Colbert's insane Tolkien nerdiness empowers me to embrace my own insanely nerdy passion. Because if the brilliant and talented Stephen Colbert can hold a ridiculous amount of Tolkien quotes and trivia in his head while leading a productive, meaningful and influential life... I can do the same with Harry Potter. Long live Stephen Colbert.

So, I think we have now established that I am a Harry Potter freak. I can quote most of the books and movies by heart and I spend a fairly ridiculous amount of time contemplating the Harry Potter universe. And it is from this obsession that my little family's tradition of "points" came to be.

As HP fans well know, each of the four Hogwarts houses compete for points. These points determine the annual House Cup champion. When a student does something commendable, a teacher often awards that student house points. Points are taken away when a student misbehaves. And so it goes in our little house.

J.K. Rowling has admitted that in rare cases, "hybrid" sortings do exist. (Which is a bit contrary to her theory of hatstalls, but the co-existence of these phenomena work in my favor, so I just go with it.) Hybrid sortings can occur when a student essentially belongs in two houses instead of one. A "divergent" Hogwarts student, if you will. And each member of my little family just happens to fit this bill.

Me - Gryffinclaw (Gryffindor and Ravenclaw)
Samantha - Huffledor (Hufflepuff and Gryffindor)
Mark - Slytherpuff (Slytherin and Hufflepuff... the strangest possible combination, but Mark is a singular guy and I dig that about him)

When one of us does something awesome, one of the others tends to holler, "Five points to (insert house name here)!" and when we're being dorky, the refrain is, "Don't make me take five points from (insert house name here)." It has gotten to the point where I actively ask for and/or insist that someone give me "points" when I have done something good and am feeling particularly unappreciated. This serves as a gentle reminder that this mama/wife (and many, many mamas/wives, I'm sure) does a LOT around the house that goes completely unacknowledged and it is nice to take note once in awhile. I can sometimes be found running around the living room yelling, "I want points!!!!!!" And I can often be found yelling, "POINTS!" in acknowledgement of Mark's efforts or Samantha's.

The "points" tradition in our house is a silly one. But we like silly. And when said silly tradition helps us to acknowledge each other's efforts (and brings a little more Harry Potter into my life on a daily basis) why not?