And Sometimes They Surprise You

Austin shared this essay he wrote for school, with me. It made me cry.

Renaissance Person of the Year
Austin Meehan

I believe that there are many characteristics that a modern day man or women would need to be considered a renaissance person of the year. A renaissance person needs to be well rounded and have great qualities to make up an ideal role model for others in today’s society. This modern day renaissance person would need to be honest, smart, hopeful, caring, trusting, hardworking and strong on the inside. I believe that my mom has all of the characteristics needed to be a modern day renaissance person, so I nominate her.

My mom is very honest and at times this can be extremely difficult. She can tell the truth even when it hurts. I remember one time when my mom was feeling down, so I asked what was wrong. Instead of saying nothing was wrong like most parents would do, she told me what was making her feel that way and what I could do to help so that things would eventually be better. Unlike other parents, she doesn’t just glaze over her children’s work; instead she not only tells us what can be improved, but she helps us get it to that stage.

My mom is very trusting and smart. I can tell her anything or any of my problems and she will be able to understand them and tell me what to do if I want to fix them. Many of my friends have told me they have a bad relationship between with their parents. They aren’t able to talk to their parents without their parents being disappointed or not knowing what to do or say. My mom understands me and shares her own experiences so we can relate to each other.

A modern renaissance person of the year would need to be hardworking and strong to achieve that award. My mom stays up for hours into the night writing her blog and humor books that inspire thousands of parents to enjoy their kids and see the lighter side of life while being a mom to me and my five siblings. She works hard to make enough money for us because my parents are divorced and my dad isn’t reliable with child support. Even with all these stressors and factors working against her, she is still able to keep calm and make it through without help. She does everything she can to make life for us better while still being there for us as a caring mom.

There are few, if any, modern day men and women that meet the requirements for the renaissance person of the year, but I agree completely that my mom is one of the few that deserves it. She is honest, trusting, hardworking and everything in-between. She is what makes life for my siblings and me great; she’s the well rounded renaissance women of our society.

What on Earth IS Uniqua?

Thank you all for your well wishes and prayers! You guys are so great! You know how you're always thanking me for making you laugh or making you feel better? Well, it works the other way around too! You guys always make me feel so much better! :) We're all on the mend here. No more fevers and no one has thrown up since (knocking REALLY hard on wood) two nights ago. Last night I dreamt that I was pregnant. I must have been delirious with fever. Savannah came home from school today with a project for her health class. She's to keep track of all the bad words (stupid, idiot, shut up, buttmunch) she hears this weekend. After being home for all of two hours, her notebook was full. I'm so proud.

Because Austin was puking and fevery yesterday, he stayed home from school today. So Austin lay there on the couch watching cartoons with his little brother and sister. Austin is the kind of kid who cannot watch cartoons without pointing out all the little idiosyncrasies he sees.

"Why doesn't Little Bear wear clothes? His parents wear clothes. Why does he run around naked all day?"

"Austin, it's a show about talking animals. A little girls hangs out in the forest with an assortment of talking wildlife and that's ok, but the fact that Little Bear doesn't wear clothes bothers you?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How can Spongebob go to the beach when he's already under water?"

"So the whole talking sponge, starfish, crab, and squid are ok? A squirrel who somehow built a dome under water and lives in the ocean is ok, but the fact that Spongebob goes to the beach under water is absurd?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Where are Max and Ruby's parents? Why aren't they ever on the show?"

"For real? The whole 'talking bunnies who can take a bus to the store by themselves' is fine and dandy, but the fact that their parents are never shown is troubling to you?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What on earth is Uniqua?!?!?!"

"OK. ya got me there. I have no idea what she's supposed to be! What on earth IS Uniqua?!"

For more laughs, read:
Into the Tunnel of Darkness: My Colonoscopy

Adventures in Grocery Shopping

How I Stopped the Cockroach that Nearly Ate my Face Off

Viewer Mail

I've got the best readers in the world! I want to take a minute to thank everyone for your nice comments to Julian's family and thank you to those who have sent them cards and/or made donations to Make-A-Wish Foundation in Julian's honor.
And thank you for everyone who has sent us a card or letter from your town. Wow - we've gotten about 160 now! We appreciate all the time you've taken to look up information about your towns, and we are loving all the pictures of your landmarks and families! Besides the U.S, we've now gotten letters from England, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, Guam, Puerto Rico, Germany, France, Ireland, Scotland, Netherlands, and Sweden! Thank you so much for taking the time to send this information to us! I wish I had the time to share all of these with you because they're very cool! Here are a couple pictures though...



Here's the mail. It never fails. It makes me want to wag my tail. When it comes, I want to wail, "MAAAAIIIILLLL!" (Sorry, I just had a Blue's Clues moment. I know, I know, it's sad. But on the bright side, I wasn't singing, "There's a party in my tummy, so yummy, so yummy!")



This isn't even all the postcards. There were several postcards and other pictures included with the letters.



Check out this postcard! It's from a reader named Shirley. Both sides of this card are printed on fabric and it's edged with thread. How cool! Do you make and sell these cards, Shirley?


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