Friday, August 13, 2010

you look good, you feel good, you do good

one of my favorite teachers was my high school biology teacher.

mr. usher.

he was fun, laid back, sorta hippy-ish.

he actually liked his students and really enjoyed teaching us. and his excitement was contagious.


he had this gigantic oar propped by the back door of the class room. it was the hall pass. as long as it was there, you could take it and leave without asking
permission.

he trusted us.

he knew that sometimes you had to go to the bathroom, get a drink, retrieve a book from your locker, or hang out with your friends who just happened to be ditching class.


he understood. he was cool like that.
and besides, everyone knew you were from mr. usher's class. you couldn't exactly blend in dragging that gigantic thing behind you.
and he made a real big deal about finals. he stressed to us to get good sleep and eat a good breakfast. and then on the day of finals, he'd show up dressed in his tuxedo (but still wearing his very worn-in hippy-ish jeans).

his motto: "you look good, you feel good, you do good."


the following years, i always found comfort on finals day when i'd see mr. usher walking the halls in his tux. i liked him. i liked his philosophy.

i often think of this... "you look good, you feel good, you do good."

and i was reminded of it the other day watching ella clean. i'm guessing anything would be fun dressed as a princess. imagine how glamorous i could feel if i wore a gown while loading the dishwasher or folding laundry. if only i could get away with dressing like that all the time.

oh, but i can't.

and here's why:


so ella asked me, "mom, um... is it ok if i'm the queen or would you like to be the queen?"


not really caring but recognizing the need to keep the subordinates in their place i respond with, "well, how about i'm the queen and you are the princess."


"ok." and she seems happy with this.

for a little while.

but after thinking for a bit, she comes back.
"um, well, since you are a mom now, and you really don't have nice clothes anymore, do you think it would be ok if instead i was the queen?"

wow.

um, well, i guess you're right. so... sure.

i'll just stick to being the servant. in my stained, out-of-style, faded, old "mom" clothes.

11 comments:

Erin said...

Love this post- and it's so true. Hope my clothes hold out on me since I'm not buying any for awhile ;)

Stef said...

Oh my. I wonder what my kids would do if I went to Goodwill and got myself a really fancy dress and cleaned in it. It may be fun to try. Nah!
But I do like your title.

Heather said...

Clearly you need to do some serious shopping! Get to the mall, stat!

Mr. Usher sounds like a great teacher! Wonder what he's up to nowadays...I'm sure he'd love to read this post and know you remember him.

Vicki said...

I love the picture of your little cinderella cleaning in her ball gown...

Lucia's Mama said...

I had Mr. Usher too and I will never forget that motto...I share it ALL THE TIME! Crazy.

Shelley said...

Over from This is the Day. Great posts.

Anonymous said...

just found your blog and absolutely love it! love the picture and it looks like she is even making cleaning fun!

Rachael Schepemaker said...

There is no way you would ever be consider out-dated! You are so cute! I want to hear about your experience with your friend taking you shopping. Let's chat soon!

Megan O. said...

Have I mentioned lately how much I love your blog? :) I have? Well, let me just mention it again.....I love your blog!

Raising them in Christ said...

Hahaha. I know right? Mom clothes suck! We should probably hit the anthem outlets and get "cool mom clothes" if such a thing exists next time you come out! :) I went shopping for some @ Target today...no such luck! We are the queens...cool clothes or not!

Lisa said...

ok, you need to write a book! you're SUCH an amazing writer! i would buy it for sure, and tell all my friends about it! how funny- moms really don't have many nice clothes- why is that? :)