Julie, That's a wonderful story and one great kid. John McCreery On 2005/03/03, at 23:48, JimKandJulieB@xxxxxxx wrote: > We are in the process of re-doing Elena, my 11 year old's, bedroom; > new > paint, furniture, etc. We are getting a new bed for her on Sunday. > For the > record, Elena is a smurf-child, 70 pounds, 4' 8". Skinny tiny but > strong and > head-strong. She has a classmate who is fairly impoverished. This > girl lives > in a shanty-type trailer; space heaters that don't work (her mother > turns on > the cooking oven and opens the door to heat the place), broken out > windows, no > furniture in the bare small living room except a tiny bookshelf with > a 15" > TV, the live on raman noodles and I don't think they ever eat > meat.... I've > been over there when I've retrieved the child to play with Elena. > The kiddo > is smart and good-hearted. She's been sleeping on an air mattress, > with a > couple blankets I gave them that we were no longer using. Elena > wants to give > her current bed to the child when she gets her new one, which I > consented to. > Last evening I was absolutely prostrate with this flu thing and Elena > asked > if we could take the child her bed that moment. I pointed out that > a) I > couldn't really move, and b) that would leave nowhere for her to > sleep. She > pleaded, begged, stomped, and I said no, it just will have to wait > until Sunday. > I dozed. When I woke I found (and it is highly unusual for Elena to > ever > be directly disobedient) that Elena had single-handedly disassembled > her twin > bed, taken the frame, the foot and head boards, and pulled the two > mattresses, and her sheets into the front hall, had called her friend > who was on her > way over with another friend who had a pick-up so she could put it up > and sleep > on it last night. I stood there and said, "What in the world have you > done???" (total astonishment) She looked up at me and without any > mischievousness, simply sincerely, and without guile, said "I've done > a good thing.". She > was firm in her confidence. After the bed was taken, I asked Elena > why it > was so important to her to do it that night in spite of my telling > her no and > her having no help. She said her friend's air mattress had gotten a > leak and > all her friend had to sleep on that night was a bare carpet and the > floor was > very cold. Elena said, "I can sleep on my floor with a sleeping bag > because > I have a space heater and my room's warm. But she doesn't have a > heater." > The Other List had a thread on parenting I haven't read carefully > enough > yet. I have raised Elena fairly freely (my Mother keeps insisting I > should have > spanked her when she was little <g>); but her own little nature seems > to be > keeping her in good stead. As long as she doesn't give up her own > place to > sleep to someone else at her own peril <sigh>... > > Julie Krueger > > ------------------------------------------------------------------ > To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, > digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html > ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html