is anyone out there???

Don't mess with Medusa!

Yesterday I picked up my daughter from school. I asked her about her day and if she had any homework--the usual stuff. She had an English assignment, then she started giggling---the way only a twelve year old can. "I have the best idea," she announced, anxious to get home and get started. That was a first.

A little while later, she handed me a piece of paper she'd been working on. "You do know the top half of your paper is blank, right?" I asked her. "Yep." She grinned, trying to contain her excitement. Somehow, I knew I was missing something.

"I'm supposed to draw a picture of Medusa," she told me. Yet the paper had no picture on it. "Okay." I waited for her explanation. She started giggling again: "I didn't want you to turn to stone, so I didn't draw the picture!" She laughed at her cleverness. Right.

"What if your teacher doesn't think your idea is as funny as we do?" I had to ask. I am the parent you know. And technically, she hadn't done the assignment. Her face fell. She honestly, hadn't considered the possibility. "Oh."

I suggested she draw a second picture to hand in after turning in the first one. (One that actually had the picture on it.) She liked the idea and went straight to work. A few minutes later, I heard her complaining. "Snakes are hard to draw." Then, "why couldn't she have something better growing on top of her head..." I tried not to smile. "Flowers," she announced. "I can draw flowers, why didn't she have flowers?"

Indeed! Not only was Medusa evil and mean for turning people to stone for looking at them, she was thoughtless for being so hard to draw! How rude! Anyway, with both her papers safely tucked into her backpack, she is anxious and ready for school this morning. In fact, she is the only one of my children, NOT hoping for a snow day.