Friday, April 1, 2011

The Results are In

After the school bell rang, a puffy, red-eyed teenage boy jumped in my car.  He didn't want to make eye-contact.  Holding off tears consumed all of his energy.  But finally, after we'd left the school campus, he starred at me and whispered, "He didn't even read my letter."  I knew what this meant to him.

My mind drifted back over 20 years.  I felt the sting of teenage disappointment, embarrassment crawling up my neck like mercury in a thermometer, and the hot flushing of my face giving away my hurt.  In that moment in my car, my heart ached for my son.

Honestly, I expected the school to refuse his request to participate in ONE DAY WITHOUT SHOES.  Too many liabilities...too little time ahead...too much to explain...too weird...all things I anticipated hearing.  I assumed our conservative, East Texas town (that I genuinely love) wouldn't "get it."  No problem.  We had cautioned Hunter not to gamble on a positive answer to his letter.  I didn't consider cautioning him it might be chucked without thought, set in a pile that makes its way to the wastebasket, or buffered by the secretary.  Dang!

Our son's campus will miss out on ONE DAY WITHOUT SHOES, but he won't.  As I explained, his letter is an ageless gift to his brother, a profession of his love.  What to do, what to do?   He begged permission to celebrate this day in honor of his brother (who's 1 year gotcha day just happens to coincide) regardless of the school's ruling.  Ugh.  Believe it or not, this girl does NOT go looking for conflict; and I fear this is the inevitable reaction should we allow him to go barefoot to school.  So, I'm wondering.  Would you allow your child to play hooky?  Send him barefooted?  Just give him the time before and after school for awareness' sake?...For the record I must say I'm sure this man-child is coming down with something that will overcome his system on April 5th.

As a side note, if you are still struggling to decide how to raise awareness for ODWS consider:  Make a stencil for ODWS (I have a prototype I can email to you).  Mix a cleaning agent solution.  Using a scrub brush and your solution, place your stencil on the ground and clean the sidewalk in the open area of your stencil, leaving your message and a cleaner sidewalk for all to enjoy.  Spread the word.  Change the world.

Barefooted for a Reason,
L

11 comments:

  1. Dang...that's a tough one. I'm not sure how I'd respond to that. I have a feeling my rule-following husband would shrug his shoulders & say "Well, that's just how it is...we need to follow the rules at school." but this mama's heart would want to buck the system & 'stick it to the man' for that one day. Perhaps send him to school without shoes ON, but perhaps in his backpack. If a teacher asks him to put the shoes on, he can respectfully pull them out & wear them during his/her class and then he can remove them on the way to the next class. Sure, he may spend the majority of the day IN shoes, but when it's appropriate, he'll be honoring Mez. ???? Maybe?

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  2. That just breaks my heart! I would email or call the principal and ask him directly if your son can go w/o shoes for the day, explaining the reason. I'd almost be on the side of letting him stay home for the day if the answer's "no".

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  3. I'm thinking he will for sure come down with something, possibly an over-reactive mother would have him stay home when in all actuality, it will just be allergies (mine are out of control by the way) :)

    Go on a barefooted walk- celebrate his little bro.............

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  4. Well at least Hunter did what he knew God wanted him to do and God will Honor that. He will be blessed for what he did in honor of his brother and the other people in the countries who are suffering. It does not go unnoticed in God's eyes.It has not gone unnoticed in the body of Our Savior and Lord Yashua (Hebrew name). Good job Hunter always do what is right and what God directs and leads you to do He will Protect,provide, and equip you for whatever he leads you to do or say. When you follow Yashua more and more you will be persuceted more and more just like Yashua was because you are doing what is right . But when you come face to face with Yashua Our Savior and Lord you will know that you have done what he has led you to do and you will have a clear conscious before Yashua. Keep your chin up and don't let anyone steal your crown away that Yashua has in place for you. We the Allen Family are very proud of you and Love you very much. God Bless and May God be with you and your family.

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  5. I am a rebel and I would totally send him barefoot if he wanted too!

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  6. I'm a high school teacher who is planning on going to work barefoot on Tuesday. I'm also not planning on "not noticing" if any of my students happen to forget to wear shoes as well. That said, if my boss comes to my classroom and tells me I need shoes, I'll have a pair of TOMS ready in my cupboard. The point of the day is to create awareness, and ALL public relations campaigns work best if you keep the public on your side! ;)

    If the principal/headmaster dude didn't even read the letter, is it possible that he might have actually allowed your son to go without shoes had he considered the request? If he didn't forbid it outright, I'd send him without shoes on but with a pair in his bag and let the chips fall where they may provided that he is aware of what could happen and prepared to be respectful to authority.

    Good luck!
    Soko :)

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  7. Thanks for all of the suggestions. I'd like to make clear there are NO adverse feelings because the school is not joining in the cause. My disappointment stems from 1.) Aching for my son's hurt. 2.) Frustration that all the effort put into his proposal seemed discarded. 3.) Just like all other teens, our son struggles with passion. I hoped this would be an opportunity for another adult to encourage the passion in him, and this would impact him... BUT, instead, he has a slew of other adults encouraging from the sidelines. THANKS TO ALL OF YOU! I hope, as he reads these, it will be the right incentive to move forward in passion.

    L

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  8. I think it's a good opportunity to advocate for Hunter by calling the school and making sure that the letter he poured his heart and soul into gets read by the head master.

    If the head master reads it and still says "no", Hunter might need to take a mental health day! ;)

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  9. OOPS! My post should have read that I am planning on "not noticing" not that I am not planning on "not noticing." Translation=all of my students are free to be barefoot in my room as long as they would like to be. :)

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  10. @Tracy, a call is in...apparently the school is busy right now.
    @ Soko, I totally got ya. Does that mean you were clear or that I work in enough of a cloud that I interpret incoherent data?

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  11. @Lori--OK, so I didn't mention this before, but now that it's become apparent that we operate on the same wave length, I HAVE to tell you that while we were in Ethiopia this February, we too were blessed to have Solomon as our driver. He told us ALL about you and kept saying how much I remind him of you. Perhaps we were separated at birth? :)

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