They Said You Can't Fight City Hall...So We're Suing Instead

The next time I hear anyone say something along the lines of oh say "Dirty Hippie, get a job" I just may break my streak of never raising a hand in anger to harm another person.

I'm starting this this statement because this week has stretched my poor family to the very edge. And we have loved each other surprisingly well under high emotion, immense stress, and bad for you food. Taking a stand and fighting The Machine is by far the most exhausting job I've ever had.

I probably have 12 posts from this experience of fighting to keep the Mayor from closing our school with less than 3 weeks to go in the school year. I've wanted to write out my feelings numerous times, but by the time I got home I was asleep on my feet. Ironically, this ugliness from the mayor's office has permitted me the ability to fulfill life long passions. I walked a picket line! I protested. I called political offices and wrote letters. I manned a table at a rally. I've volunteered and sat in on committees. I've made the paper once and the news twice. I did these things because I believe in this school and the I believe that we should be afforded all the rights the Constitution affords us. And tomorrow I'll sit in a Federal Courtroom waiting to hear the outcome.

In the mean time, I've had to look for possible other schools. All of which were lovely, but still made me cry at the thought of giving up the lovely holistic education my kiddos receive now. We have a traditional school already on stand by and I'm touring a private school (hallelujah for vouchers) this afternoon. I haven't been to the grocery store in over a week except to grab odds and ends. Emma swears she hasn't eaten since this started and the rest of us have had...wait for it...FAST FOOD! Yech. blech. groooossss. It's a very rare treat for us to eat fast food and even then I rarely eat it. My body is in full on revolt. Apparently, I'm not the only one protesting. The kids have loved it. I'm insanely bloated. I feel sluggish and none of my clothes fit. It's crazy how much damage you can do in so short a time. I feel exhausted with little desire to exercise or detox. Yet, I know I must or I'll feel like this forever. I'm not looking forward to how long it's going to take to shed a week and a half of the bad stuff. I have an old acquaintance from a Bible Study that is now doing detox body wraps. I may have to do this just to get a kick start.

Brandon is still hard at it with two jobs, so with all the time spent with the school stuff I vaguely remember what my spouse looks like. Plus, he developed bronchitis over the weekend. The doc is booked with some bizarre summer virus so looks like I'm going to be consulting The Big Book for some home remedies. (I've been working on a series of the miracles of baking soda and how to make your own cleaning supplies since I have so many people ask me about what I use, but that's gonna be a minute. I have found an awesome face scrub made out of oatmeal that made my face feel like a baby's fanny I'll share soon!)

In the midst of all this, I've left my salon. I rented a chair about 4 blocks away from my house and due to a miserable set of events including the drunk daddy of my salon owner scaring one of my clients, Brandon and I have concocted a way for me to be able to do hair out of my house without having to shove any one's head in my kitchen sink. As crazy as all this is, it couldn't have come at a better time since I have to be completely free to pick up and drop off two different kids at two different schools across the city from each other instead of up the street. Not to mention that I was only breaking even at the salon and now we have at least $250 a month in which to offset some of the potential school costs. Of course that is after we purchase some equipment for the house. So if you don't mind hanging out in my kitchen with coffee or having your hair rinsed in a chair that will lean your head into my bathtub then please come on over. Belle wants to know what I'll name the home salon...QuirkyGirl Salon of course!!

We also had NiNi hanging with us since Thursday. She's trying to move into this area, but her house is still in Ktown but her job is 50 minutes away on the southside of Indy. Mix in trouble with the new car and we asked her to bunk with us until her car was ready on Monday. My mom came on Saturday and stayed the night to go to church with us on Sunday, attend the First Annual Mosaic/ New City/ Indy Metro Church Picnic and Kick Ball Extravaganza with Belle and I, then give us some much needed support at the Save Our School Social. She also gave the money to secure Belle's spot at the back up school since we couldn't afford to dole out $130 "just in case".  So as you can see, we had a full house.

As if aaaallll that isn't enough we have added a new member to the cast of Clan Maxwell. I don't know if any of you remember my other blog (The Gratitude Project based upon my New Year's Resolution to be grateful) post about Stella Luna, the pit mix that adopted US but Stella's family was moving out and Brandon asked what they were doing with the dog. Low and behold, Stella came home. She's been trying to live her since February anyway. Every time she would escape this is the first place she'd come, so I guess it's only fitting this baby of a big dog is home to stay. Hey, why not throw one more log on the fire, right?

During the week I learned many things. How much this particular school and the community it's created means to me, how grateful I am that I have the husband I do who tells me he's proud of me for fighting so hard so something I feel isn't right, that it doesn't matter to me that my other half isn't the rally type, because he works extra hard so that I can be, that I'm teaching my children my ethics through action and not just word, that the kids in the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood know that adults think they are worth the fight even when they belong to a neighborhood the city wants to pretend doesn't exist. There is one a large dark cloud looming though. If tomorrow the Federal Judge doesn't side in our favor, Lily is moving back to her dad's. She has stated from the get go that if she can't go to TPS then she'll return to her dad's to attend Greenfield Intermediate School. She's rather return to what she knows than to start another new school. This trumps the internship I have to turn down in the neighborhood butting up against the school's. This trumps losing teachers who love my kids. Or paying tuition when we can't afford it. This verdict means my child no longer lives in my home. So when so many people wonder WHY I'm fighting so hard. It's because this judge holds my family in his hands.

Please pray for us. Pray for the judge. Pray for God's will and our acceptance of it. Pray for Lily. This is not an easy decision and this time this move will be for the year not just 6 months.