What Does It Take to Become a Leader Like Lenin?

For some school district employees, our Christmas gift is two whole weeks off work.

Today is my last driving day for two weeks. There's no preschool classes, so I'm only picking up and dropping off my high school kids, which takes a total of about two hours between the two runs. And it's early day, so my Christmas vacation starts about 2:15 this afternoon.

Yesterday, I wore earrings shaped like Christmas bulbs--green, in this case. They light up when I push little buttons on the base, so I had them blinking when I picked up the high school kids yesterday morning. It was dark, so they were really showing to good effect. But would one of those cold, sleepy, silent kids look at me? No, they would not. They climbed stolidly up the stairs (some of them wearing nothing but t-shirts and shorts for some inexplicable reason) and avoided all eye contact, only a few of them giving me a muttered response to my "good morning." I wasn't surprised, as that's normal morning behavior for teenagers, but what an opportunity they missed! Green blinking lightbulb earrings!

The preschoolers loved them, however, so my efforts were not entirely wasted.

The high schoolers aren't always surly. They're different people by the time they get onto the bus in the afternoon. I get smiles and greetings and even a few conversations.

There's one kid, probably a junior or senior, who has decided I'm not too old to communicate with. The other day, he got on the bus and said, "Are you a fascist?" I said that I was not.

He said, "You should be fascist."

I said, "Why should I be a fascist? I'm curious."

He obviously hadn't thought about it enough because he didn't give me a real answer, but then he said, "I want to be a Communist. Except there have been some terrible leaders, like Stalin."

I said, "With Communism, you always get leaders like Stalin. That's how it works."

He said, "I like Lenin better than Stalin. I'd be a leader more like Lenin."

Obviously, he's got some power fantasies going on in his young and still uneducated head. Megalomania isn't that uncommon with teenagers, right? They usually gain some maturity and life experience and become less psychotic that way. Right?

More kids got on the bus and we didn't talk anymore until I got to their drop-off stop. As he was getting off the bus, I said with a smile, "Now don't go Communist on me overnight."

He smiled back, but before he walked away, he turned around, grabbed the side of the door opening, and said, "I would be a good leader. I would do it the right way," before dropping his hand and turning toward his house.

Ah, the naive good intentions of the young who are convinced they can defy human nature and force the world onto a permanent path of peace. How much damage they can do when they get some real power.

Yesterday, this same kid got on the bus and excitedly told me he'd scored a full ten on his diving for swimming class. I gave him a high five and enthusiastically congratulated him, which made him pleased. He didn't mention anything more about turning to Communism and I didn't bring it up. Let's hope it's a passing fancy, one that will evaporate once he becomes more educated. He seems like a fairly sharp young man, so I'm hoping for the best.

I hear sad tales from Elannah and Sophia about some of their former high school friends who have turned to the dark side. Kids who are convinced that socialism and communism are forward-thinking and brave because they don't actually understand how those systems work in the real world. Kids who came from good families who now drink heavily and smoke weed and take mind-altering drugs and namecall anyone who doesn't agree with their radical ideas.

But I digress from my original point: Christmas gifts in whatever form they arrive.

Not only do I have a pile of sweet little gifts from many of my preschool parents (mostly treats, which is why it's never a good idea to start a new healthy eating plan in December), but Husband bought me a new pillow. It's a wonderful pillow. I immediately slept better and didn't snore on this pillow.

You know you're an adult when things like good pillows are a Christmas treasure.

I'll tell you more about the pillow, my sleep test results, and what's happening with my energy levels in a future post. This one is long enough already.