Just when I thought it was safe to come out…my son brought home The 2^nd Grade Science Fair Project Guidelines.  Cue scary music… I hope my kindergartener doesn’t have to do one.  But I think it’s a school-wide project, so I’m waiting for that other shoe to drop any day now.  Ugh!

A little background:  throughout my tenure as a grade school student, Science Fair Projects (gulp) were my absolute bane.  Make no mistake, I could do them, it was just the process that I disdained immensely.  Why?  Because it challenged my time management abilities, caused me to plan and execute (I was great at the planning, but sloppy in my execution, which usually entailed waiting until the last minute), and made me wonder, “What exactly does this have to do with real life anyway???  I’m a literary person, so why do I have to deal with this science stuff?”

Fear and trembling ensued as I looked at The Timeline page (that was nice of ‘em to spell it out).  Remain calm, I coached myself.

• Concept and project materials write-up due February 15 – that’s next week.
• Progress Update due March 4 – that’s in a few weeks.
• Final Project due April 26 – arrrrgggghhh!  On top of everything else going on, now I have a SCIENCE PROJECT to facilitate?!?

I lost it – flipped into panic mode and punched the red emergency button.

I’ve asked my wonderful hubby for support in making sure my son’s project gets done well…since he watches the Science Channel for fun (go figure!), he should be a great resource.  I let him know my angst, trepidation, and bumpy history with these things, but I know I can’t get around involvement in this endeavor.  Since my hubby thrives on challenges, he gets just as much of a thrill out of seeing other people confront their challenges – whether they want to or not.  So I’m gonna have to face this.  And not just deal with it, but conquer it. I’m too old to keep running away.

Amazing…so I’m gonna have to quote and live II Timothy 1:7…(flashback to the 80s) just like when my mom would tell me when I had my own Science Fair Project assignments, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”  Make no mistake, saints: there’s no escaping a lesson God wants you to learn.  Trust me, I’ve tried.  Yet, here I am 20+ years later staring at Science Fair Project Guidelines – again.  And I thought I’d “graduated” when I got through “The Great Play-Doh Turtle-in-a-Shoebox Animal Habitat Project” of October 2009 with my mind intact.  What teacher gives kindergartners projects anyway???  Apparently, the teachers of my children.  Stay tuned…there’s definitely more to come…and I’ll be growing right along with my children.  Sigh!

“For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.”

(Job 3:25)

 “Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me.”

(Psalm 55:5)

 © Copyright 2011 by Kayren J. Cathcart