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Christina M. Currie

Christina M. Currie's Touch of Spice column appears Fridays in the Craig Daily Press. E-mail her at director@craig-chamber.com

Parent/teacher conferences always were nerve wracking. You're pretty sure that there's no cause for concern, but when you know two people are meeting to talk about you, there's no telling what will come up.

And not knowing always generates fear.

And then you start speculating.

And you automatically imagine the worst-case scenario.

Then you confess, because the punishment you get when your parents found out from someone else is always worse (so they tell you) than you'd get if you'd just confessed.

Parent/teacher conferences are a stressful time in a child's life.

But, I've learned, not nearly as stressful as they are for a parent.

As the end of each day brought me that much closer to my scheduled conference with my children's teacher, I could feel the tension increase.

To me, the girls weren't under fire - they're learning new skills and habits and have the benefit of youth on their side.

Me, I've got no excuses.

So, I walked in that room fully prepared to be chastised for my shortcomings as a parent.

I don't think we read together enough.

I'm pretty sure I don't put enough emphasis on homework.

We made flash cards for some of the words 7-year-old Nikki has to learn, but they weren't very cool.

Math isn't my strong suit. Am I explaining it well?

Katie's attention wanders.

Nikki has a hard time balancing attention to detail and timeliness.

I'm a little stressed. The girls had nothing to worry about, I was under the spotlight and before the firing squad.

Think I was overreacting?

Just a little.

Turns out, my kids are pretty normal.

Turns out, most parents skip a few nights of reading.

Turns out, schools are more interested in making plans for progress than they are in determining who's to blame.

Who knew?

OK, I did.

This, after all, wasn't my first parent/teacher conference. And, I'd reviewed both girls' report cards in advance and knew there was no reason to panic.

They're pretty good girls.

But that didn't matter. I still got butterflies in my stomach.

Parents don't get report cards. They don't get that two-page summary that tells them where they excel and what areas need improvement.

But, I guess our feedback comes every time we look at our children and smile proudly. Every time we're frustrated by their behavior.

And every grade they get is mine.

Maybe there is reason to get a bit nervous.