I don't have a theme in mind as I sit down to write. Just a desire to continue with this blog. Today is pajama day at school. I'm not sure why. On Mondays I get an email from one of B's teacher's that gives an update of news from school. This afternoon they will watch a movie. Not sure which one. Not sure why. I do know that it is easier to get B out of bed in the morning on pajama day and that she enjoys it.
Yesterday as I drove her to school she wanted to turn down a road that dead-ends at a river bank. It's a good birding sight, though mostly we just see mallards. I told her we didn't have time. That we were already late, but if we had managed to get going a little earlier in the morning, I would have. So we made a plan to get going a little bit earlier in the morning and we made the stop. She climbed the snow bank at the end of the road and peered over while I turned the car around the narrow road. When she climbed back in she was pleased-- she saw five deer. They are almost as common as the mallards, but still exciting when we see them. We were only a few minutes late, which for us is like being early, and she's starting the day happy. It feels like a win.
So as I wrote the last paragraph a million other things popped into my brain. I'm feeling happy in general these days as it seems like we have a plan for moving forward. Next week is the orientation day at the high school. I can imagine a future where that becomes a good placement for her. That doesn't mean it will turn out that way, but it does seem possible. She could graduate or not and still not be miserable. The environment just has more promise. We'll see.
On Monday as we were driving home from school she told me she was interested in taking figure skating lessons. This seemed to come out of the blue. She had gone ice-skating with her class a week ago and said it was fun and she felt like it was beginning to click for her. She's only only been on ice skates a few times. But I was pleased she wanted to learn something new. Especially something physical. So I went online when I got home and as luck would have it, I found a beginning class that started yesterday. There was a certain anxiety with the first lesson, as was to be expected. My guess is that she had a mental image of a one-on-one lesson, the whole rink held by only her and her instructor. What she got was a rink full of simultaneous lessons. But her group was only a group of two students, with the other girl not showing and the instructor pulling in another teen as an assistant, so lots of individual attention and lots of gains. There are open skating opportunities on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, if she cares to follow through and spend more time on the ice. I can imagine a scenario where she builds on the skills she has in a short amount of time. She can do this if she wants to. And it could all fall apart. Skates for beginners can be bought for under $100. I'll buy them for her birthday if she wants them. With any luck, she won't outgrow them and then she can dust them off and use them whenever she wants. She could join a team or she could just use them at the open skate. But forever more, she is girl who knows how to iceskate. And for now she likes it.
Yesterday as I drove her to school she wanted to turn down a road that dead-ends at a river bank. It's a good birding sight, though mostly we just see mallards. I told her we didn't have time. That we were already late, but if we had managed to get going a little earlier in the morning, I would have. So we made a plan to get going a little bit earlier in the morning and we made the stop. She climbed the snow bank at the end of the road and peered over while I turned the car around the narrow road. When she climbed back in she was pleased-- she saw five deer. They are almost as common as the mallards, but still exciting when we see them. We were only a few minutes late, which for us is like being early, and she's starting the day happy. It feels like a win.
So as I wrote the last paragraph a million other things popped into my brain. I'm feeling happy in general these days as it seems like we have a plan for moving forward. Next week is the orientation day at the high school. I can imagine a future where that becomes a good placement for her. That doesn't mean it will turn out that way, but it does seem possible. She could graduate or not and still not be miserable. The environment just has more promise. We'll see.
On Monday as we were driving home from school she told me she was interested in taking figure skating lessons. This seemed to come out of the blue. She had gone ice-skating with her class a week ago and said it was fun and she felt like it was beginning to click for her. She's only only been on ice skates a few times. But I was pleased she wanted to learn something new. Especially something physical. So I went online when I got home and as luck would have it, I found a beginning class that started yesterday. There was a certain anxiety with the first lesson, as was to be expected. My guess is that she had a mental image of a one-on-one lesson, the whole rink held by only her and her instructor. What she got was a rink full of simultaneous lessons. But her group was only a group of two students, with the other girl not showing and the instructor pulling in another teen as an assistant, so lots of individual attention and lots of gains. There are open skating opportunities on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, if she cares to follow through and spend more time on the ice. I can imagine a scenario where she builds on the skills she has in a short amount of time. She can do this if she wants to. And it could all fall apart. Skates for beginners can be bought for under $100. I'll buy them for her birthday if she wants them. With any luck, she won't outgrow them and then she can dust them off and use them whenever she wants. She could join a team or she could just use them at the open skate. But forever more, she is girl who knows how to iceskate. And for now she likes it.