Musings on the Olympics

My daughters love the Olympics and one of them even dresses her American Girl dolls for the occasion and keeps a count down.  She's suggested we get up to watch live the opening ceremonies. To get ready, we've watched a few Youtube clips of prior years performances in Ice Skating and Ice dancing.  She also discovered the sports channel that shows all the qualifying events and reminds us of the most recent Summer games in China.

After watching the opening ceremonies and the first few days, one of my daughters came to me and announced she wanted to train for the Olympics. "I think I could be up there Mom." she said, eyes shining.

Not wanting to burst her bubble, I tried to be gentle. "Sure, I'll sign you up for classes if you wish, but I should tell you, most of those athletes are 15-21 years of age and have been training since they were about eight." I was proud that she wanted to do this, and hopeful it wasn't beach volleyball.

She did not appreciate my tact.
"Well thanks Mom for shooting down my dream with a sniper rifle!"

"Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow." I thought. My Maternal ego felt bruised. "Well you know, there's an Olympic event with skiing and shooting..."I started but her face said to stop so I did and asked, "How exactly did I do this?"

"If you knew this, why didn't you sign me up then?"

"Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Again." Answers scrolled through my head. "Because I've always prided myself in not treating you as an extention of myself designed to manifest glory to the world. Because I believe in having children be children. Because it is expensive. Because we had lives that were full without this. Because you've shown no interest in any sport for more than the season when it is in season, because, because....because." I had all these good reasons and what did I say?

"Ummm." Don't say it Sherry. Don't rise to the bait. Darn it I'm weak.  I said, "What sport are you interested in?"  Sherry! You are an IDIOT FOR EVEN SAYING THAT SENTENCE! Me was screaming at me.

"Ice Skating."

This was before the paralyzing 7 day snow storm.  Now after two days of shoveling, she announced she was going to move to the dessert when she grew up so she'd never be cold. She also offered to do all sorts of chores inside the house so as to avoid helping with the big dig.  I could see her being signed up to skate and deciding it was too cold and I remembered, "All suffering has purpose." The snow had protected me from the charge of bad parenting for leaving her Olympic gold dreams unfulfilled. At the very least, I had a defense.  "We'll talk after I get back from working on the driveway.  You could join me, build up some Olympic muscle."

She promptly left me for the computer.

Being inside the house, my daughter researched the ages of the members of the American team.  She also googled past performances and pulled up the German Mom who was 31 and on the gymnastics team and Torres, the US woman who at 42 won the Gold in swimming.  Of course, my inside daughter printed them up and brought them out to no longer shoveling me and said "HAH! Sign me up!"

I watched as the tractor plowed the driveway and waved bye bye to the 150 dollars I'd just surrendered.  "Well, I would honey but I just payed to have the road cleared.  I might have not asked for the plowing of the driveway if more people had helped."  Okay, so I don't play fair either, the apple and the tree are very related.  Looking at the five foot drifts on either side of the driveway, she shook her head, "Hot Chocolate Mom, we can watch the ice dancing?"  Peace and good will through the Olympics had been restored, but thank goodness these events only come every 4 years.**

**Lost this piece as an Untitled Microsoft number 5 and then it was in limbo with the computer, hence the dated references.

You can't Watch this often enough to take everything in....

Have a great Saturday!

7 Takes Saturday because....last week was National Procrastinator's Day

1.

There is nothing on the schedule this weekend.

Parents who suffer from front loaded and overtaxed kid schedules will understand the serene quality of that first sentence.  In fact, it's so soothing, I think I'll say it again.  

There is nothing on the schedule for this weekend. 

No basketball. No parties. No meetings. No play practice. No make up music lessons.

Ah.  I'm trying to stress over what we could be doing or should be doing and I can't.  Ahhhhhhh.

There is nothing on the schedule for the weekend.

2.

Two weeks ago, my laptop died.  I took it to a store where the computer wizard that was to aid me pronounced it beyond repair and charged me a tidy sum to recover all my documents.  He suggested I buy a new one and throw "Lappie" in the trash. 

I couldn't do it. 

This piece of non working machinery had been a gift.  She'd helped me craft two stories that got in the Washington Post.  She held 3/4ths of my unfinished novel.  I don't know why I didn't listen, but I didn't.  Then the computer guy at the school was directing traffic in the afternoon when I pulled up for pick up.  I asked him if he could maybe salvage the laptop and he said he'd have a look. 

Adding a new plug and double the memory and voila, my lappie and I are reuinited and it feels so good.    

3.

Epilogue to #2

I called the 1-800 number of the company in question and they were very upset that this happened and refunded my money and offered free tech support if I discover that there is anything wrong with her in the next month. They're also launching an investigation to determine if this was bored indifference or something more sinister.  The person who handled it was very nice and very professional and so I'm not naming names but I would say, if you have a friend who knows something about these machines and yours has a problem, go to the friend first.  As for the tech guy at the school, he has validated my never forget to give a giftcard to the auxillary teachers policy.

4.

It's been a busy week of blessings.  My daughter was accepted at a very lovely high school last Friday and they gave her a partial scholarship which made it even more wonderful.  Having visited the place and met the faculty, I feel very welcome and pleased that she will have the next four years in such a place.  She is currently so happy about this, that every scrap of paper has the initials of the school drawn with deliberate ornate flourishes and she is writing poetry. 

As she said, "I'm really really really happy.  And that's not normal.  At least not for me."  She's 13 so this is true as a matter of course. 

5.

Apples near Trees

In parenting, there are silent shock moments when you look at this person and you glimpse something of the future in their present. 

My third child always tries to play things close to the vest but one thing she's taken to doing is creating a school world with the youngers. She does lesson plans and has arranged a classroom and gives homework and even drafted her very enthusiastic younger sister into the role of teaching assistant.  Yesterday, she used those natural skills to coax our youngest to cruise from one end of the piano bench to the other. 

Since this goal was on Paul's weekly I.E.P. notes and has been for several weeks, this was a big deal. When I told the physical therapist, she put a note of thanks to my daughter on this week's write up and I decided, she gets a briefing on the stated teaching goals each week.

6.

Homework Cake

Every weekend, we get to Sunday and someone hasn't done their homework and it stinks because it prevents us from really relaxing and enjoying the last parts of Sunday before the work week consumes our every minute. 

I reached back into my summer camp experience where on Sundays, they served fried chicken.  You weren't allowed into the mess hall even if it was raining unless you had a letter written and signed and sealed and stamped and addressed to your parents.  These epistiles were called "Chicken letters." 

So Friday, instead of fish sticks or pasta or scrambled eggs or cheese pizza, I made two yellow cakes with chocolate frosting.  I informed the children that no one was getting dinner until their homework was done.  Last night, everyone enjoyed their meatless dinner and the weekend is now homework nag free. 

7.

Dancing in my Head

My daughter that struggles finally turned a corner. She came home from school with a chapter book and talked all the way home about how it is wonderful to find yourself lost in a world while reading.  After watching four children make that turn at varying points, it was a great relief to see her do the same.  Thank you Mary Pope Osborne for the Magic Tree House series! It has coaxed three of my children to become fluent readers who enjoy it. 

Epilogue to #5 and #7 and #1.  The "teacher" used her newfound authority to tell the teaching aid to pretend she was sick and therefore not come to second period.  The assistant came to see the principal.  I told her that I would "discuss" the matter with this future educator and in the meantime, to go read a book.  

Then I considered, there might just be a reason why, we normally have very scheduled over maxed weekends.