'Tis the Season?

Yeah, it's kind of disgusting but I have indeed begun my holiday prep. I went to costco.com and ordered the holiday card pictures (using two nice pix from Son #1's bar mitzvah, one of the old folks and one of the Three Amigos). I addressed them in dribs and drabs during this week and remembered to buy some holiday stamps at COSTCO too.

Tonight I went to Sports Authority and Toys 'R' Us to get some Hanukkah presents. I also ordered two "nights" worth for the kids on Amazon. If I have the Hanukkah stuff wrapped and labeled before I leave on my business trip the Sunday after Thanksgiving, I'll be able to relax there during my downtime. It would help to have taken a whack at the Christmas prep too.

If I'm not organized and don't plan well in advance, either I don't get it done or the stress is too great. And so we go!

All I Want for Xmas

Remember that song? Well, I already have my two front teeth...

Tonight my sixth grader went to the "teen rec" program at the middle school. After I dropped him off a few minutes before 7:00, I headed over to the ice skating rink one town over. I'd never been there by myself before, but it was the perfect opportunity because hubby had taken the other two boys to dinner.

I think this was my fifth time on skates, so I spent the entire time practicing "slow and steady" which was a bit nerve racking with all the teenagers zipping around me. I was able to get a good hour and a half of skating before I had to leave to pick up Son #2 at 8:55.

I just said to hubby that I should get him a new pair of bowling shoes for Xmas (he has been renting 'em for the past two seasons of our fall league) and that he should get me a pair of ice skates. I definitely want to do this on a semi regular basis. Anything athletic that I can do even a little bit is worth getting excited about!

Speaking of which, I bought roller blades a long time ago and had a tough time using them. I wonder whether it will be easier now because I'm developing a comfort zone with ice skates. Hmm.

Conferences, If You Can Call 'Em That

I have no idea how other large schools do this, but I'm really torn about our middle school's system of fall parent-teacher conferences. The principal even said at orientation that there's got to be a better way, but this is the best they have right now.

The kids bring around a sign-up sheet to their teachers, who fill in an available appointment slot for all the kids who request a conference. Each slot is three or four minutes long, due to the fact that there are 1500 kids in the school and they split conferences into two three hour evenings (one evening for each half of the alphabet). Some teachers use a timer, which seems harsh and impersonal, but on the other hand a 30 second overage results in a derailment of the entire schedule if things aren't brought back on track quickly. This often means you have to be lucky enough to have a parent miss an appointment or two...but it does happen because we are waiting to have one conference which is running late, and in so doing we miss an appointment that was scheduled 8, 12, or 16 minutes after that.

Getting a headache yet? Don't blame ya. Last year I asked my son to leave gaps of at least 8 minutes in between appointments, which helped, but didn't completely compensate for the usual mishaps. This year I have two kids on the same night, which has got to increase the madness exponentially. Except for a new wrinkle...

Son #2 has his "core" classes (English, math, social studies, science) with a team of four teachers who communicate regularly about the kids in their team. They sent a note home last night informing us that there would normally be a joint conference with all four teachers, obviating the need for four separate appointment slots...but due to the overcrowding they are reserving the slots for kids who have definite issues that need to be addressed, so they are hereby uninviting us to meet with them on conference night. Huh. I'm not completely put out, because I had phone conversations with three of the four teachers a few weeks ago when my smart but lazy sixth grader was conveniently neglecting his homework. It would seem that, because this temporary snag has been cleared up, they don't feel the need to meet with me and hubby.

Good for my son that he has no outstanding "issues" but I'm wondering how many other parents have been similarly uninvited who have not had any opportunity to speak with the teachers. (Open House is not the time or place, since each teacher only has 10 minutes for each of nine class periods to give the overall "this is who I am and what I do" spiel to the audience.) I wonder how many parents who do feel slighted will have the gumption to speak up and insist that they do get their precious four minutes, and how many either don't feel the need or are relieved that they are not expected to go.

I may, merely as a matter of principle, meet with my sixth grader's "encore" teachers anyway, but also because he's really excited about technology and I happen to know three of the other teachers already (band, chorus, and American Sign Language) and would enjoy reconnecting. We were given no such prohibition by our 8th grader's teachers and do plan to have our four minutes in the spotlight with each one of them.

I begin doing my Buddhist relaxation breathing for an event that will take place a week and a half from now. Namaste. Wish me luck!

Alignment

Yippee! Dentist says I am now in "retainer" mode...only have to wear the aligners at bedtime from now on. Just in time for him to find an orthodontist to consult with us about braces for Son #1's teeth...lower ones are out of whack similarly to mine. Some genetic gifts I was more than willing to pass on, but not that one. Sorry, kid.

Thank You, Mrs. Driscoll

Life is continually presenting us with reminders that we are humans with a variety of foibles. Having been in the publishing field for over 20 years, I have long recognized the value of having someone else proofread important documents. I know what I intended to write, and my eye will sometimes overlook errors as it replaces what's really on the paper with the correct version in my mind.

My eighth grader is now a believer. Over the weekend he received a Social Studies essay back from the teacher. He'd been proud of the content, and had proofread it several times before handing it in. Well, it appears that he was right to be pleased with the substance; his grade was 95. However, there was one teensy typo that he'd failed to catch. He'd accidentally typed "shit" instead of "hit" -- and no it didn't make more sense in that sentence. LOL. One more reason to rag on my construction worker hubby for the kids' colorful vocabulary.

The poor kid was absolutely mortified when the teacher told him about it. He stayed after class to apologize, and he returned to the room later in the day to bolster the apology. The teacher was a really good sport about it, though. She knew he didn't do it on purpose, and of course kids don't excel in the honors program if they habitually do things like that. I think my son's embarrassment was punishment enough. All the teacher did was circle the word and put two exclamation points next to it.

Too bad I can't have the page bronzed, lest it be rendered illegible. But it definitely ought to be saved, in case my little writer has children of his own someday. Tee hee.

Pigeon Indeed

Yoga's getting harder, although I still feel great afterwards and I think my body's getting stronger. The new intrigue of last night's class was a pose called The Pigeon. Visualize, please:

Kneel and point your toes behind you. Fully rest on your extended feet. Now take one leg and extend it all the way back, pointing the toe, resting it on the mat. Straighten your spine so that the crown of your head faces the ceiling. Now raise your chest, puffing it out as far as it can go. Stretch out your neck too. When you've thoroughly felt the pull everywhere in your body, slowly take the foot that's bent underneath you and bring it toward the middle of the mat so you're sitting on your hip. Continue to have your other leg fully extended, and face your torso forward with your spine straight. Now extend your chest and neck again.

Once you've eased out of that pose and come to a relaxed position for a minute, don't become too complacent. You've still got to repeat all of that, but switching legs. Who's the pigeon?

Stop the World, I Want to Get Off!

Today I took the kids to the Columbus Day fair in town. All three got ride bracelets because we had a few hours of free time. The older two went off on their own for a while and I hung out with our littlest. He went on the big slide, the bumper cars, and the bouncer. He then wanted to go on something called the Sizzler. Lots of spinning and up and down. I likened it to the Paratrooper, my old nemesis at Adventureland when I was growing up. 30 years ago I learned that any amusement park ride that spun around fast would make me hurl. So I told my son that he could go on by himself.

The attendant said he was tall enough, but needed a companion because the ride's force throws the occupants to the outer part of the car and there must be two or three people in it. Sigh. Maybe I'd be OK. He wanted to go, so I took the plunge. Eyes shut tight the entire time. Holding on to the kid, willing the ride to be over with every movement. I'm sure it was no longer than two or three minutes, but I needed to steady myself when I emerged. We had to move slowly over to one of the tables in the food area (luckily only 20 paces). I didn't hurl but was mighty dizzy and nauseous. Oh for the love of a child. Three and a half hours later, I'm just beginning to feel as though my stomach has settled.

When we reunited with the other two amigos, the oldest and youngest went on that ride together while middle child was on the bumper cars. I couldn't watch too much of the spinning, but I did notice that they both had their eyes open and were screaming with delight. Yoicks. I'm glad they didn't get the "can't spin" gene from Mom.

Here's a shot of bumper cars in action and Sizzler ready to begin.