Sunday, September 30, 2012
Home-Fall
One Year Older
I uploaded some pictures from the camera and these 1st day of school pictures were in the mix. This year I look at my kids and just cannot believe how much they have changed over the past year.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Boys and Boats
About a year ago Matthew and Peter came home from scouts and told me about a high adventure trip the Teachers group were planning. I thought it sounded like a lot of fun. They were building their boats from scratch. Its a cross between a canoe and a kayak. Its called a Canack or Kanak or something like that. They got their instructions and over the past year they worked on their boats. The cut and sanded the wood, glued and nailed, painted the frame, stretched the canvas, sealed and painted the canvas, installed seats and cup holders, and finally tested them to see if they were float worthy. In August all of the boys, most of the fathers, leaders, and some adventure seekers, loaded up the boats and headed out. They ended up floating 30 miles down the river over two days. The caught raccoons at night and got sunburned during the day. They ate good food and had a lot of fun. I was so proud to see the end result. There were times when we tired of working on boats all the time, but in the end, it was worth it.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
The next level
My girls have taken dance for several years. This past year the company they dance with did several competitions. I ended up buying 5 costumes, paying for several competition fees, and being quite stressed with the unexpected expenses and time it took. I voiced that maybe the dance company should create some Competition teams so that those who want to do them can, and those that don't can do a regular class. With the expansion of dancers and a new studio this is exactly what the company ended up doing. I thought great, my girls can still dance and have fun and not feel the financial and time stress we had felt that year.
So audition time came around. The teacher gave the impression that she wanted my girls to be on the comp teams. I didn't have them audition. I signed them up for regular dance. For my younger girl it was fine. There were several other new girls in her new class. She had a good time. For my older girl its a different story. I dropped her off at dance. She was a minute or two early and the only one there. She wasn't new so I left. When I came to pick her up she was dancing with the comp team 2 years younger. They practice at the same time. There had only been a couple of people in her class so they had them join the other class. The new teacher asked the owner why she hadn't made the comp team. All of the girls she has danced with the past few years make up the comp team for her age. All except her. The owner then started to tell me that she was so much better than the others in her regular class that day. Then asked me if I would reconsider our decision. Was it the money, was it the time? I told her both, which is true.
I had felt good about the direction we were going. My daughter wanted to try violin this year and she is already in piano. A regular dance class was already a lot. I still have 3 other kids in activities too. I told her that she would have to choose dance or violin. We both sat in the car and cried in the parking lot. She comforted me as I apologized to her that she could not do all of the things she wanted to. I feel like such a louse. Am I holding her back? Is it just pressure? Does she really love it that much or is it about being with her friends? I told her to take some time and think about what she wanted to do. She is already telling me that she wants to do regular dance, but my gut tells me she is saying that because she is trying to show restraint. This is good (she is maturing), but I feel so bad. If she had had a full group of girls in her regular class I don't think this would have been an issue today. But she doesn't want to dance with the little girls. I may ask if there is an older regular class she can attend instead. I don't know. Does anyone else go through this stuff? How do you handle it?
So audition time came around. The teacher gave the impression that she wanted my girls to be on the comp teams. I didn't have them audition. I signed them up for regular dance. For my younger girl it was fine. There were several other new girls in her new class. She had a good time. For my older girl its a different story. I dropped her off at dance. She was a minute or two early and the only one there. She wasn't new so I left. When I came to pick her up she was dancing with the comp team 2 years younger. They practice at the same time. There had only been a couple of people in her class so they had them join the other class. The new teacher asked the owner why she hadn't made the comp team. All of the girls she has danced with the past few years make up the comp team for her age. All except her. The owner then started to tell me that she was so much better than the others in her regular class that day. Then asked me if I would reconsider our decision. Was it the money, was it the time? I told her both, which is true.
I had felt good about the direction we were going. My daughter wanted to try violin this year and she is already in piano. A regular dance class was already a lot. I still have 3 other kids in activities too. I told her that she would have to choose dance or violin. We both sat in the car and cried in the parking lot. She comforted me as I apologized to her that she could not do all of the things she wanted to. I feel like such a louse. Am I holding her back? Is it just pressure? Does she really love it that much or is it about being with her friends? I told her to take some time and think about what she wanted to do. She is already telling me that she wants to do regular dance, but my gut tells me she is saying that because she is trying to show restraint. This is good (she is maturing), but I feel so bad. If she had had a full group of girls in her regular class I don't think this would have been an issue today. But she doesn't want to dance with the little girls. I may ask if there is an older regular class she can attend instead. I don't know. Does anyone else go through this stuff? How do you handle it?
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