It's actually carinoso with a ~ over the n, but this blogger doesn't have the mad skills to do that.
Today when I picked Johan up from school, the teacher said that he is the most affectionate child she has ever met.
That is awesome. I hope he wins lots of awards for such a designation.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Ge-niece
My niece is a strange, bizarre, and creative little girl. She's 10, I think, so not that little actually. But all of the other things, yes. Her parents have an idea of the kind of girl they wish she was- popular, athletic, boy-crazy (but not TOO boy-crazy, the respectable kind of boy-crazy), future-homecoming-queen. You know, the kind of girl most of my blog readership probably hated in high school.
Well, my niece is none of those things. She plays the tuba and is a somewhat talented painter/drawer. She loves to kill ants and go fishing--especially putting bait on the hook. Last summer she showed me her pet beta fish and told me that one time she put the live fish in her mouth just to see what would happen. Don't tell my mom, she said. I didn't.
As you might imagine, at her Little Boxes a la Pete Seeger creativity-stifling middle school, they think she is a problem. Tomorrow there is a meeting/intervention that her parents and my parents are attending with all the school officials. They requested reports that are written about my niece, in order to prepare for the meeting.
In reviewing this, my dad tells me that the kid's IQ is 136. Now, I'm no genius, but I'm pretty sure that 136 is close to genius. Right? I'm pretty sure it qualifies her for Mensa. The school is also telling us she has a learning disability. I realize that learning disabilities and high IQs can go hand in hand, but I have a feeling that the only learning disability this girl has is that she lives in Apple Valley suburban hell where any child who doesn't enjoy soccer, Tiger Beat, and High School Musical III: Hussies on the Big Screen is considered a freak of nature.
I tend to get on a soap box about Open schools and education, but it's really one of my more valiant soap boxes. This is a bright kid! She is an artist and a tuba player and maybe a mad scientist! Let her explore and thrive. She doesn't need a tutor or more discipline, or medication- she needs a school where individual talents are fostered, not thwarted.
I feel so glad that my dad and Evelyn are going to be in that meeting. They are well-known (at least by my immediate family) for not letting teachers shirk their duties by classifying the kids in our family as problem children. When I was struggling through 2nd grade at a traditional school (despite have whizzed through 2nd grade level work at my Montessori kindergarten 2 years before), some asses were kicked until I was accepted into Barton, the Minneapolis public Open school.
I am confident there will be no medications prescribed tomorrow--everyone walking into that meeting from our side knows that Aderol is not the answer. I hope they will make a plan to send her to Open school or a PhD program in the biology of gross invertebrates, with a minor in tuba music.
Something's got to give, and here's hoping it's not this girl's potential for great things.
Well, my niece is none of those things. She plays the tuba and is a somewhat talented painter/drawer. She loves to kill ants and go fishing--especially putting bait on the hook. Last summer she showed me her pet beta fish and told me that one time she put the live fish in her mouth just to see what would happen. Don't tell my mom, she said. I didn't.
As you might imagine, at her Little Boxes a la Pete Seeger creativity-stifling middle school, they think she is a problem. Tomorrow there is a meeting/intervention that her parents and my parents are attending with all the school officials. They requested reports that are written about my niece, in order to prepare for the meeting.
In reviewing this, my dad tells me that the kid's IQ is 136. Now, I'm no genius, but I'm pretty sure that 136 is close to genius. Right? I'm pretty sure it qualifies her for Mensa. The school is also telling us she has a learning disability. I realize that learning disabilities and high IQs can go hand in hand, but I have a feeling that the only learning disability this girl has is that she lives in Apple Valley suburban hell where any child who doesn't enjoy soccer, Tiger Beat, and High School Musical III: Hussies on the Big Screen is considered a freak of nature.
I tend to get on a soap box about Open schools and education, but it's really one of my more valiant soap boxes. This is a bright kid! She is an artist and a tuba player and maybe a mad scientist! Let her explore and thrive. She doesn't need a tutor or more discipline, or medication- she needs a school where individual talents are fostered, not thwarted.
I feel so glad that my dad and Evelyn are going to be in that meeting. They are well-known (at least by my immediate family) for not letting teachers shirk their duties by classifying the kids in our family as problem children. When I was struggling through 2nd grade at a traditional school (despite have whizzed through 2nd grade level work at my Montessori kindergarten 2 years before), some asses were kicked until I was accepted into Barton, the Minneapolis public Open school.
I am confident there will be no medications prescribed tomorrow--everyone walking into that meeting from our side knows that Aderol is not the answer. I hope they will make a plan to send her to Open school or a PhD program in the biology of gross invertebrates, with a minor in tuba music.
Something's got to give, and here's hoping it's not this girl's potential for great things.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Hodgepodge
I am trying to keep busy. The house is clean (as clean as it's going to get) and the dishes are done. Johan and I are showered and ready to welcome home the completing member of our little family. Unfortunately, his flight doesn't land for another 2 and a half hours. Just thinking of being awake that long makes me incredibly tired. So, I am trying to NOT think of that. Instead, I shall type.
Johan has rejoined the ranks of his teeny-tiny peers in nursery school. He is attending 2 days a week until April, when he will increase to 3 days. It's a great place with a long history, good staff retention, happy kids etc. Johan is not used to being anything less than the center of his caregivers' universes, so this is a transition. The teachers at school are kind and affectionate and good, but they are not mom/dad/grandma/grandpa. I have noticed that Johan is more snuggly with me since he has started school- now he can appreciate how great it is to just sit around and hug each other since at school he doesn't get snuggled all day long. I was excited today about a breakthrough Johan had at school- apparently he formed an attachment to the director of the center and wanted all of her love and attention. This wasn't possible, since there are lots of other kids and the director has other duties as well, but it made me happy that he has formed a bond to someone there. He is feeling safe, and is beginning to trust them. I trust them and feel comfortable knowing Johan is with them.
On to another subject...
Today I handed a client a list of documents I need to proceed with his case. He was half-drunk at 8:30am and asked me to make little boxes next to each of the items he needed to bring, so he could check them off as he found them. I obliged. Little boxes in red pen. He will get a smiley face sticker if he actually follows through and brings the documents.
Moving on...
I have been doing pretty well trying a new food each week, but today I became aware that others notice my tendency to repeat food choices. In some playful teasing among my co-workers, one guessed what foods I brought for lunch (she was right) and another noted that I have eaten the same thing every day since I started working at the firm in 2005. While this isn't true, it is true that I normally eat the same thing every day for lunch: a lean pocket; mixed green salad with a dollop of hummus and an ounce of cheese; and a piece of fruit --usually a banana or apple, but more variety in the summer. Since I tend to not be a terribly observant person (I never notice if people wear the same clothes 2 days in a row, for example), it surprises me that my co-workers notice the redundancy of my lunches. Maybe I'll have to switch it up a bit, just to keep the office gossip tree freshly watered.
And then there's this...
My brother has had a rough few months, and his and my relationship has been particularly strained. We haven't really spoken since the first week of December. He seems to be opening up to accepting help for his issues, which makes me happy. I don't know when he and I will be able to talk again, I feel good that my dad and Evelyn will be able to just be together in their home, at their lake place, on their vacations, without the looming drama/dread of facing another crisis with my brother. I hope the place he goes will provide the breakthrough we've been waiting for for so long. Time will tell. I have nothing to say to my brother right now. I decided that I needed to clear my life of his toxicity. At the same time, I will never give up on him. I will never write him off. I sincerely hope that someday we can be real friends and be in each other's lives in a positive, mutually supportive way.
Whew. Ok. Random ramblings. Shit. It's still 2 hours before I need to go the airport.
Johan has rejoined the ranks of his teeny-tiny peers in nursery school. He is attending 2 days a week until April, when he will increase to 3 days. It's a great place with a long history, good staff retention, happy kids etc. Johan is not used to being anything less than the center of his caregivers' universes, so this is a transition. The teachers at school are kind and affectionate and good, but they are not mom/dad/grandma/grandpa. I have noticed that Johan is more snuggly with me since he has started school- now he can appreciate how great it is to just sit around and hug each other since at school he doesn't get snuggled all day long. I was excited today about a breakthrough Johan had at school- apparently he formed an attachment to the director of the center and wanted all of her love and attention. This wasn't possible, since there are lots of other kids and the director has other duties as well, but it made me happy that he has formed a bond to someone there. He is feeling safe, and is beginning to trust them. I trust them and feel comfortable knowing Johan is with them.
On to another subject...
Today I handed a client a list of documents I need to proceed with his case. He was half-drunk at 8:30am and asked me to make little boxes next to each of the items he needed to bring, so he could check them off as he found them. I obliged. Little boxes in red pen. He will get a smiley face sticker if he actually follows through and brings the documents.
Moving on...
I have been doing pretty well trying a new food each week, but today I became aware that others notice my tendency to repeat food choices. In some playful teasing among my co-workers, one guessed what foods I brought for lunch (she was right) and another noted that I have eaten the same thing every day since I started working at the firm in 2005. While this isn't true, it is true that I normally eat the same thing every day for lunch: a lean pocket; mixed green salad with a dollop of hummus and an ounce of cheese; and a piece of fruit --usually a banana or apple, but more variety in the summer. Since I tend to not be a terribly observant person (I never notice if people wear the same clothes 2 days in a row, for example), it surprises me that my co-workers notice the redundancy of my lunches. Maybe I'll have to switch it up a bit, just to keep the office gossip tree freshly watered.
And then there's this...
My brother has had a rough few months, and his and my relationship has been particularly strained. We haven't really spoken since the first week of December. He seems to be opening up to accepting help for his issues, which makes me happy. I don't know when he and I will be able to talk again, I feel good that my dad and Evelyn will be able to just be together in their home, at their lake place, on their vacations, without the looming drama/dread of facing another crisis with my brother. I hope the place he goes will provide the breakthrough we've been waiting for for so long. Time will tell. I have nothing to say to my brother right now. I decided that I needed to clear my life of his toxicity. At the same time, I will never give up on him. I will never write him off. I sincerely hope that someday we can be real friends and be in each other's lives in a positive, mutually supportive way.
Whew. Ok. Random ramblings. Shit. It's still 2 hours before I need to go the airport.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Welcome February
Eduardo still isn't home. He comes back from the Dominican Republic on Tuesday. It's been fine mostly and I like knowing that I would make it on my own, if I needed to (albeit with lots of help from my family).
But the past week has been hard. I had a stressful week at work and Johan has been sick. I miss Eduardo's presence at home; I miss him counterbalancing my neurotic worrying and stewing with calm reassurance when I've had a bad day at work; and I miss having someone to help me and give me a break when Johan is fussy and doesn't feel well.
Just 3 more days.
But the past week has been hard. I had a stressful week at work and Johan has been sick. I miss Eduardo's presence at home; I miss him counterbalancing my neurotic worrying and stewing with calm reassurance when I've had a bad day at work; and I miss having someone to help me and give me a break when Johan is fussy and doesn't feel well.
Just 3 more days.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
The Latest Craze
Actually, I'm pretty sure the craze is over for most, as this isn't a new thing, but I have just recently discovered Eat This, Not That. There's a book, a website, and weekly e-mails. I am always striving to choose healthy foods, but am not so interested in a diet composed of only raw vegetables and boiled chicken. Part of the problem in my quest to choose healthy is my love for creamy delicious things. Cheese, cottage cheese, ice cream etc.
Here's why I like the Eat This, Not That: it doesn't tell you to quit eating butter and replace it with a carrot. It tells you to replace it with whipped butter. Surely, we all now know the dangers of margarine and its secret transfats. And, while, I love butter on my toast, I'd like to not eat that much saturated fat (read: I'd like to save some of the saturated fat I'm bound to consume for times in the day.) Whipped butter is brilliant- it doesn't have any added or extra ingredients. It just has air whipped into it to give it fewer calories and less fat per teaspoon. Brilliant. Edy's slow churned ice cream follows the same concept- air whipped into the ice cream to reduce fat without reducing flava.
Now, if there was only an Eat This, Not That answer for taquitos...
Here's why I like the Eat This, Not That: it doesn't tell you to quit eating butter and replace it with a carrot. It tells you to replace it with whipped butter. Surely, we all now know the dangers of margarine and its secret transfats. And, while, I love butter on my toast, I'd like to not eat that much saturated fat (read: I'd like to save some of the saturated fat I'm bound to consume for times in the day.) Whipped butter is brilliant- it doesn't have any added or extra ingredients. It just has air whipped into it to give it fewer calories and less fat per teaspoon. Brilliant. Edy's slow churned ice cream follows the same concept- air whipped into the ice cream to reduce fat without reducing flava.
Now, if there was only an Eat This, Not That answer for taquitos...
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
New Post; New World
I don't have any words or poetry that can compare with the words and images that encompassed this day of days. THIS DAY. So, I won't try. But, I want to say 2 things about it:
1) I love today for Johan. By the time he is in pre-school, he will know who the President is. And celebrate. And support. And will study history of Selma Alabama and it will not be his reality.
2) I love today for myself. Apart from being J's mom, I am ME. I am a person who has spent countless hours in campaign against GWB and all that he stands for. Today is the ultimate victory. I think about my dear friends from Occidental (most especially Michelle and Tucker) and all of our political battles: against Bush; against homophobia; against racism; against injustice. So much disappointment in our campaigns and struggles. Tonight makes up for all of it. It really does. And makes it all worth it, too.
1) I love today for Johan. By the time he is in pre-school, he will know who the President is. And celebrate. And support. And will study history of Selma Alabama and it will not be his reality.
2) I love today for myself. Apart from being J's mom, I am ME. I am a person who has spent countless hours in campaign against GWB and all that he stands for. Today is the ultimate victory. I think about my dear friends from Occidental (most especially Michelle and Tucker) and all of our political battles: against Bush; against homophobia; against racism; against injustice. So much disappointment in our campaigns and struggles. Tonight makes up for all of it. It really does. And makes it all worth it, too.
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