I've been getting some feedback about school and interpreting. The feedback is that I need more Drive, Passion, and Energy.
I didn't know how to take that last part. I've never been accused of not having enough energy. I told my mentor, "I'll give you my siblings' phone numbers. They've described me as "bubbly," "bouncy," and "excitable.""
But the first part, Drive and Passion, I flat out told this mentor that she's going to be waiting a long time, if she's waiting to see that in me. I gave up Drive and Passion years back. It went something like this.
I was 21. I had a toddler and a newborn. I'd just moved across the country and I had no friends. I had post-partum depression but didn't know it. I felt HORRID and I didn't know why I should still be a mother tomorrow. One of my M.O.s is that often I would rather run away than face life. I can be heard to say that it would be wonderful to go to sleep and never wake up. It could be OVER. Wouldn't that be great? ... No. I'm not depressed. That's just my fall-back response.
Anyways, I hit a moment when I had to decide. I had to decide if this is what I wanted. I was 21, doing "nothing" with my life, with a terrible toddler and a needy newborn. This was Motherhood? This is what I wanted?
Eventually I figured it out. For me, it looked like Acceptance. Letting it go. I took everything I had thought I wanted from my life - all the accomplishments, the travel, the goals - and I threw them out the window. I started over. The life I had then, with the kids and the husband in grad school and the no money, it was a good life. Not only that, but it was Heavenly Father's plan for me. And I liked it!
That feeling has expanded over time. I accept the Universe as it is, and I accept my place within it. I will die, whenever that is, having been what I was - insignificant at large, significant to a few, and happy all the while. That isn't depressing, it's amazing! It's a gift. A treasure.
So when my mentor suggested that I make some Goals, find some Passion and Drive, I just said, "Umm, that's not going to happen." I do set goals in life, and I meet them. I have goals in interpreting, too. But if I don't ever accomplish them, that's okay. Where am I headed with interpreting? That's hard to say. I don't want to limit my vision. On top of that, Passion and Drive aren't my gig. Acceptance, for me, is the only thing that has ever brought me lasting Happiness. To which my mentor said, "Yes, you are very good at Acceptance."
I still don't think she got it. She kept saying, "You always have your Plan B." But that's not it at all. I'm not shielding myself from heartache by accepting potential failure. It's Acceptance. I recognize that my goals may not allign, in the end, with the Plan. I am on a path that I like, and I will stay on it until directed otherwise. There is a Plan outside my control. It is bigger and better than I can even fathom.
Now if you want Hard Work and Dedication, I have that. Is that not good enough?
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Announcement: Rob Got a New Job!
The Short Story
Rob has a new job! He'll be working for Amnis, a company that sells a scientific data analysis machine. He'll be a Field Scientist / Analyst for the Midwest region. It starts November 5th and will pay him more money than he's currently making with all 4 of his jobs combined. Hurray!
If you'd like the longer story, read on. It's kind of a neat story.
The Back Story
A few months ago Rob's boss, Edith, who is a lovely woman, told Rob that she didn't have money for him beginning some time mid-2013. She didn't want to let him go without him having another job, so she asked him to start looking around. This wasn't unexpected. When Rob started work with Edith in 2010, he knew that she had guaranteed money for him for 3 years, but not necessarily longer.
So Rob started looking. We still wanted to stay in Cincinnati, so the plan was to look around here, then extend the search if something local didn't pan out. There are three faculty positions opening for local universities that he was looking at, one of them at NKU. That's still a long shot. The other two are only for one, possibly two years. So not ideal. And the position at Mount St. Joseph (that Rob was the runner-up for 2 years ago) hasn't materialized the way they said it would.
So local seemed unlikely. Our fall-back plan was for Rob to step up his adjuncting and for me to work full-time as an interpreter starting next fall. Not the best, but workable.
The Real Story
Seemingly unconnected to anything else job-seeking-related, Rob attended a scientific conference at the end of September. His co-worker and friend mentioned that it was a good place to network. Rob kind of ho-hummed the idea. On Thursday night, when he arrived, we talked on the phone. The conversation went something like this:
Tamra: When someone offers you a job tomorrow, you should say yes.
Rob: Yeah, okay, whatever.
Tamra: No. Really. Someone's going to offer you a job tomorrow, and you should say yes.
Every once in a long while, there are things that I know without knowing how. It wasn't IF but WHEN. Thankfully it doesn't happen often, because it makes me sound like a crazy person.
On Friday night Rob called and said, "So, how serious are we about looking into industry?" He explained that he'd met with some people from a particular company and they were looking for someone to fill a particular spot in that company. I was like, "Rob, that's your job!" (Okay, it wasn't a job offer, but it was close, no? Gotta admit my premonition was spookily accurate.)
Rob basically spent all weekend following them around, asking them questions about what they do and what their schedules are like and what the company is like. The company reps spent time watching Rob give a presentation and being generally impressed by him. They told him to send in his resume as soon as possible. Preferably the minute he got home.
It Gets Going
On Monday, Oct. 1st, he sent in his resume and cover letter. Within an hour he got a phone call to set up a phone interview for Tuesday, Oct. 2nd.
On Wednesday, Oct. 3rd, he got another phone call to set up a phone interview in 45 minutes from then. The guy said, "Normally things don't happen this fast, but you've really caused a stir around here. How do you know these guys?"
On Thursday, Oct. 4th, he got a phone call setting up an in-person interview at company head quarters in Seattle.
The interview was Thursday the 11th. It went amazingly well. The more Rob learned about the company and the people who work there, the happier he was to potentially work for them. And the more they learned about Rob, the more positive things they had to say about him. They did everything except formally offer him the job.
At the end of last week, after what seemed like a very long week, Rob got a phone call saying that they were going to offer him the job. It was nice of them to tell us before the weekend so we could have our lives back. This week he got the formal offer, negotiated a little, signed the final offer, and things are off and running!
About the Job and The Lord's Plan
We feel extremely grateful for all of this. Rob and I have been praying for years that a job would be prepared for him. We both assumed that would mean a job in academia, as a professor. But it just so happens that all of his skill sets, that he's been working on for years, or even decades, align perfectly with this job. Check it out:
- Rob has been teaching on the side for 4 years, to eventually impress a university. He had been told this is what he needed to do. Pay his dues. Guess who wasn't impressed with Rob's teaching experience? A single university. Guess who WAS impressed? Amnis.
- Rob has been using this machine for years during his post-doc work. He's won awards with this machine and his ability to use it to analyze his data. People in the lab come to him to help them with it. And it just so happens that the people who make this machine are looking for an expert who uses this highly specialized equipment? What are the chances?
- It's a bonus that Rob speaks German. The company that owns Amnis, called Millipore, or maybe it's Merck that owns Millipore... Merck owns Millipore owns Amnis. Either way, one of those two is based in Germany. They're looking to expand there. How many American companies think it's a bonus for their employees to speak German? Honestly, Rob has been so bummed over the years that his German has defiantly not come in handy.
And then there are other things that are just perfect for us:
- You have to be a people person. Check.
- You have to be okay with travel. This is a little scarier for Rob than it is for me. My dad traveled when I was a kid, and he still does, so it seems normal and natural for me. It'll be a lifestyle change, for sure, but one we can handle and one I think we'll end up really liking.
- Rob gets to work from home when he's not traveling. SCORE!
- We don't have to move. We can live anywhere in the Midwest area that's close enough to an airport to make traveling convenient. As an added bonus, there's an Amnis machine at Children's, and Rob already has a ton of connections there.
We feel so blessed. Heavenly Father is good to us.
So when you see Rob next, tell him congrats. We're both really excited about this change and what it will mean for our family and our lives and our future!
Rob has a new job! He'll be working for Amnis, a company that sells a scientific data analysis machine. He'll be a Field Scientist / Analyst for the Midwest region. It starts November 5th and will pay him more money than he's currently making with all 4 of his jobs combined. Hurray!
If you'd like the longer story, read on. It's kind of a neat story.
The Back Story
A few months ago Rob's boss, Edith, who is a lovely woman, told Rob that she didn't have money for him beginning some time mid-2013. She didn't want to let him go without him having another job, so she asked him to start looking around. This wasn't unexpected. When Rob started work with Edith in 2010, he knew that she had guaranteed money for him for 3 years, but not necessarily longer.
So Rob started looking. We still wanted to stay in Cincinnati, so the plan was to look around here, then extend the search if something local didn't pan out. There are three faculty positions opening for local universities that he was looking at, one of them at NKU. That's still a long shot. The other two are only for one, possibly two years. So not ideal. And the position at Mount St. Joseph (that Rob was the runner-up for 2 years ago) hasn't materialized the way they said it would.
So local seemed unlikely. Our fall-back plan was for Rob to step up his adjuncting and for me to work full-time as an interpreter starting next fall. Not the best, but workable.
The Real Story
Seemingly unconnected to anything else job-seeking-related, Rob attended a scientific conference at the end of September. His co-worker and friend mentioned that it was a good place to network. Rob kind of ho-hummed the idea. On Thursday night, when he arrived, we talked on the phone. The conversation went something like this:
Tamra: When someone offers you a job tomorrow, you should say yes.
Rob: Yeah, okay, whatever.
Tamra: No. Really. Someone's going to offer you a job tomorrow, and you should say yes.
Every once in a long while, there are things that I know without knowing how. It wasn't IF but WHEN. Thankfully it doesn't happen often, because it makes me sound like a crazy person.
On Friday night Rob called and said, "So, how serious are we about looking into industry?" He explained that he'd met with some people from a particular company and they were looking for someone to fill a particular spot in that company. I was like, "Rob, that's your job!" (Okay, it wasn't a job offer, but it was close, no? Gotta admit my premonition was spookily accurate.)
Rob basically spent all weekend following them around, asking them questions about what they do and what their schedules are like and what the company is like. The company reps spent time watching Rob give a presentation and being generally impressed by him. They told him to send in his resume as soon as possible. Preferably the minute he got home.
It Gets Going
On Monday, Oct. 1st, he sent in his resume and cover letter. Within an hour he got a phone call to set up a phone interview for Tuesday, Oct. 2nd.
On Wednesday, Oct. 3rd, he got another phone call to set up a phone interview in 45 minutes from then. The guy said, "Normally things don't happen this fast, but you've really caused a stir around here. How do you know these guys?"
On Thursday, Oct. 4th, he got a phone call setting up an in-person interview at company head quarters in Seattle.
The interview was Thursday the 11th. It went amazingly well. The more Rob learned about the company and the people who work there, the happier he was to potentially work for them. And the more they learned about Rob, the more positive things they had to say about him. They did everything except formally offer him the job.
At the end of last week, after what seemed like a very long week, Rob got a phone call saying that they were going to offer him the job. It was nice of them to tell us before the weekend so we could have our lives back. This week he got the formal offer, negotiated a little, signed the final offer, and things are off and running!
About the Job and The Lord's Plan
We feel extremely grateful for all of this. Rob and I have been praying for years that a job would be prepared for him. We both assumed that would mean a job in academia, as a professor. But it just so happens that all of his skill sets, that he's been working on for years, or even decades, align perfectly with this job. Check it out:
- Rob has been teaching on the side for 4 years, to eventually impress a university. He had been told this is what he needed to do. Pay his dues. Guess who wasn't impressed with Rob's teaching experience? A single university. Guess who WAS impressed? Amnis.
- Rob has been using this machine for years during his post-doc work. He's won awards with this machine and his ability to use it to analyze his data. People in the lab come to him to help them with it. And it just so happens that the people who make this machine are looking for an expert who uses this highly specialized equipment? What are the chances?
- It's a bonus that Rob speaks German. The company that owns Amnis, called Millipore, or maybe it's Merck that owns Millipore... Merck owns Millipore owns Amnis. Either way, one of those two is based in Germany. They're looking to expand there. How many American companies think it's a bonus for their employees to speak German? Honestly, Rob has been so bummed over the years that his German has defiantly not come in handy.
And then there are other things that are just perfect for us:
- You have to be a people person. Check.
- You have to be okay with travel. This is a little scarier for Rob than it is for me. My dad traveled when I was a kid, and he still does, so it seems normal and natural for me. It'll be a lifestyle change, for sure, but one we can handle and one I think we'll end up really liking.
- Rob gets to work from home when he's not traveling. SCORE!
- We don't have to move. We can live anywhere in the Midwest area that's close enough to an airport to make traveling convenient. As an added bonus, there's an Amnis machine at Children's, and Rob already has a ton of connections there.
We feel so blessed. Heavenly Father is good to us.
So when you see Rob next, tell him congrats. We're both really excited about this change and what it will mean for our family and our lives and our future!
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Teancom Attends a Party
Teancom was invited to a class mate's Halloween party tonight. You should have seen how excited he's been all week. Tonight came and he nearly jumped into his costume and ran out the door. He was chatty and happy the whole way there.
Then we arrived.
It was a huge party. It must have been a family party, because there were older kids there, too. Like, Miciah's age. There were swarms of people. Probably about 10 just standing in the kitchen when we walked in. There were more outside and downstairs and everywhere else.
Teancom froze. He clung to me as I put my arms gingerly around his front. I was reminded of the Teancom I knew a few years back. You know, the monkey child who never left my side. Ever. I thought it was kind of cute until he twisted my finger so hard that I thought he was going to sprain it!
I gave a little yelp and said, "Teancom, why did you do that?" He said, "I don't know." I could tell that he really didn't know.
He grabbed his Halloween mask and wrung it around his hands, tighter, tighter, tighter. "Teancom, you're going to break it." He stopped for a moment before resuming.
The crowd started closing in. By now, his friend from class had found him. There must have been 20 kids, all staring at him, inches from him. His friend said hello. Teancom said nothing. His friend said 4 sentences to him. Teancom said nothing.
I turned Teancom so he would look at me and said I was going to leave and that he'd have fun. He said a terse, "Stop!" and walked away. He didn't walk away with his friend. He just walked away. Like he was in a daze.
I shrugged, assumed that he'd find something fun to do, and I left.
When Rob came to pick him up 3 hours later, the hostess said that Teancom stood by a tree for a good part of the party, quietly crying. They finally did an activity he wanted to do, and he was fine after that.
Also, a swarm of girls followed him around all night. He was the only boy his age at the party. Poor Teancom. Cursed with the horrible combination of his father's cosmic pull on girls (Rob repeatedly had his shirts ripped by girls who chased him in elementary school), along with epic levels of shyness. Heaven help him.
Then we arrived.
It was a huge party. It must have been a family party, because there were older kids there, too. Like, Miciah's age. There were swarms of people. Probably about 10 just standing in the kitchen when we walked in. There were more outside and downstairs and everywhere else.
Teancom froze. He clung to me as I put my arms gingerly around his front. I was reminded of the Teancom I knew a few years back. You know, the monkey child who never left my side. Ever. I thought it was kind of cute until he twisted my finger so hard that I thought he was going to sprain it!
I gave a little yelp and said, "Teancom, why did you do that?" He said, "I don't know." I could tell that he really didn't know.
He grabbed his Halloween mask and wrung it around his hands, tighter, tighter, tighter. "Teancom, you're going to break it." He stopped for a moment before resuming.
The crowd started closing in. By now, his friend from class had found him. There must have been 20 kids, all staring at him, inches from him. His friend said hello. Teancom said nothing. His friend said 4 sentences to him. Teancom said nothing.
I turned Teancom so he would look at me and said I was going to leave and that he'd have fun. He said a terse, "Stop!" and walked away. He didn't walk away with his friend. He just walked away. Like he was in a daze.
I shrugged, assumed that he'd find something fun to do, and I left.
When Rob came to pick him up 3 hours later, the hostess said that Teancom stood by a tree for a good part of the party, quietly crying. They finally did an activity he wanted to do, and he was fine after that.
Also, a swarm of girls followed him around all night. He was the only boy his age at the party. Poor Teancom. Cursed with the horrible combination of his father's cosmic pull on girls (Rob repeatedly had his shirts ripped by girls who chased him in elementary school), along with epic levels of shyness. Heaven help him.
Friday, October 19, 2012
The Other Side of the Mountain
(This post will sound a little vague. Sorry. But be patient. I'll let you in on the rest of the story soon.)
So apparently Zen Tamra was a preparation for the last few weeks. I think I failed, but I didn't fail miserably, so I guess there's some honor to be had.
I've been waiting for something to happen. It's really been fast, but not fast enough, you know? I was patient and I had a good attitude about it. And then, the day came when it was over. My patience was officially gone.
Do you know what's on the other side of Patience? I thought it would be despondency. But it turns out that for me it's Anger.
I was in the middle of my sign-to-voice class, where we watch videos and everyone takes a turn voicing what is signed. It was a more difficult video, and I wasn't excited about it. I walked into the room after finishing a voicing test and the teacher, whom I love and adore, said, "Oh, Tamra. We just finished, but you can voice the last part for us." I played it off. "No, that's okay. I don't want to slow up the class. Feel free to just move on." She insisted, "Everyone else had to. So you can, too." I said something like, "That's sweet. I appreciate you giving me this opportunity."
Then I voiced and wasn't into it. I was already Done with life in general. A few minutes in I lost it, "I don't know. This is lousy. I'm not in the mood. Just turn it off." Seriously, I totally lost it. The rest of the class was like, "You did a good job!" etc., but I was like, "This is total BS." I didn't say that, thankfully (see, it was just a fail, not a fail miserably), but it was a complete crash and burn. No saving face possible.
After class was over, I walked out to my car, pissed at life in general. Typically when I'm angry, the anger has a very specific source and focus. But this was a strange kind of anger with no real target. If you were standing there, I'd probably have wanted to cuss you out, just because you were close to me. A blind, pervasive anger. Pretty toxic.
Within minutes of arriving at my car, there was a phone call from my husband. He informed me that the thing I'd been wanting to happen was happening. It wasn't a definite, but it was movement. And it helped me be calmer.
I sat outside and soaked up the sunshine. I ate something. I listened to some podcasts. I watched the wind blow.
My teacher ended up passing by about an hour after class was finished. I apologized for my sub-par behavior and she told me it was okay. She said, "If you did it every time, we'd have a talk. But it was an isolated event." I thanked her for being understanding and we talked for a while. She's a lovely person.
... Today things have calmed. I woke up and the last bit of my despondency and anger had lifted. Kind of like magic. I was so happy to feel good again that I almost started crying. I feel light and happy and ... and I feel like ME. I didn't realize how much stress I'd been under for the last few weeks until it was no longer weighing me down.
So, welcome back, Zen Tamra. I've missed you.
So apparently Zen Tamra was a preparation for the last few weeks. I think I failed, but I didn't fail miserably, so I guess there's some honor to be had.
I've been waiting for something to happen. It's really been fast, but not fast enough, you know? I was patient and I had a good attitude about it. And then, the day came when it was over. My patience was officially gone.
Do you know what's on the other side of Patience? I thought it would be despondency. But it turns out that for me it's Anger.
I was in the middle of my sign-to-voice class, where we watch videos and everyone takes a turn voicing what is signed. It was a more difficult video, and I wasn't excited about it. I walked into the room after finishing a voicing test and the teacher, whom I love and adore, said, "Oh, Tamra. We just finished, but you can voice the last part for us." I played it off. "No, that's okay. I don't want to slow up the class. Feel free to just move on." She insisted, "Everyone else had to. So you can, too." I said something like, "That's sweet. I appreciate you giving me this opportunity."
Then I voiced and wasn't into it. I was already Done with life in general. A few minutes in I lost it, "I don't know. This is lousy. I'm not in the mood. Just turn it off." Seriously, I totally lost it. The rest of the class was like, "You did a good job!" etc., but I was like, "This is total BS." I didn't say that, thankfully (see, it was just a fail, not a fail miserably), but it was a complete crash and burn. No saving face possible.
After class was over, I walked out to my car, pissed at life in general. Typically when I'm angry, the anger has a very specific source and focus. But this was a strange kind of anger with no real target. If you were standing there, I'd probably have wanted to cuss you out, just because you were close to me. A blind, pervasive anger. Pretty toxic.
Within minutes of arriving at my car, there was a phone call from my husband. He informed me that the thing I'd been wanting to happen was happening. It wasn't a definite, but it was movement. And it helped me be calmer.
I sat outside and soaked up the sunshine. I ate something. I listened to some podcasts. I watched the wind blow.
My teacher ended up passing by about an hour after class was finished. I apologized for my sub-par behavior and she told me it was okay. She said, "If you did it every time, we'd have a talk. But it was an isolated event." I thanked her for being understanding and we talked for a while. She's a lovely person.
... Today things have calmed. I woke up and the last bit of my despondency and anger had lifted. Kind of like magic. I was so happy to feel good again that I almost started crying. I feel light and happy and ... and I feel like ME. I didn't realize how much stress I'd been under for the last few weeks until it was no longer weighing me down.
So, welcome back, Zen Tamra. I've missed you.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Guess What?
Miciah turned 11 today.
We printed off a birthday card made on the computer, including the above png image. Then we colored in the letters with crayon and signed our names. We gave her $3 to buy lunch at school. Miciah thought it was great.
I asked her how it feels to be 11. She said, "Well, it doesn't feel any different, but I have butterflies in my stomach." I said, "Huh. That must be how it feels to be 11." And she said, "No. That's just how I always feel on my birthday." Cute.
 |
| a picture of her school picture |
 |
| the creature in her natural habitat |
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Miciah Can Dance!
At the end of 4th grade, a parent at Miciah's school organized the 4th and 5th graders into a dance troupe to do a number for the school Talent Show. Miciah was so excited to do it! It's swing dancing!
So she performed a few times in May-ish. Then she performed again at a Swing Dance expo in downtown Cincinnati in August. Rob and I were out of town, so we missed it. But another parent videotaped it and put it on youtube. Here it is, for you to enjoy:
And the link: http://youtu.be/WWpqzkVumz0
Miciah is in the back right. She's wearing a blue skirt and matching blue shirt. No, not the one in front of her wearing a lighter blue skirt and shirt. No, not the girl next to her and more in the middle also wearing a similar color blue.
Apparently the crowd loved it and gave them a standing ovation. Then, all weekend people were telling the parent organizer that the school dance troupe was their favorite part of the expo. Cute!
Also, thank you parents with talents who choose to involve my children in wonderful things. You guys ROCK!
So she performed a few times in May-ish. Then she performed again at a Swing Dance expo in downtown Cincinnati in August. Rob and I were out of town, so we missed it. But another parent videotaped it and put it on youtube. Here it is, for you to enjoy:
And the link: http://youtu.be/WWpqzkVumz0
Miciah is in the back right. She's wearing a blue skirt and matching blue shirt. No, not the one in front of her wearing a lighter blue skirt and shirt. No, not the girl next to her and more in the middle also wearing a similar color blue.
Apparently the crowd loved it and gave them a standing ovation. Then, all weekend people were telling the parent organizer that the school dance troupe was their favorite part of the expo. Cute!
Also, thank you parents with talents who choose to involve my children in wonderful things. You guys ROCK!
Odds and Ends
- For Evan, who can't view my embedded video, here's the link for the song that I posted about the other day.
- As a follow-up to my last post about the story: I signed it in ASL and took the view that the lion's feelings were so hurt that it felt like he was dying physically and emotionally. Seems pretty lame for the king of beasts to be so torn up about something like that, but I'm going to assume he was a really sweet guy and that's why he was so sad about it all. (I wasn't in a performance mood when I did the story, so I'm sure there was something lacking in my telling. But other than that, it went well.)
- The other day I was reading with Tank. His skills have improved a lot in the last 2 months. So, after he had read particularly well on a page, I told him, "Tank, you're getting so good at reading! I'm so proud of you." And wouldn't you know that my daughter decides it's a good time to chime in with, "Yeah, but you're still not as good as me." I just stopped and gawked at her. Then I kinda told her off. She felt bad that she'd made Tank feel so lousy about himself, but I think it's GOOD that she felt bad about it. Because it was a lousy thing to say. Sheesh. They both got over it, though, and she actually finished reading the book with Tank later on. She's a good big sister, she just doesn't think about what she says sometimes. Like all of us.
- The kids have been enjoying swim lessons on Saturday mornings. All of them do lessons and then they have time before or after when they can just play in the pool. They think it's amazing. We're the best parents ever.
- School was severely frustrating a few weeks ago. I had a moment of, "Why in the hell am I doing this?!" Then I got over it and decided that I should keep going to school anyway. I enjoy it, for sure, but the learning process sometimes is more painful than I'd like.
- Things are going really well around here. We're for the most part healthy and happy. Praises be.
- As a follow-up to my last post about the story: I signed it in ASL and took the view that the lion's feelings were so hurt that it felt like he was dying physically and emotionally. Seems pretty lame for the king of beasts to be so torn up about something like that, but I'm going to assume he was a really sweet guy and that's why he was so sad about it all. (I wasn't in a performance mood when I did the story, so I'm sure there was something lacking in my telling. But other than that, it went well.)
- The other day I was reading with Tank. His skills have improved a lot in the last 2 months. So, after he had read particularly well on a page, I told him, "Tank, you're getting so good at reading! I'm so proud of you." And wouldn't you know that my daughter decides it's a good time to chime in with, "Yeah, but you're still not as good as me." I just stopped and gawked at her. Then I kinda told her off. She felt bad that she'd made Tank feel so lousy about himself, but I think it's GOOD that she felt bad about it. Because it was a lousy thing to say. Sheesh. They both got over it, though, and she actually finished reading the book with Tank later on. She's a good big sister, she just doesn't think about what she says sometimes. Like all of us.
- The kids have been enjoying swim lessons on Saturday mornings. All of them do lessons and then they have time before or after when they can just play in the pool. They think it's amazing. We're the best parents ever.
- School was severely frustrating a few weeks ago. I had a moment of, "Why in the hell am I doing this?!" Then I got over it and decided that I should keep going to school anyway. I enjoy it, for sure, but the learning process sometimes is more painful than I'd like.
- Things are going really well around here. We're for the most part healthy and happy. Praises be.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)