Fragments


Despite my assertion that I would neither read nor acknowledge the Boy Wonder's BMI report, out neighborhood elementary school has proven too wily for to avoid/ignore it as planned. The magic number has been reported on the same piece of paper alongside information I actually do need, like his vision results (as the child of two glasses-wearing parents, with three glasses-wearing aunts/uncles and four glasses-wearing grandparents, we're always on the lookout for the need for corrective lenses). So. There it is. Hm.

And that's really all that needs to be said about that.

*********

I am breaking up with Target. This has been a long time coming and I really do feel that it's time I see other stores. I'm a little sad, of course, but also hopeful that with time I will be able to see our relationship with a bit more clarity. In the meantime, I am engaging in some retail therapy with several yards of this to be made into little paper-sack type evening bags and an ever-so-small spree at Crane buying New Years cards and perusing the offerings for the household stationery that Brainiac is always saying we should order.

I feel better already.

*********

There remains only one gift to arrange here at the Hot Water Bath estate and that is for the lovely young woman who drives the bus that delivers the Boy Wonder to school every day (how it came to pass that he takes the bus at all is a story in itself but believe me when I say that he is thrilled and I am somewhat less so). Anyway, he is one of three children on this route so it's more that he has this personal transportation service and the Boy tells us how they all sing songs on the way to school and she sings along with them. Nice, no? So I've already written a card expressing our heartfelt thanks that she is so kind to the children and how grateful we are that she keeps them safe and sound in the time they are in her care (not to mention that she is the absolute perfect driver for the parents who were terrified to put their kid on a bus).

I would like to enclose a little something with the card but I can't think of what that little something ought to be. I know nothing about her other than she sings songs and is quite diligent about safety, if the Boy's stories are to be believed. I don't know if she likes wine or cookies (or is even able to enjoy either). I don't know if she likes movies or reading or knitting or even celebrates any given winter gift-giving holiday at all, for that matter. She does wear a handful of silver rings which I see when she waves to me as the bus leaves off. But jewelry? No. Definitely not appropriate.

It flitted through my mind that I might buy a gift card to a local market and add to our note that I hoped she'd buy herself some of her favorite wintertime treats and enjoy them with our thanks, but...is that very icky-ticky-tacky? Or is this a good idea?

Do tell. I'm begging for help here so please share.

Post Title

→

Post URL

→

https://beat-hairstyles.blogspot.com/2006/12/fragments-despite-my-assertion-that-i.html

Visit Trend Wallpapers And Desktop Background for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection

Not long ago I was having One of Those Days. The kids were very tightly wound, I was somewhat less so and all efforts at a pleasant family morning were coming to naught. As I do every now and again I announced Quiet Time by saying, "Why don't you guys go see what's on channel 12?!" (Channel 12 is one of the two parentally sanctioned watching options in our house, our local public broadcasting.)

You can imagine my surprise to notice maybe five minutes later the calm that had descended. No more arguing, picking, instigating, throwing, screaming, tattling - it had all stopped. I was almost afraid to go check and see what it was they found on the television in case I would feel compelled to declare it inappropriate viewing and turn it off, with the inevitable result of a return to the morning's chaos. Steeling myself against bitter cathode ray dissapointment, I walked into the play room to find the kids snuggled up on the futon with a fleece blanket, staring rapt at the screen watching...

The Nutcracker.

I sat down to watch with them, remembering well my own girlhood fascination with Gelsey Kirkland and my despair at growing too tall and too, uh, large for ballet (my stature is rather more suited to softball than ballet). I wondered what they'd make of the show, if children more accustomed to animation and Disney spectacle would find The Nutcracker as compelling as so many generations before them.

They did. I provided minimal narration, just enough to help them follow the story and secretly (well, less so now that I'm writing about it on my blog, I guess) was pleased that they displayed such cultah in their attention. It was a distinct pleasure to share with them a holiday tradition that I enjoyed so well at their age.

Of course, when the ballet ended we were right back to craziness, this time with re-enactments of battles with the Mouse King, a part they alternated for maximum hysteria. Ah, so much for culture.

Still, happening upon The Nutcracker seems to have had an effect on them that I doubt it would have had if I had sat them down specifically to watch it, maybe a sense of discovery or ownership rather than something that Mom said was important to do. Both relish telling the story to friends and family, as if it were something that they themselves created and Entropy Girl practices her "steps" daily and asks her brother to play the part of the "guy dancer". The Boy Wonder is amazed to note that the male dancers can jump just as high as football players and thinks it beyond cool that battle scenes are not at all unusual within ballet - jumping with swords! Not to mention, of course, the constant source of amazement in the Christmas tree that grows! On stage! Or that so many dancers can do the same things at the same time, his constant search for synchronicity and symmetry satisfied. I am utterly charmed by their enthusiasm in a way that only a mother could be.

So now I'm on the hunt for Nutcracker-themed activities. I found a few at the Pennsylvania Ballet and, because they are intended for older children, they've inspired me to create a couple of my own - a wordsearch, an I Spy-type page and a bit of time making sugarplums.

It has been a wonderful gift for me to be able to share The Nutcracker with the kids and have them enjoy it so much. Despite knowing that the odds are against them developing a lifelong appreciate for dance, living as we do in the age of Wii, I'd like to think that the memory of this time will stay with them and someday, at least, they'll be able to share a little of the wonder with their own children.

(If you'd like me to send you .PDF copies of our Nutcracker games and activities, e-mail me at hotwaterbath AT gmail DOT com and I'll get them out to you. They're nothing super elaborate, just a bit of holiday fun to take advantage of youthful enthusiasm.)

Post Title

→

Post URL

→

https://beat-hairstyles.blogspot.com/2006/12/not-long-ago-i-was-having-one-of-those.html

Visit Trend Wallpapers And Desktop Background for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection