Hi, I'm sorry that this is such a spectacularly bad picture, but I don't have any decent shots of me with my new short haircut. Y'see, the only picture I have was shot after I asked Roger to do so (WHY do I ALWAYS have to ASK him to take a picture? We could speculate about that ad infinitim, I suppose. Is it because I seize the camera and groan audibly after each shot that I look "just horrible?" Or is he just a bad person? I vote for the latter).
He did shoot a picture of me last week but it was before my dental visit. See, I have to take iron pills, and they are hard on my stomach, so I got the bright idea of taking them sublingually (under the tongue) and then one day I noticed that my teeth were a most unattractive shade of black which required an hour's worth of cleaning from the dental hygienist and now I take my iron pills by swallowing them. Anyway, attractive short hair pictures to follow soon.
Now back to me, me, me. It's my blog, after all, dammit.
I've always been perfectly up front with my girls. I've clearly informed them that they are supposed to do all the things I never got to do. Dance en pointe. Date a cute boy (or girl, if Meredith turns out to be gay--whatever) for the prom. Get into medical school. I mean, I would have written it into the adoption contract and pressed their little thumbs in ink if the authorities would have let me.
So they are studying ballet as I made it clear that was mandatory. So two things are now coming up.
Madeleine and Meredith are starting to develop preferences of their own.
Madeleine has decided that she wants to play the violin. Now from my point of view this is a ridiculous waste of time and a cliche. An Asian girl on the violin? I mean, who ever heard of that, right? If she's going to do something, I want it to be, well, different. Like basketball. But she truly wants to take it. She got a chance to test drive a violin at school and came home, clasped her hands in reverential awe, and said in a hushed voice,
"It's like I had played one before."
"Perhaps you did in a past life," I suggested. Roger shot me a Don't Confuse Them With Your Whacked Out Hippie Stuff Look but I make no bones about it--I believe in reincarnation and don't mind talking about it. So what if the Catholic Church disagrees? That's my opinion and they can decide for themselves when they get older.
So--violin lessons it is! Two days a week.
Then Roger decides that if Madeleine gets to do three things (violin & ballet, plus she's auditioning for the district wide chorus)--well, then Meredith ought to do at least two things.
But she doesn't want to.
"Look," I argued. " I had braces, was a Brownie/Junior/Cadette Girl Scout, took ballet, took piano, played the flute in the band. My sister did nothing except horse stuff. Because she didn't want to. Every child is different."
"What do you want to do, Meredith?" he inquired. "Golf, flag football, tennis, piano, violin, cello, macrame, guitar, flamenco dancing?"
"Nothing!" she replied cheerfully. And I reminded him that it isn't all about us, it's about the children, and that each child is different.
I'm both totally wise and totally schizophrenic.
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7 comments:
I've worried about his some with my kids.
When the GirlChild was the age the BoyChild is now, she'd been in dance for a couple of years and played soccer and did Camp Fire.
The BoyChild? He does nothing.
For awhile it was his behavior problems. But now? He doesn't really want to do anything. I signed him up for Gymnastics, which he did last spring and last summer and I thought he enjoyed it. But when I asked whether he wanted to go one or two days a week, he thought about it, and said, "no." And I rephrased the question, because I thought he didn't understand me and he started talking to me in that S.L.O.W. tone of voice he uses when he thinks I'm particularly stupid and said, "I don't want to go to tumbling anymore." So, now he goes to school, gets his allergy shots and goes to his Kumon. Which I guess if it's o.k. for him, it will have to be o.k. for me.
I played violin for years, as was expected in an Asian household. I never understood how painful it was to HEAR another person play chords on a violin until we had a brother/sister living with us for a few months and they both played violin.
I believe Meredith's new hobby will be bringin' Momma a drink to calm the nerves (due to the screeching from the violin practice).
I have a friend who is catholic and believes in reincarnation. She says that "He who believeth in me, though he be dead, yet shall he live." is talking about reincarnation.
Just food for thought.
My graceful, talented, ballerina-wannabe daughter quit ballet this year because "I didn't learn anything last year." And she's right. A victim of geography. That was little hard for me to reconcile, but way harder for Grandma. And both my kids want to do extracurricular things, but not the same things, which is driving me nuts with scheduling and transportation... but I figure they may as well do those things now while I'm unemployed, because it would be impossible otherwise.
My oldest daughter (9 now) begged me to enroll her in violin when she was 5. She is still plunking along and still loves it. Asian, Smasian, who cares?
Barbara
My 2 year olds are now telling me what they don't want to wear. It doesn't work because I can't hear and them! lol.... Be thankful Meridith doesn't want to do anything yet. Sounds like you're going to be a taxi driver. Oh, is this what I have to look forward to?
Hello--I clicked over from Plain Jane.
My husband never takes photos of me, either, unless I whine, and then he's all SIGH and OKAY I DID IT ARE YOU HAPPY NOW? And then the pictures turn out SUCK because he doesn't bother to get a nice angle AT ALL, and it's, like, right up my nose or something.
I love your girls' names.
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