Updates and stories about my daughter from China who came home with challenges described in letters—PDD-NOS (on the autism spectrum), ADHD and RAD (Reactive Attachment Disorder). Her learning curve has been steep and therapy is a way of life. School and social interactions are a challenge. Making art is a way of life. So is a vivid imagination.
Promising myself for my birthday that I was going to write every day come hell or high water . . . umm, last night I was ready to sit to write about 10 minutes before my eyes were ready to close. Some of it busy but some of it just puttering. What am i avoiding? I can’t even do a sit-down-write justice right now, but I can scribble a few doings. Continue reading
Winter middle school concert, solo concert, birthday brunch (ordering and cutting herself!, indoor miniature golf (Wisconsin’s best on a freezing rain day) and lunch with a friend.
Certainly, a very sweet birthday and a busy week.
The elaboration. Continue reading
Yesterday, I noticed Julia asking whether it was true that C was coming over to sit for her in the evening. C sat during the week and told Julia that she was coming on Sunday. Julia never remembered stuff like that—time and people—before. We’ve had months of her asking what we were doing tomorrow and what comes next in the day, usually at inappropriate moments. Vacations, breaks and visits with her sister are being commented on in terms of how soon they are coming up. Mostly questions. And during our latest travels to Chicago and Indianapolis, Julia asked more than once when we were going home and wanted to know how many more days could we stay. These are very small steps forward but she may be developing some sort of time sense.
I take a sense of time for granted. We leave at a particular time to get to school on time, to get to meetings, to get to the movies before previews. If we use up our time doing one task there is no time for the other, possibly preferred, task. Christmas and birthdays and vacations are so many days and months away. Without a sense of time, the wake up alarm is merely an annoyance, rushing or taking our time makes no sense, and so many references in books and movies are wasted. Continue reading
Coming home from New Years visiting of friends and feeling the contentment of both journey and home. Needing a few quiet day to settle and catch up. Needing to make and put into practice some of the new year’s resolutions. Needing to organize to send out holiday cards-more on that later. Needing to figure out just how to plunge into the new year. Then again, the plunge has happened. Umm, am I already behind? Continue reading
Winter came on Sunday. Seems like a Dr. Suess announcement.
Julia woke up a bit before 8 and announced, “Snow. It’s snowing.” I am never crazy about the first snow. Not the snow so much as the driving. Sometime in a month or so, I’ll be ready to drive through blizzards and on inches of ice, but that first snow fall . . . All I want to do is light a fire, drink hot cocoa and huddle under my crocheted Afghan on the couch. Continue reading
On Saturday, Julia and I went to our second Zentangle class at FUS. The instructor, who encourages Julia, instructed most of us at a comfortable speed. Julia drew three times the amount that the rest of us did, adding detail, changing patterns, making mistakes and altering her spaces on the little tiles. Her tile is the one in the middle.
Last Wednesday, we had a parent-teacher conference. Julia conducted the conference, reading her notes on how she had done the preceding quarter and what she intended to do this next quarter. She has made the honor roll last quarter of 7th grade and this first of 8th grade, and she is proud of herself. She entered middle school not caring in the least about grades or tests or comparing herself to anyone. Her grades are scaled, she is not really compete with her typical classmates, but for me, she competes with the girl who started 6th grade and I see how far she has come.
Continue reading
I’ve started writing almost every day since Tuesday and went straight down the rabbit hole of self-pity. It was a greater pity than “self,” making the hole deeper and wider and so easy to tumble into. Having no partner to debrief with adds to the rabbit hole quality of the writing. I read articles by those who have written eloquently. What do I have to add? I thought of posting links to all the articles that I’ve read. For days, I could post links. Instead, I tried to find quiet. Not an easy tasks with the furies and demons circling. Continue reading
After watching the debates and talking about the election in school, Julia is very much into it. She fished out an old Obama button from some treasure trove and is wearing it along with two new Hillary buttons. Her assignment for Tuesday is to color a map as results come in. She told me that she is going to color the whole thing blue before any results come in. Magical thinking to be sure, but she’s got the right idea. Continue reading
Introducing Blaze the Cat, Sonic the Hedgehog’s sister. We are going for interpretation instead of exact copying. We’ve come a long way from dancing dinosaurs that had to look like what they were.
Halloween is not just a one day affair in Madison, so Julia wore her costume skating on Sunday and then on Monday night for trick ‘r treating. We bought the wig and ears but not surprisingly, the rest of the costume is in her wardrobe.
Julia looks pretty good with purple hair.
HP pumpkins made with help from two very nice genetics grad students who are visiting us as part of their LEND work.
For the second year, the small town of Egerton, Wisconsin, organized a town-wide celebration of all things Harry Potter. (21-23 October 2016) Kinda’ disorganized, crazy busy, lots of robes and costumes, and fun. Julia put up with the jostling of fellow Gryffindors and dare to talk to the likes of Hagrid (a very tall and big man) and a few Mad Eye Moodies, as well as a beautiful Bellatrix and a stern Professor McGonall.
Sitting on bleacher watching two teams battle it out on a quidditch field which sort of looks like a game of dodge ball played with multiple under inflated soccer balls which are hurled are the opposing team by player who run around with shortened broom sticks between their legs, a little boy behind us whined is extreme disappointment. “Where is the snitch? Why aren’t they flying?” His mother patiently explained what happens when the real world meets fiction and then asked him, “How are you?” He sniffled, “I guess ok.” Ah, the curse of growing up muggle.
Chasing Joy 