running in cycles

It seems that when I go a few too many days without a post it's because there's just a bit too much going on in life and I can't seem to force myself to whittle it all down to one (seemingly) coherent theme. The last few weeks have certainly been one of those periods but since I need to narrow it all down, the theme has to be 'back to school'.

This is definitely the first year, and probably the last, when all 3 kids were actually looking forward to school. Cassidy is starting Junior High (7th) and she was really looking forward to the new classes, the new teachers, the new school, etc. Grant really enjoys school now, although probably for the opposite reason - it is now very familiar to him. He's been at the same school for 5 (!) years now and he still has 3 to go (after this one). He's in the 3rd grade (SDC) and is showing more and more signs of actually wanting to learn. Owen started Kindergarten this year. What was previously "Cassidy's school" is now "Owen's school". He was also very excited about going to his new school; he feels like a "big boy".

Of course, this means that we have 3 different schools, 3 different start times, and 3 different end times. Whee. The toughest part is that Grant's class gets out 5 minutes before Owen's class, and there's no way Staci can pick up Grant and get over to Owen's school in 5 minutes. Fortunately, Grant's teacher is very understanding and she picks him up 5-10 minutes early. I still get to bring Grant to school which, while it has not always been easy, I have always enjoyed. Since I can't just drop him off in front of the school like NT kids, I get to walk him into class and hang out for a little bit. Over the years, this has been a great opportunity to build a rapport with his teachers and to have a quick exchange of ideas when there is a need to do so. It's too bad we can't do that with the other 2 - it really seems "right" to know the teachers so well and to know the other kids and their parents.

Owen's first day was a bit worrisome since he can have a bit of a frustration/anger issue at times. When he gets really frustrated he can "light it up" with the best of them. However, his morning started out great and he was all smiles walking in the room. When his teacher noticed he had the same lunch box as another boy, she started writing his name on the outside. In ink. Right -on-top-of-Spiderman. Uh-oh, big mistake. Owen was NOT happy about that. Evidently it took him a while to get out of that "mood" but he hung in there and finished strong. Today (the 2nd day) was much better.

Although Cassidy was looking forward to 7th grade, the big bummer was that none of her best friends were in ANY of her classes! Although she says that she hasn't really talked to any new people, I'm not buying it. She'd be complaining if that were really true. By far, the biggest change (and drawback) to 7th grade is the lack of recess and a shorter lunch period. Welcome to the real world, pal!

Finally, the last few days I have been desperate to glean information from each of them about their day. Well, I always ask Grant about his day even though I've never gotten any sort of answer. Maybe someday. But, Cassidy and Owen are more than capable of describing every minute of their day to me - what's the problem!? All I get is "it was good" or "nothing happened". C'mon, I work in an office all day, I need some stories about this other world you are living in kids! So, I've pretty much given up on asking and have resorted to other methods. I either ask stupid questions which require them to respond with a "real" explanation, or I tell them some story from my school days so that they will want to talk about their own. Any other ideas are MORE than welcome!

Ok, boring post is over. My next post is #100!

God's town

overheard at the dinner table tonight...

"... thank You for our blessings, amen"

"pfffffffft"

"Owen, what was that? Do you know who we are talking to when we pray?"

"Who?"

"God."

"Oh... but where is He?"

"He's everywhere."

"But he's not in our town."

"He's not in our town?"

"No, he's invisible. He's in invisible town!"

Laughter erupted at the table in one of those "can't help laughing even during a teaching moments".

who

I ran across this photo collection site, Square America, and quickly became lost in it. People, places, stories - all unknown. Fascinating.

Then, I ran across this one.

What do you think? It looks like an institution to me, sometime between the 30s and 50s. I look at the faces. I'm reminded of a thought that often strikes me, what would Grant's life have been like if he had been born 30 years ago? 50? 80? 100? Would we as his parents have had the courage to fight against the societal norm and keep him at home? Or would we have shipped him off to some place like this when it became clear that "he was not like the rest of us"?

What's going through the minds of all those men? What could there lives have been like if they lived today?

Linked up

Last year at this time I wrote about the 1st annual Tiana Foundation golf tournament. Guess what? The 2nd annual event was just as great! Saturday was a beautiful day and I got to spend it not only supporting a great charity, but I also got to spend several hours with good friends laughing as much as golfing.

The Tiana Foundation has grown quite a bit in the past year and they have been able to support quite a few families in their darkest hour. I'm glad to be able to support this work, but I'm even more proud to have the founders as friends and it's just been incredible to see them both grow through a very hard time into such highly respected people in our community.

In that same post last year, I wrote about our own tough times 5 years ago and about Grace who continues to inspire us all. Here she is playing in our pool a few weeks ago. She is learning how to walk now and is really starting to show a lot more interaction with those around her. We love to see her big smile every week in Club Kangaroo - you should see her light up when Mr. M comes into play harmonica for the kids each week! You may also recognize Grace from a pic last month in my post about our summer vacation - she and Owen have a true bond which never ceases to remind me how of how pure a friendship can be at times.

little stuff

Over the past week, Grant has shown a (spark) of interest in playing baseball. Well, maybe not "playing", more like hitting and thowing the ball. Well, maybe spark is a strong word because his interest lasts for about 2 minutes. But, hey, it's something! He'll go out in the garage and get the plastic bat and ball and present it to me to show me he wants to play (sometimes he will even say 'ball'). He holds the bat pretty well and will hit it if I throw the ball right at the bat. He then switches with me and throws the ball to my bat. Right now, he wants to do this from about 2 feet a way which makes the scene pretty funny looking. After about 2-3 throws/swings he completely loses interest and doesn't want to play anymore. We'll build on that though.

This morning, he groggily walked up to me after waking up (I was making our bed). I said 'Good Morning Grant'. He returned a "Guh morn" - wow! I don't think I've ever heard him respond to that before. Maybe he was so tired he didn't have his autism filter on yet. :)