Random August Musings
A new week and a new milestone. B turned 12, and I'm kind of having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that I have three kids out of primary. When did they get so old? B of course doesn't look like a little girl anymore. She's sprouted up-- past M-- and now she is only a half an inch shorter than me and wears the same size shoes. In fact, when we do her hair in a pouf on the top of her head, she looks quite a bit taller than me. (And she has a couple of pairs of platform shoes, which make me have to look up to her!) Well. I wouldn't want my kids to stay little forever, but there's both a sense of awe in the young woman she is becoming and a sense of loss of the child left behind.
Back when I was in New York at this point in August I was already starting to have some sense that fall was just around the corner, even though it was still definitely summer. The stores would start stocking pants and sweaters and you knew you would need them soon. It's different here of course-- I don't ever wear sweaters here and I won't need to wear pants for three more months. But there is some sense that the summer is getting old. The monsoon season is old enough that we've already been through our share of tree-downing storms and flooded, swampy retention basins. (This is the time of year when the mosquitoes become unbearable.) Usually I'm so tired of the heat and humidity by this point that I start to feel claustrophobic. But this year either I've finally adapted to the desert (after 15 years) or it's not as hot. I haven't felt anything near the "I-can't-stand-this-one-more-day!" that I've gone through during previous Augusts. But the best part of reaching this stage of summer is that I feel settled into our new school year routine.
It's going all right, as far as I know. I have parent-teacher conferences this week so I'll really know by the end of the week. We've got our driving schedule more-or-less figured out and a routine for homework that more-or-less works for everyone but M. (M's problem is simply TOO MUCH homework. Perhaps signing her up for four honors classes was a poor decision.) We've kind of gotten used to the fact that we don't drive up to Grandma's as often as we used to, and we don't see Aunt Amy's family anymore. (The other day as we were getting ready to kill time between school pickups I had to remind myself that dropping by Amy's house wasn't an option anymore.) S has adapted to school like a champ, and she still loves going, though she is not a fan of homework. Overall, I feel like we've got this (and considering that I freak out over changes, that's a big relief).
As for the child who is struggling emotionally, I have a initial consult with a counselor on Tuesday. She wants to meet with the parents first, but of course Terence got activated that day for the "riot squad" so it will just be me. I hope I feel comfortable with her, but most of all I hope this works for the child. That's the most important goal here. This have been going better this week. I broke out my copy of "Feeling Good" and everyday we've been sitting down and going over a different cognitive distortion-- negative thinking that can trap us into feeling miserable. (This is what made the most difference for me in battling depression-- well, this and Zoloft.) It seems to be helping. Our kiddo told me that they thought everyone thought these kinds of things, and I think it was a huge eye-opener to learn that nope, they don't, and these kinds of thoughts can make us very, very unhappy. I don't know how much it is helping, but it does to make a little difference and it was what I felt inspired to try (besides the counseling).
Tomorrow is the famous eclipse day, and I don't even have plans for what I'm going to do. All the kids are either watching it via NASA's website or through pinhole viewers at school-- and my parents even made the trip to Wyoming so they can be in the "strip"-- but it did not occur to me until tonight that perhaps I may want to switch around my schedule tomorrow and take a look. (I was just planning to do my grocery shopping.) After all, apparently the last time we had an eclipse like this in my neck of the woods was 1918. Seems like I should participate in the momentous occasion somehow. But all I can think of is that it's a Monday and I have a bunch of errands to do with Terence. . . .
Well, there's my random blog thoughts, August 2017 edition. I hope your August is going well and that you are not claustrophobic from the heat either!
Back when I was in New York at this point in August I was already starting to have some sense that fall was just around the corner, even though it was still definitely summer. The stores would start stocking pants and sweaters and you knew you would need them soon. It's different here of course-- I don't ever wear sweaters here and I won't need to wear pants for three more months. But there is some sense that the summer is getting old. The monsoon season is old enough that we've already been through our share of tree-downing storms and flooded, swampy retention basins. (This is the time of year when the mosquitoes become unbearable.) Usually I'm so tired of the heat and humidity by this point that I start to feel claustrophobic. But this year either I've finally adapted to the desert (after 15 years) or it's not as hot. I haven't felt anything near the "I-can't-stand-this-one-more-day!" that I've gone through during previous Augusts. But the best part of reaching this stage of summer is that I feel settled into our new school year routine.
It's going all right, as far as I know. I have parent-teacher conferences this week so I'll really know by the end of the week. We've got our driving schedule more-or-less figured out and a routine for homework that more-or-less works for everyone but M. (M's problem is simply TOO MUCH homework. Perhaps signing her up for four honors classes was a poor decision.) We've kind of gotten used to the fact that we don't drive up to Grandma's as often as we used to, and we don't see Aunt Amy's family anymore. (The other day as we were getting ready to kill time between school pickups I had to remind myself that dropping by Amy's house wasn't an option anymore.) S has adapted to school like a champ, and she still loves going, though she is not a fan of homework. Overall, I feel like we've got this (and considering that I freak out over changes, that's a big relief).
As for the child who is struggling emotionally, I have a initial consult with a counselor on Tuesday. She wants to meet with the parents first, but of course Terence got activated that day for the "riot squad" so it will just be me. I hope I feel comfortable with her, but most of all I hope this works for the child. That's the most important goal here. This have been going better this week. I broke out my copy of "Feeling Good" and everyday we've been sitting down and going over a different cognitive distortion-- negative thinking that can trap us into feeling miserable. (This is what made the most difference for me in battling depression-- well, this and Zoloft.) It seems to be helping. Our kiddo told me that they thought everyone thought these kinds of things, and I think it was a huge eye-opener to learn that nope, they don't, and these kinds of thoughts can make us very, very unhappy. I don't know how much it is helping, but it does to make a little difference and it was what I felt inspired to try (besides the counseling).
Tomorrow is the famous eclipse day, and I don't even have plans for what I'm going to do. All the kids are either watching it via NASA's website or through pinhole viewers at school-- and my parents even made the trip to Wyoming so they can be in the "strip"-- but it did not occur to me until tonight that perhaps I may want to switch around my schedule tomorrow and take a look. (I was just planning to do my grocery shopping.) After all, apparently the last time we had an eclipse like this in my neck of the woods was 1918. Seems like I should participate in the momentous occasion somehow. But all I can think of is that it's a Monday and I have a bunch of errands to do with Terence. . . .
Well, there's my random blog thoughts, August 2017 edition. I hope your August is going well and that you are not claustrophobic from the heat either!
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