Week 9 ~ Learning Through Life Experience

I knew walking into this week that it would be heavy on life experience and lighter on book learning. Almost every day had something extraordinary, time consuming and rich with hands-on learning to accomplish, so I only planned light book school and a bit of that wasn't even accomplished. But that doesn't matter in the scheme of things. Great learning was accomplished. We did manage to finally finish biology. What a relief! Onward and upward to conceptual physics.

For her 15th birthday, Anne had a wonderful sleepover in which almost no one slept. All but one girl got less than three hours of sleep. Anne selected a fantastic group of girls to come over and they had a sweet time. Dean had a friend over who he hadn't seen in months and they hid in his room, playing games and talking late into the night. It cracks me up how many people act like boys are more rowdy than girls. That hasn't been my experience in parenting. As usual the boys were the calm ones -- I had to check on them now and again to make sure they were okay. They were that quiet. . The boys were asleep by 1 am. However, the girls' squeals could be heard all over the house all night long (even when they were trying to be quiet). Her friends held her hands at the mall while she got her second piercing.

My father did a fly-through visit one day this week. We were a good stopping place on his way to Florida. He was here less than 24 hours and we enjoyed his company. We played games, watched shows and talked.

Another day was almost entirely consumed by clothing shopping for Dean. He decided to go to the homeschool formal with his girlfriend and needed suit pants, a vest and dress shoes. We live a rather informal life around here. Getting a very opinionated, sensory and fashion driven guy outfitted on a budget was a harrowing experience, but we got it done with loads of nervous giggling and an entire pack of gum consumed to chew our stress away.

My husband had his birthday this week. We decided to have a game night at a local board game cafe. What a fun concept and right up our alley. We were able to try out a few games that we had been curious about. The game "Snake Oil" is going on our Christmas list.

Anne had the opportunity this week to take class with a well-respected ballet teacher in our area who is nearing retirement. Her Cecchetti teacher wanted this other teacher to see Anne dance and for Anne to have an opportunity to experience a different and more intense style of teaching. She loved it. The class doesn't work with her schedule (she had to skip two classes to attend this one), but she will go back on a drop-in basis when she can. The teacher said Anne was lovely and graceful and welcome anytime to her class, which is by invitation only. We will hear more of her opinions after she talks to Anne's regular Cecchetti instructor.

Friday was completely consumed with DMV and flu shots. We drove far away to try to get to a DMV in a more rural area so the wait would be less. It was a bit less and more pleasant than our inner city DMV, but the wait was still over two hours. My adult son needed his non-driving ID (he can't drive) renewed so that he will be able to vote and attend small rock concerts. That is about the only time he needs an ID.

Friday night was the much anticipated and worried about dance. My son was only semi interested in going to the dance. He expected it to be a rough experience that really triggered his social anxieties. It went better than expected because he has a sweet girlfriend and there were a lovely group of young people at the dance. The music was way over the top loud for his taste, but he had a positive experience that will bolster his self confidence. 

BEFORE

AFTER (exhausted)

I also wanted to show his latest painting. 

Lastly, I always try to be honest on this blog. Several of us had meltdowns this week, including me. However, those moments will pass into distant memory. I chose to document the wonderful moments that we want to remember. 

Blessings, Dawn