Going With the Flow – That Never Stops!

I stared at Bobby with my jaw dropped in utter wonder.

“What?” he answered my look, “I was going to wing it.  I mean, I do have some notes. I was going to play off those.”

I wasn’t quite sure what I was more amazed at.  That he was comfortable enough to stand in front of his English class and just “wing” a presentation – something that would have kept me up for weeks in worry – or that he failed to adequately prepare for another class assignment.

“What is the presentation on?”

“Whether homework should be graded on completion or accuracy.”

My jaw dropped again.

“Seriously?!  I mean, you do see the irony in this, right?  So, what is your opinion?”

It was homework day.  A day that Bobby had no after school or evening activities so we could sit down and focus on a subject that Bobby felt he was struggling with. 

And although we sat down to go over Spanish, a brief tour of English led to me discovering his “wing it” plan.  We took an immediate detour in subjects.

This Spring has been a whirlwind of non-stop activity.  The kids have kept me on my toes and behind the wheel of a car.

Or in waiting rooms or emergency rooms.

A few weeks ago, an elbow to the face required four stitches.

Not that stitches deterred anything. It is in my opinion that a group of men decided to go ahead and schedule a full tournament weekend for basketball and soccer on Mother’s Day weekend. (Let’s just see what they schedule for Father’s Day!)

In the end, I guess it was okay.  Bobby got player of the game and Catelyn scored two goals making her the Coupe with the most soccer goals in one season.

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And since Declan has to go to ONE of these tournaments:

Soccer = Tent + Puppets

Declan’s puppet making is at an all-time high, which also means my puppet making is at an all-time high.  So excited about puppets was he that he promised four of his friends at school that he would make them one. 

(I really developed my deep breathing habit for relaxation with that one).

My birthday passed with another trip to the ER.  When the dentist tells you NOT to eat or drink anything with your Invisalign in, he really means it.  Otherwise, a lot of sugar could sit on your tooth and cause you to need a root canal.

And as we waited and search for a dentist to take our insurance for the procedure, the pain hit an all-time high.

So, we get an ER bill AND a root canal bill.

The root canal bill means Mom gets a picture of son in silly glasses. The only reason Mom got to see the silly glasses was because son was scared and wanted to hold Mom’s hand through the procedure.

Day to day means multiple trips to the school for rides to and from practices and games.  Bobby is on three different sports teams that keep him at school until 8 or have games that start at 8, then tournaments on weekends.

Catelyn has her soccer, but this season she also joined the track team.  I think she likes it more than she lets on (“I hate it!”), so maybe she will run again next year.

Another tournament weekend, with Cate looking for some more goals.

Which I left early so I could take Declan to his first playdate at a friends house!

He said he had the best time ever!  And from what I can gather, whenever Declan’s friend began to play something Declan did not care for, Declan took out the puppets he brought.  His friend sounds like he was very flexible (and played A LOT of puppets!).

Since I was a little disappointed how Mother’s Day and my birthday turned out, I called for a day of rest, listening to my favorite sound in the world – the ocean waves breaking on the shore.

I read, Declan swam and played in the sand.  The big kids walked the boardwalk, ate ice cream and pizza.

I had the best day celebrating my special days.

After some actual research and citing some references, Bobby sided with the belief homework should be graded on completion.  Class time should be given to go over the homework so the student can learn from his mistakes on the homework and learn from them.

With his busy schedule, I can see why he chose this option.  Homework catch-up day is important and I like to be there to be sure he’s not “winging it.” But also hard to accomplish with everyone’s busy schedule.

A busy schedule that, outside of emergency rooms, the kids enjoy.  By getting back into their routines, seeing their friends, and doing the things they love to do!