I don’t always have the time to write as much as I want anymore (and by don’t always have the time, I mean I never have the time…) but I think about it a lot. There are many, many half-written posts in my head, but until I get better at time management or hit the lottery and can afford to stay home and write full time – the blog will have to limp along sustained only by these quick little snip-it updates.
Julie is doing really well in school, and even started Hebrew school yesterday. Rocked it – and it was beautiful – to have her go to class without hesitation, I was so happy. She’s become a lot more clingy lately, and I cherish it. She loves me, I’m her default. If I’m going somewhere and she’s given the option, she’s with me. She wants me snuggling beside her at night until she falls asleep, she comes with me to the store, to the library, and wherever else I happen to be going. She’s SO smart, and yesterday, she starting asking me questions, from the way-back of the van, about liability and what would happen if a tree fell on our car when we were at our friend’s house – who would pay for that? That’s the kind of questions she has – seriously. She’s growing up, faster than either of us are comfortable with – and that’s why she wants to be with me all the time. She’s heading in to school every morning and bouncing off to religious school on the weekends, and I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I miss my little girl.
Sam may be a reader after my own heart. I forced reading on Jessie. I did. I was so excited about having a daughter who could read all the books that I read – and got way carried away at introducing new authors and books to her. She was easily in the fourth or fifth grade before she started reading, and still doesn’t read as much as I do. She reads, a lot, and always has a book with her, but it’s only after stepping back, WAY back, that she was able to find her own way into reading. But my Sammy… he fell in love with books. I tricked him into it with audio books (I had tried that with Jessie too – but she didn’t like them – she needs to hold a book in her hands like I do). He devours them – shutting himself into his room and listening to stories while he colors or writes or builds with minecraft. But he’s still a struggling reader, and as much as I love that he’s doing the audio books, I wanted him READING. Enter – graphic novels. I found some GREAT ones, historical and just a touch above his reading level – and he’s LOVES it. He’s just like his dad, now that I think of it – especially as it relates to his reading material. Marc loves audio books too, he listens to them in the car (which is how I got Sam into them, riding around with his dad), and Marc picked up Sam’s graphic novel a few minutes ago, and is reading it while I’m typing.
Jessie, oh, my Jessie. She’s so driven and so ambitious and works so very hard. She’s overwhelmed and dramatic and intense – and wants so much out of life. I struggle with boundaries, with letting her fight her own battles, and make her own decisions about homework. The Jewish holidays wreaked havoc on her academic schedule, and she was under water for most of the past two weeks, making up school work missed. Her school is academically advanced – and they have high expectations. Jessie’s thrived in that environment, and she works her little butt off to get the grades. Mixing in any kind of activity on top of that, like religious school or bat mitzvah lessons – and it’s hard. It’s hard because she puts an enormous amount of pressure on herself, and I can’t stop her. But when she’s not sobbing in frustration, she’s happy – really happy. She loves her school, and she lights up when she’s being challenged and learning something new.
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