04 September 2008

Wednesday update

Cheshire sent a short message last night and she is doing better. Her words, "a tad better" but I was thrilled. She has taken on an awful lot. I can't imagine having the where with all to do what she is doing. but she is a marvel and she will learn to teach and teach those 3rd graders this year. I do wish she was closer to home and that we could be of real help to her. If only she could transfer to a school in Chicago -- but then I guess a NYC teaching fellow can't do that.

Julia had another good school day. I don't think there is much work expected from Julia as of yet, but I've heard that she is causing no trouble and is cooperative. She actually woke up this morning and told me it was a school day. Pretty cool. We have also managed not to watch any tv in the morning and to get dressed and eat breakfast in time to walk to school. This is all very good. Julia is also not as crazy happy to see me when I pick her up. Sometimes I felt so badly for her last year when she would throw herself at me as if she never expected to see me again. She is still happy to see me (even though I know the reception would be bigger if it was David coming to get her) but it feel more normal happy. After school, we did a bit of shopping for food, went to speech therapy, went home to play, made dinner, and eat, and ended out evening with a puzzle. During this whole time, Julia was in a good mood. It was not difficult to get through our day and evening. This might be the first time ever.

I had fun today as well. I am doing a stencil border on Julia's bedroom walls. It has, of course, dinosaurs! It is funny to do this now. Before Julia came home, I painted her room in our old house. It was soft (and kind of empty) and was supposed to look like quilts on the walls. I had plans to make "squares" on those quilts and fill the squares with images of Julia's life before we got her and after. None of that happened because she was not ready for anything to be painted on those walls! She needed those walls to be as empty as possible and not in the least stimulating.

When we moved to Madison, I had her room painted deep blue because it seemed more like her than any pink and purple confection. I've been waiting to do more and now she is ready. She came home from school and loved the little bit that I had done. Trucks, dinosaurs, animals -- Julia can be such a girly girl in what she wants to wear, but on her walls as in her play, she is such a tomboy. I love it.

Today, it is rainy and cold -- big change from Tuesday's 90 degree day. The garden and grass need the rain and I hope we have a full day of it.

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