This week started out really nice. Spring was in the air and the weather was warm. Everywhere you looked you could spot pear trees and buttercups in bloom. However, it is that time when winter and spring struggle for control. Tuesday afternoon I came home and enjoyed working in the yard in shorts and a t-shirt in a record breaking 80° heat. The next evening we were back in our coats. Yesterday morning school ran two hours late due to icy conditions.
SHE’S HOME! It was three weeks ago today that Aunt Mar fell and went to the hospital. We brought her home today. She still has some therapy ahead of her, but at least she can sleep in her own bed and enjoy the comforts of home. I still find it amazing that her fall didn’t do any more damage than it did.
YOU CAN CHOOSE YOUR FRIENDS ... AND YOUR FAMILY? We wound up missing the bus one morning and I ran a little late getting to work because I had to drive the kids to school. I am so glad it happened though. Over the radio they recapped the news headlines for the day. This included a blurb about what President Obama would be doing that day. After hearing this Jenna wondered aloud, "I wonder how all his family feels about him being the president?"
Taking this line of thought up I asked, "I’ll bet they’re pretty excited. How would you feel if one of your brothers were president?"
"It would be cool!" she replied. "I would tell them I'm moving in so I could live at the White House."
Without missing a beat Ben said, "I would pretend I don't know you."
IMAGINATION IS NOT DEAD! You can say all you want about TV and video games robbing kids of their creativity and imagination in play, and this may be true in general, but it’s not true at my house. Now the boys do spend their share of time manipulating the Wii or GameCube controllers, but when they do come up for air they are running around the house and yard fighting with their light sabers or shooting webs from their wrists. Sometimes they fight each other, sometimes they fight imaginary enemies. Nate has a whole list of powers he wants to have if he ever becomes a superhero. Most of the time all this is just part of the background noise going on in the house for me, but the other day we were leaving for school when Ben said something that made me chuckle at their creativity. The other day when we came out the door both boys were standing on the back porch. Ben looked at Nate and said, “These aren’t backpacks. They’re jet packs!” Whooshing sounds filled the yard as they flew to the truck.
OLD NEWS. Back on February 20 we went to the Upward Basketball Awards Night to celebrate the end of the season. (Illusionist B. J. Harris was there to entertain the kids and put on an awesome show. You can find his web site at www.bjharris.com and see videos of his act on YouTube as well.) This year the kids got backpacks as a participation award. The boys were really excited about their new packs as their old ones were already wearing out.
THE ART OF EXPLANATION. Explaining things to others is truly an art form. You have to present the information in a way that is easy to learn. Using examples from everyday life helps. That’s why Vicki talked about Kevin in a conversation with Jenna. Kevin goes to our church. He is autistic. Jenna had just asked Vicki what autism is.
Vicki explained how people with autism can easily remember all sorts of details about things. In her example she said that if Kevin knew Jenna really well he might remember all kinds of things about her, like the fact that she has cousins in FLorida. A look of astonishment and disbelief came over Jenna’s face. Completely missing the point of the example she gasped, “Kevin knows I have cousins in Florida?!”
Joe
