It was the second week of karate, and Boots was starting his new sport the same way he’d started soccer.
He’d flop. He’d flit. He’d spin merrily and smile broadly. Then he’d look appropriately chagrined when …
Picky eaters and allergy-safe cooking — the two aren’t necessarily unrelated.
From policy to politics, this rant’s for you.
The day’s events in a family way — unless something else amuses me.
From preschool to kindergarten — so far
Inexpensive homemade gifts, creative parties and low-cost projects, for Christmas and beyond. Many are easy enough for children to help.
It was the second week of karate, and Boots was starting his new sport the same way he’d started soccer.
He’d flop. He’d flit. He’d spin merrily and smile broadly. Then he’d look appropriately chagrined when a sensei took him gently by the shoulders and steered him toward where he was supposed to be. He’d stay there for 3.6 seconds, then the twirls, tumbles and twists would begin again.
It made me wonder what he’d do it he were enrolled in dance class. Start practicing his jab punch?
Probably not, because it appears that dancing is what Boots does when he’s discombobulated. Some people chew their nails, some twirl their hair. Boots pirouettes.
And, just as he couldn’t focus at the start of soccer season, he had trouble concentrating in karate. Too much noise. Too many new people. A soft mat to flop on, so might as well flop.
“Stick with it. If anyone can get him to focus, she can,” another mom said, referring to the sensei. “My kid had the same issue at first.”
I like that she called it an issue and not a problem. As far as I’m concerned, it’s not a problem at all as long as Boots (eventually) starts paying attention for most of the class.
At the start of soccer season, I read his lack of attention as a lack of interest even though he’d begged to play. He was sooooo different from Big Guy, who was uber focused from the second he set foot on afield. But, then, Boots will sit and work puzzles that quickly tax Big Guy’s patience.
By the end of soccer, though, Boots was staying upright most of the time. He consistently ran in the direction the ball was headed and even kicked it once in a while. And now, a week after the season’s ended, as he plays in the back yard he smoothly sends the ball toward the net.
He’s slowly starting to catch on in karate, too.
“When do I get my white belt?” he asked this week.
“When you earn it,” I replied.
“Why didn’t I earn it?”
“Because you weren’t paying attention when sensei asked who was ready to take the test.”
“Ooooooooooh. Why can’t she just give it to me.”
“Because this is not soccer, where everyone gets a trophy,” I said. “You have to show sensei that you can do what you need to do.”
What they “need to do” is not much at all for his age group – they simply have to stand still, arms at their side, for 30 seconds. No soft shoe. No bunny hop. No hoe down.
He’s getting there. He even made it a whole 15 minutes Wednesday night without a sensei having to bring twinkle toes back down to Earth.
Copyright 2010 Debra Legg. All rights reserved.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Life was so much simpler when I was in school. History texts focused on presenting facts – and back then, a fact was a fact was a fact.
Today, though, there are some who think the …
It was garden-variety stuff – cat chases mouse, cat catches mouse, mouse bonks cat’s head with an iron skillet, dog pummels cat – but I hadn’t heard Big Guy laugh so hard in ages as …
Where does “protest” end and “publicity stunt” begin?
With PETA and its propensity to station costumed characters in high-traffic public places – always making sure the media are aware of the big news- it’s hard to …
I’m certain it was the bright-blue goggle-eyed pug on the cover that drew Big Guy’s attention. The fact that I was trying to steer him to what I thought was more age-appropriate reading material – …
It’s not quite the east coast and west coast rappers sitting down over tea and crumpets, but when three manufacturing rivals get together for a joint project, it’s big news.
Except in the case of the …
It’s funny how a simple question can stop you dead in your tracks, like when a high school classmate I’d recently reconnected with asked, “How do you like Cali?”
I love it, I thought.
Then I wondered …
It was, admittedly, a new take on the old “these kids and their short attention spans and self-absorbed natures are ruining the world” spiel.
Instead, a British education union leader blamed a culture of “instant gratification,” …
I don’t know what I was thinking when I opened two cans of tuna the other night.
Before deployment, those two cans wouldn’t have lived to see the next day. Dad would have made four tuna …
I pay $65 a month for satellite TV service, and that’s way too much considering that we regularly watch only Nickelodeon, ESPN and the local FOX affiliate. The package includes 200 channels, many of which …
She had the same reaction I did when she went to the pre-season meeting for soccer parents and found out that her 4-year-old’s team didn’t have a coach: This will never work.
The director assured everyone …
Back when my job involved actually leaving my house, there wasn’t a lunchbox in the world big enough for me.
I usually ran out the door without breakfast, triggering the need to pack snack one. The …
We’ve read the books, and we’ve eaten the cake at the library. That’s all old Cat in the Hat now. What else could we do to celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday and Read Across America, I …
It’s unfortunate that the AFL-CIO did its job today and jumped into fray in a Rhode Island district that’s firing the entire staff at the low-performing Central Falls High School.
Unfortunate because that gives more ammo …
When we last left Big Guy, his big mouth was causing problems at school on a daily basis. It’s a seasonal issue for him that’s going to crop up just as sure as the teacher …
Here’s a tricky one to tackle:
According to an article in March’s edition of Pediatrics, nearly 30 percent of overweight teens don’t know that they’re overweight. And if they don’t know they’re overweight, they’re less likely …
The U.S. Army recognizes that I might need a little help when Dad is away. That’s why the military offers 16 hours’ care a month to children whose parents are deployed are wounded.
So why did …
Have you ever had the bad luck to be good at something you don’t like doing?
It happened to me once, between my sophomore and junior years in college. I’d accepted a summer internship as a …
What’s worse than a YouTube video showing a developmentally disabled boy being bullied?
A court verdict in Italy that finds Google executives guilty of invasion of privacy because the video was posted to begin with – …
What could possibly be more annoying than a 6-year-old who fritters away every dime on candy or a bright shiny object that’s going to hold his interest only for as long as it takes to …
Two contradictory tidbits from a CNet story this morning about an Federal Communications Commission report on expanding broadband Internet access to more parts of the country:
A third of adults who don’t have broadband at home …
When she rang the doorbell Monday after school, tears streamed down the second-grader’s face. I was shocked, because while I don’t know her well I do know that she’s a tough kid who doesn’t hesitate …
I consider myself to be a fairly thrifty person. Not as tight as my grandfather who recycled coffee grounds – for brewing, not gardening – but I’m hardly a spendthrift in most areas.
For example, when …
First rule of complaining about media coverage: Whether it’s a philandering golfer or a foot in mouth and ink on hand politician, if you’re sick of hearing about someone don’t say something that’s going to …
Big Guy came home excited after library day at school a few weeks ago – not that he isn’t usually excited, because the library is like shopping, only everything is free.
This time, though, he’d scored …
If computer manufacturers wanted to do the world a big favor they’d include, not a shortcut to software,but a direct link to snopes.com on every box sold.
It wouldn’t end all the “Starbucks is anti-military” emails …
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
I cannot change soccer snacks. Well, technically speaking I suppose I could if I …
Every time Big Guy’s class has a substitute teacher, his regular one says she’ll get a report about their behavior from her “spies” when she gets back.
She’s joking. In a certain school district in suburban …
Mommy, BFF’s been lying to me, Big Guy said last night. He doesn’t really have a brother.
I had suspected as much for months.
In the fall, the “brother” was a teen-ager who’d left a few weeks …
You’re a soldier spending your last day with your family before you deploy. In your dream world, the schedule would include:
Waking up at 10 to a nice leisurely breakfast, followed by an afternoon of lolling …
Big Guy wanted a Nerf gun for Christmas – a big one. “A pazooka,” he said.
He also wanted night vision goggles. And he “needed” walkie-talkies because he was tired of squawking into a fake plastic …
Once upon a time there was an Army post in the middle of the desert.
It had a weekly newspaper, but editions often failed to make it to all the boxes on post.
It had a radio …
In part because I live in a place where egg replacer isn’t readily available and in part because I’m tired of toting ingredients when I’m on the road, I’ve been experimenting lately with baking with …
A mere 12 hours after I’d plowed through the top row of a Whitman’s Sampler in an attempt to console myself because we wouldn’t see Dad for at least six months, my phone rang.
It was …
It’s ironic that Google rolled out Safety Mode parental controls for YouTube in the same week that it made gmail unsafe for some folks in its careless rollout of Buzz.
Some of the early things I’d …
Other than spinning around MarioKart-style on the court every time he gets bumped, Boots is just not that into soccer. Which is fine with me, because his spins are kind of cute. They play on …
A recent Rasmussen Poll found that 63 percent of the country believes we’d be better off if most of Congress were re-elected.
Granted, Scott Rasmussen has worked on Republican campaigns before and some question whether the …
First, the good news:
Big Guy immediately recognized the Reese’s Cup in his bag of Valentine’s Day bling at school – never mind that the kids weren’t supposed to bring candy and I’d ticked Big Guy …
Years ago, a reporter handed me a cartoon outlining OSHA regulations covering how many people were allowed to ride her butt at one time. Because I was No. 8 in line I’d have to wait …
In part because I live in a place where egg replacer isn’t readily available and in part because I’m tired of toting ingredients when I’m on the road, I’ve been experimenting lately with baking with …
Two contradictory tidbits from a CNet story this morning about an Federal Communications Commission report on expanding broadband Internet access to more parts of the country:
A third of adults who don’t have broadband at home …
Back when my job involved actually leaving my house, there wasn’t a lunchbox in the world big enough for me.
I usually ran out the door without breakfast, triggering the need to pack snack one. The …
I pay $65 a month for satellite TV service, and that’s way too much considering that we regularly watch only Nickelodeon, ESPN and the local FOX affiliate. The package includes 200 channels, many of which …
It’s ironic that Google rolled out Safety Mode parental controls for YouTube in the same week that it made gmail unsafe for some folks in its careless rollout of Buzz.
Some of the early things I’d …
We’ve read the books, and we’ve eaten the cake at the library. That’s all old Cat in the Hat now. What else could we do to celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday and Read Across America, I …
Sometimes life is all about timing. There’s a chance the soldier took his protective goggles off briefly during training in The Box – 1,000 barren square miles at Fort Irwin where soldiers prepare for desert warfare. Then ...
So there I was last month, stressing until 2 in the morning over Dad’s “welcome home” cake, worried that it would be ugly or dry or have the wrong color stars. Silly, silly girl. If I’d ...
I’m kind of frustrated this morning because I don’t have girls. I don’t even know any girls young enough to appreciate this. But if I did, I’d be all over the tutu tutorial – say that ...
Poor Boots. He wakes up every morning chirping with the birds and with a cheery greeting. “It’s a beautiful day!” Somewhere along the line, though, the grind of the world beats the beauty out of it ...
On one level, it’s simple: When you’re about to fall, just let go and fall. Trying to stop the tumble or, even worse, flailing your arms and legs as you land will make it worse. Somewhere ...
There’s often a reason why Big Guy does the seemingly quirky things he does. A reason that makes sense only in his 5-year-old brain, but a reason nonetheless.
I usually don’t question, because if it’s genuinely ...
This one landed in my Twitter stream just as Boots was diving into a bowl of … Cocoa Puffs: “New peanut flour warning for General Mills cereals.” Luckily, he’s not the child who’s allergic and Big ...
From the country that wants to censor the Internet worldwide in the name of protecting its children comes another bizarre project, also in the name of “protecting children” The British have launched a database, at a ...
Do I ever feel like a dolt after my post last night lamenting the difficulties of finding dye-free snow-cone syrups. I went to a Middle Eastern market today to pick up some hummus ingredients and ran ...
Parties in the park seem to be the rage around here of late – a rage that will be over by the time Big Guy’s birthday rolls around in 103-degree July – and today’s was ...
Six hundred and eight three killed in Afghanistan. Four thousand, two hundred and ninety six killed in Iraq. Many stories of incredible lives, often amazing sacrifices. This is one such story. Army Maj. Steven Hutchison survived two ...
Archive for By the way »
