Thursday, August 28, 2008

OK, so who's got my grip?

I hate weeks like this...exhausting & nothing to show for it. Firstly Dino arrived back in Brisbane after 2 months away. He rang home & said he would be over Sunday to pick up his things. Really? Sunday came & went; no Dino but he was here bright & early Monday, which is a school day for us, & ran me ragged till lunch.

Theo rang. Theo has two hernias & is going in for surgery next week. Theo has just moved house. Theo would like me to go over on Tuesday & do the final clean on the house he's just vacated. I agreed, which upset Dearest who gave me a long lecture on my sons' (yes, plural) selfishness & how they were imposing on my good nature. I would not have agreed if I'd thought it would upset Dearest so much but having agreed Ditz & I went over as agreed, on a school day, & did the final clean. Ditz did windows, Dino came & helped with the heavy stuff & I did all the fiddly bits. It took us 3 hours, which wasn't too bad, though we were both very, very tired that night.

Wednesday we scraped in a *little* school. Not enough to make a dint really because Wednesdays is now violin & choir so all afternoon we were busy & travelling.

Thursday! Ah, Thursday poor old Ditz had to compensate for the rest of her week & was worked really hard for 3 hours solid. Finally, finally, finally we managed to finish the science tests she had to redo. Finally, finally, finally all the math pages that were only half done because Ditz needed *help* got finished & she did 2 tests. Finally, finally, finally we got some dictation done! WhileDitz did the academics I cut & pasted all her history stuff into her scrapbook because she had done the work & if I leave it lying around, as has been happening, it disappears. Everything disappears. In between I ordered Geography through Art for Ditz, which I am really excited about & Ditz is actually interested in. Finally, finally something She is a little keen on!

Then I took Ditz over to band. Three hours it took just so Ditz could say in person that she was quitting. This is Ditz's choice. Her assessment of her life is she hasn't time to do band properly & practise (true) so she will decease for now with a view to the future. We won't be picking it up again. It is not worth the drama of getting there. She was very nervouse but she wanted to do it herself & in person & she did a beautiful job.

Liddy's weekend starts today, which should be a school day but won't, obviously. We are picking our friend up (I will desist from wheelchair jokes, 18+ card jokes, boat jokes & driving jokes ~ yes, Liddy is driving. Just shut your eyes & pray, Kimba). We are taking Kimba out, motor transport, movie & unbeknownst to her, all the way into West End to look at computers. Smile, Kimba. Liddy will be just fine. Ditz then has an extra long drama rehearsal.

Tomorrow is Macbeth ~ A witch's Tale. This is the Macbeth story told from the witch's viewpoint, for which Ditz has been rehearshing now for a term & a half. Ditz is, apparrently, going to be made up in purple & pink ~ her least favourite colours.

If you have been counting, out of 6 possible days, we did one day of school! I have to get a grip. Ok, so who's got my grip?

8 comments:

The HoJo's said...

I used to have one somewhere, I always left it in the same place so I could find it again when I needed it. Maybe I left it back in the UK. If it turns up I will gladly lend it to you, so long as you don't lose it. OK?
What a week... Macbeth sounds fun
xc

Ganeida said...

Macbeth should be a real hoot! Last rehearsal saw the kids mangling Shakespearean language like you wouldn't believe...but then I've heard them murder their mother tongue so I was hardly surprised. Ditz does pretty well but the child has an advantage. She reads better than most of them! That means she understands what she's reading which means she speaks so she makes sense...& some of them aren't making sense because the language isn't making sense to them. Ouch! I just hope I don't disgrace myself by lauging in the wrong spots!

Constance said...

I think the fact that your daughter wanted to handle telling them she was quitting is t be commended! Obviously, she is growing up!

When Charlie was a Freshman (9th grade, high school) he played goalie for the school's soccer team. It was a HUGE commitment of time for home and away games, practices, workouts etc. He also had his all guys Bible Study as well as Youth Group. His academic load the next year was much harder and he made the decision to not play so he could give his time and energy to his school work. The coach was upset with him and told him that it was "bulls**t", he could still p;ay. Hestood his ground and said no. I was furious with the coach and still have to this day a very low opinion of the man!

Connie

Luke Holzmann said...

My guess is that your grip is off at a grip retreat or something, because mine has been missing for years... must me a nice place... kinda wish I was there. [smile]

~Luke

MamaOlive said...

I don't envy your schedule, but I wish I had your energy. I don't know if I've ever had a grip, so I'm quite sure I don't have an extra one.

We've been a bit lax this week, too, with Bob off work Monday and Wednesday. Time to regroup for the fall term, which is starting any day now. ahem. I'll let you know if I notice when it actually starts.

molytail said...

If you have been counting, out of 6 possible days, we did one day of school!

mmmmmm. When I read it, I see one day that was specifically just academic book work -- but I see many other days filled with learning. ;-)

You've got Ditz 'doing for others' in cleaning her brother's house - something that many girls in her age range can lose focus on, because hey, at 13 the world tends to feel like it ought to revolve around them LOL (I remember 13!) {Note: I'm not saying she never does for others! You've raised a fine young lady there - what I mean is that she had an opportunity to put it to work, y'know?)....it builds character...

Violin & choir - the musical education that your child is getting is waaaay more than the average public school student would ever get....she's building on her natural talent - if she chooses a life in the music industry, she'll have an awesome foundation and she'll remember how supportive her mom was. :-)

Speaking to her band instructor herself - way to go Ditz! Those sort of conversations can be very intimidating and approaching the instructor on her own is an excellent way to build self confidence - not to mention, it sounds like she's learning to prioritize things in her life...something that many people have difficulty doing. That's a life skill and it will serve her well in the future. :-)

Drama - once again, a class that no doubt far exceeds what a child would have available to them in a public school! In fact, 'drama' isn't even a class in any of ours anymore - I think the high school might still have a tiny little "drama club", but it's nothing much. Performing in a play involves a lot of reading, memorization, presentation skills, character research & understanding, etc etc.... not to mention, they're doing Shakespeare! (with a twist, which is awesome)


K - now I'll shush. *grin* ....just trying to give you the view from over here - because I happen to think you're doing a fantastic job with your young lady there. Yep yep.

Ganeida said...

MamaO, I don't have the energy either ~ just the schedule!

Moly, lovely encouraging words & of course you are right only we do still *have* to do academics & we are behind.

Luke, if you get an adress for that *grip retreat* let me know; I'm vacationaing there, probably on a permament basis.

Anonymous said...

Hope your holiday weekend is going well. :)
Smile and play in the rain.