Look what L. did this week!
There might be hope for the motivational chart, yet. The remarkable thing is that I let all discussion of the chart drop after last week's failure. Then, one night at dinner, he shocked us all by poking his head up over the cereal box blockers he'd erected around his dinner bowl (it was veggie burger night) and interrupted T. to ask if she'd had a good day. She froze, her mouth hanging open in a perfect "O" of surprise.
"It's my connecting question!" He said impatiently, as he bolted from the dinner table.
Then on the next night I caught L. marking an "X" in one of the squares, the one for getting in the shower after only one reminder.
"That's right," I said. "You DID get in the shower right away!"
Maybe the chart will still have its own shelf life, after all; or maybe we'll get a good run from it. For now, though, I pass by the bathroom and look at the chart and feel proud of all those X-marks.
It's good to see them again.
***********
We're headed out-of-town later today for a quick weekend away to visit family. It will probably be the last road trip we take before the big one home for Christmas. Both Scott and I are buried under grading, and there won't be any light at the end of the tunnel until after final exams next month. But still, sometimes it's good to get away, even if you have to bring all the work with you, and still more waits for you when you get back.
When I picked L. up from school yesterday he was clutching his brand-new copy of the latest Wimpy Kid book. We pre-ordered it from Scholastic Books months ago, back when November seemed so far away. I was hoping L. would save the book for the car trip today but no luck. He'd already read it twice during school, and was re-reading it yet again when I tucked him into bed last night.
"Is it good?"
"It's HILARIOUS," he said. "Really good."
"What's it about?" I asked.
"Puberty," he said.
"Really?"
"Yup," he said. "Apparently it happens in middle school."
Oh great, I thought. It sure does, doesn't it?
And then I swiped the book from him, so I could read it, too.
Happy Weekend!
There might be hope for the motivational chart, yet. The remarkable thing is that I let all discussion of the chart drop after last week's failure. Then, one night at dinner, he shocked us all by poking his head up over the cereal box blockers he'd erected around his dinner bowl (it was veggie burger night) and interrupted T. to ask if she'd had a good day. She froze, her mouth hanging open in a perfect "O" of surprise.
"It's my connecting question!" He said impatiently, as he bolted from the dinner table.
Then on the next night I caught L. marking an "X" in one of the squares, the one for getting in the shower after only one reminder.
"That's right," I said. "You DID get in the shower right away!"
Maybe the chart will still have its own shelf life, after all; or maybe we'll get a good run from it. For now, though, I pass by the bathroom and look at the chart and feel proud of all those X-marks.
It's good to see them again.
***********
We're headed out-of-town later today for a quick weekend away to visit family. It will probably be the last road trip we take before the big one home for Christmas. Both Scott and I are buried under grading, and there won't be any light at the end of the tunnel until after final exams next month. But still, sometimes it's good to get away, even if you have to bring all the work with you, and still more waits for you when you get back.
When I picked L. up from school yesterday he was clutching his brand-new copy of the latest Wimpy Kid book. We pre-ordered it from Scholastic Books months ago, back when November seemed so far away. I was hoping L. would save the book for the car trip today but no luck. He'd already read it twice during school, and was re-reading it yet again when I tucked him into bed last night.
"Is it good?"
"It's HILARIOUS," he said. "Really good."
"What's it about?" I asked.
"Puberty," he said.
"Really?"
"Yup," he said. "Apparently it happens in middle school."
Oh great, I thought. It sure does, doesn't it?
And then I swiped the book from him, so I could read it, too.
Happy Weekend!