School, Minnesota, and Gymnastics

The Senior:  It has been an eventful week for S.  He had one day of school which he didn’t believe he should have.  

“You know, I’m flying to Minnesota on Tuesday.  I thought I would just sleep in on Monday.”

“You thought wrong.  You have some things you need to finish before you go.”

We were excited when his course, “The Human Eye 1”, arrived from the Hadley School for the Blind.  We were hoping it would have arrived a few days earlier, so he could have completed the first assignment before he left.  We read through the whole lesson.  We copied pictures of the diagram and colored in the parts of the eye.  I, repeatedly, kept telling him how fascinating it was to try to make him enjoy it more.  

S is not a fan of science and, especially, body parts.  Yet, he has taken Anatomy and Physiology (We were lucky enough to have the “Bodies Revealed” display at the Virginia Living Museum last year.  Lots of field trips!) and now a course focusing on the eye.  Could it be that his parents want to fill him with knowledge about his body so when he is in with the specialists talking about his body he will understand, at least on an elementary level, what they are talking about so he can ask questions?

He has agreed that flashcards will be beneficial for learning the vocabulary.  I went to Quizlet.com and typed the words and definitions for him.  He has the app loaded on his phone. Maybe he will study while he is in Minnesota.

Prior to his trip, S worked on some College Algebra and writing.  He worked on his German IV the weekend before he left.

Then, he packed for his trip to Minnesota….He had a list.  He gathered his clothes and put them in his suitcase.  Then, he needed to work on his carry-on bag, and there was a list.  His carry-on bag will be the death of me at some point.  It is every time we are going on a trip!  For the few items he needs in there, he just cannot get that bag together!

Between Sunday evening and Tuesday morning at 6:00 AM, he needed to get the following items together to put in his bag:  phone, charger, headphones, pills - already counted out and bagged for the trip, book, wallet, granola bar, and gum.  Let’s just say when he left Tuesday morning, he did not have his headphones, granola bar, or gum.  He almost didn’t have his charger.  

He made it, and he’s having a good time.  He has already spent time with the majority of my family.  It helps that they all live in the same area as my parents.  My sister and her family are there.  My aunt and uncle live nearby.  Their three children all live nearby.  In fact, one of my cousins lives three doors down from my mom and dad.  He saw my grandma on Wednesday. My husband’s dad is going to touch base with him, so they can get together and possibly visit my husband’s grandma.  He will see everyone and do everything he wants to do since he is there for 3 weeks.  He has been out in the field for harvest which is why he goes at this time.

Volunteering:  S volunteered for 8 hours last weekend.

The Sophomore: J is in the school groove.  It’s nice that his classes are every other day. He is very good about prioritizing his work and determining what can wait until the weekend.  He came up with his Science Fair project idea.  He will work on writing that up this weekend.  He has an AP History paper due next week, questions, and a test.  He has Spanish homework he will work on this weekend.  He is enjoying Spanish more this year which is nice.  He worked on English assignments related to his two summer reading books.  

My husband and I went to back to school night on Tuesday night.  It’s nice to meet J’s teachers. They all seem very nice.  I can see why J is enjoying their classes.  We really like the school J is attending, but we have a hard time imagining S being in that building.  The school is so large!  The high school my husband and I graduated from was much smaller.  Our entire high school population was, and still is, less than the population of J’s sophomore class.

Practice:  J practiced 17.5 hours this week again.  He and his coach worked on setting some goals for the year.  We are very thankful that J made the move to this team four years ago. The whole dynamic in this gym is wonderful:  the coaches, the athletes, the family, and the support for everyone.  

I can’t talk about gymnastics practice without mentioning that tomorrow, September 20, is National Gymnastics Day.  It is a day to celebrate the sport of gymnastics.  J started taking classes when he was starting Kindergarten.  He started competing when he was in the fourth grade.  It’s pretty much a way of life at our home.  

My husband was home sick on Monday, but he’s feeling better now.  No one else caught what he had.  Happy for that!  

I have been working on deep cleaning the house while S is gone.  Apparently, I need to clean more often.  I realized yesterday that one of our upstairs windows is broken.  Always something….

S is gone.  J is at practice.  My husband is feeling better.  Life is good.  I will be on the couch with chocolate and my new book.

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