Vitamin D-filled Day

Sushi and I went out for a good long walk in the sunshine today - what a gloriously bright, sunny day. We met up with a black dog who was interested in Sushi but Sushi soon discovered she was not willing to share me, and couldn't decide between growling at the interloper and whining at me to pick her up so she didn't have to. I picked her up and got her out of there quickly, growling at the other dog a few times myself to scare it away. I didn't like Sushi barking at it from right over my shoulder.

The snowflakes were sparkling everywhere - on the ground, in the trees, the ones that the slight breeze was blowing off the trees and causing to flitter down to the street. Made me wish for any skill at all with a camera. I had invited Meadow to come for a walk with me, she's the one who loves to get outside with me or her daddy, but she chose not to because of the cold. I wish she had come - it wasn't that cold, there was very little breeze, and she loves the sparkles and other subtle beauties of the out-of-doors.

I have an Aislinn story. Aunt Heather and Uncle Bernie were here for a quick visit on the weekend. We were sitting around the table, and Aunt Heather said a four-letter-word while telling a story. I reflexively turned to cover my 13-yr-old's ears (a mother's habit - I know she hears worse all the time). Aunt Heather said, "Oh, I'm sorry, Aislinn. But I bet you hear worse than that every day on the bus, don't you?" Aislinn nods her head, "Yeah." Aunt Heather says, "Well, I'm not perfect, and I do things I shouldn't sometimes. So I'll just ask your forgiveness now for any mistakes I make in your presence for the next ten years." Without blinking Aislinn lifts her hand in solute and says, "Same here."

We all burst out laughing, and I high-fived Aislinn. She's got a quick brain and maturity of understanding for a 13 year old.

I'd also like to share a bit of advancement of my seven-year-old. That's grade two. We started Alberta Family Day with family prayers this morning on Mommy and Daddy's bed, and Meadow chose to read one from the prayer book. Almost smoothly and only having Mommy correct her when she started reading the same line over again, she read this prayer by herself:

O my Lord! Make Thy beauty to be my food, and Thy presence my drink, and Thy pleasure my hope, and praise of Thee my action, and remembrance of Thee my companion, and the power of Thy sovereignty my succorer, and Thy habitation my home, and my dwelling-place the seat Thou hast sanctified from the limitations imposed upon them who are shut out as by a veil from Thee.

Thou art, verily, the Almighty, the All-Glorious, the Most Powerful.
—Bahá’u’lláh

She got the word "sovereignty" without a hitch. The only one she stumbled on a bit was "sanctified" - and she did get it without help from me.

I made the mistake the other day, however, of refusing to do the phonics homework that her teacher was sending home with her, because they were the same assignments for the grades one, two and three, and I knew Meadow's reading level was way higher than those assignments already, and I told her they were a "waste of time." I didn't know she was supposed to be collecting them all in a duo-tang to take them back to school (I knew about the duo-tang but not that the complete work would go back to school), so when it became apparent to Meadow that she was not going to have her completed project to hand in, she got very distressed and informed her teacher that "Mommy isn't doing them with me because it is a waste of time." Verbatim, of course.

Fortunately, Mrs. Turner is pretty laid back and I apologized to her in person and explained that I didn't know the whole thing had to be handed in. She also understands that Meadow's reading level IS way ahead of grade two, but she's got the challenge of two other grade two children whose reading level is a little below grade two. I can't imagine what it must be like to be planning classes for a three-level-split when there are differences in ability in one grade alone.

Next weekend we are taking a family trip to Edmonton. I have a dr's appointment on Monday morning, and don't drive in the city, especially a city I don't know (which is all of them, at the moment, though I'm getting accustomed to Grande Prairie enough that I could probably manage, and Peace River, which isn't technically a city), so Jovani is driving me, and we're going on Saturday with all the girls so that we can visit with friends and the girls can have a taste of city for a bit. We are staying in a hotel with a water park and water slides on Sunday night, where one of Aislinn's best buddies will join us, and I've promised Jessa that we will at least take her to the cinema at the West Edmonton Mall so she can see the fire-breathing dragon. Both Aislinn and Meadow have seen it. The children are counting down the days. I'm looking forward to it as well. I am a little worried about leaving Sushi behind - Mom says that on the day we went grocery shopping, Sushi whined for me almost the whole time. Three days without me? Oh well, she'll just have to get used to it.

And this is the extent of my inspiration for the day.