When I asked Eric and the kids to choose a picture that could be characterized as the best representation of our family, they chose this one.
Although it was taken nearly five years ago, the action and emotion are "totally us." We were at Kings Island, outside of Cincinnati. It was the first year that Andrew was tall enough to ride all the big roller coasters and Adrienne was old enough to hang with us all day. The coaster we are on was called The Scooby-Doo when I was a kid. But updated with Nickelodeon themes, it's now the Fairly Odd Parents. It's a good starter coaster because in it's wooden track, it's bumpy and fast, and produces a decent adrenaline rush. But best of all, the camera for the "memory photos" is totally visible. And as you can see, we all take full advantage of the chance to show off our personality when having fun.
We rode this coaster close to 25 times (yes, in one day) and I think we bought 11 of the pictures. Each time we spent $9 on a photo, we knew it was ridiculously expensive and probably a waste of money, but it was just so fun!! I mean, really fun!! I guess that tells a lot about who we are as a family. If we're all in it together, with the same investment... well, we go with it. We are definitely an "All for one and one for all!" kind of musketeer-type family.
That was us then, but it's still us now. Adrienne is 9. She's finishing 3rd grade. Andrew is 11 and just about done with his time at St. Paul Catholic School. He'll switch to the public middle school in August which right now, is front and center in our lives. We're all waiting on pins and needles for the word about whether or not he qualified for the honors tract. He took a math and english test a few weeks back, but I think his results were mediocre. I'm sure I'll talk more about it later because there are so many schools of thought about how much to push kids in these early years and how much its best to just leave them to find their own way. So for now, I'm leaving it up to the 6th grade team of teachers to make the decision.
Like most families, the kids' activities dictate most of our lives. Adrienne plays piano and does gymnastics. Andrew runs cross country and track and plays basketball. Both kids also do Kumon, an after-school math and reading program.
As far as any other backstory? I'm not sure... Eric and I are still lovebirds. His practice has grown--which is good for the retirement account but sometimes not so good for cortisol levels (the stress hormone). He has a love/hate relationship with it. I love my job teaching on most days. My only frustrations are when students don't read or they don't engage in class discussions. I like doing both of those things and so of course, I want all the kids in my class to do the same thing!
As I find my voice and my story, I don't know if those things will be relevant or necessary to know or not. I guess we'll see...
In the meantime, I'm glad to be here on this page and I'm glad to be back in contact with you. I plan to post on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. So, until next time...
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