2002-12-10 - 8:11 p.m.
FULL OUT
When Day-Hay does something, she does it full out. She hates to do anything halfway. If the forearm has two bones, she has to break both of them in gym class. If she has to be ignored accidentally, she has to have two teachers ignore her (and have two of them feeling very, very guilty because they got into one of those �if two people are in charge, no one is in charge� situations.) If she has to have broken bones, she has to have them three days before taekwondo belt testing so that they will provide maximum interference with her life. And, apparently, she has to break her arm up by the wrist�and if she didn�t have to, she did it anyway.
Today was going swimmingly up until then. Kat, who has been desperately trying to get into a play in an elite theater program, made the chorus in �Evita.� (I still maintain that choosing �Evita� is ridiculous but that piece will wait for tomorrow.) As Kat put it, she was walking so high in the air that if the principal came up to her and told her she flunked all her classes, she would have said, �That�s nice� and kept on floating.
We had a staff meeting at work and it was long and boring but no one yelled. We didn�t even agitate each other. We had some (for us) very mature discussions and actually reached a conclusion or two. The meeting was a success albeit according to my rather low standards. Despite the meeting, I got most of my to-do list done, a rare happening of late.
Coaching the high school mock trial team was a joy as well. Some of my attorneys still are struggling with the mechanics of direct examination but many are beginning to get it and to understand how to shape the case. Wrestling with intellectual problems with bright teenagers is one of my favorite sports. They�re funny, they�re intense, and you never know just how far they will be able to go.
If only Day-Hay�s life had gone with the �up� theme of the day. Unfortunately, she had ideas of her own and it was her idea to fall while doing a back walkover. Being Day-Hay, getting hurt made her quieter, not noisier. Because she did it in the same gym period that another more dramatic, possibly broken ankle occurred, Day-Hay�s little problem was overlooked. Both gym teachers intended to check on her after a little bit to decide if I needed to be called. Neither one did because they each thought the other would handle it. Day-Hay proved she was the suffer in silence type by (what else?) suffering in silence.
I knew nothing until I came to the school to pick Day-Hay up to take her to taekwondo. As I pulled up, one of the gym teachers got into my car and, very, very apologetically, explained what was going on. I looked at Day-Hay�s arm and cancelled taekwondo. I also cancelled a school board committee meeting. Luckily, Day-Hay�s propensity for doing things full out did not extend to insisting on breaking her arm in a snowstorm. It was sunny and clear on the way to the emergency room.
So, I�m going to spend the next few weeks with a child who is out of her major activities. I�m going to spend the next few weeks with a child with a high need for physical activity and few outlets. I�m going to spend the next few weeks with a child I�m feeling sorry for but who will heal soon enough.
I just wish she didn�t have to do absolutely everything full out.
LAST YEAR: Gambling for the Lord
LAST FIVE ENTRIES:
Spoiled Wives
Tradition Continues(although if you check my guestbook you may find it almost didn�t)
Wearing Suits Proudly
Priorities
Along for the Ride
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Copyright 2006 by Ellen |
