Summertime Rubies
Oh, the end-of-the-year whirlwind is upon us. Happily, the weather is warm and sunny. The pool is open on weekends now (and every day once school gets out!), and a nifty renovation has made it even more fun.
After a super wet spring, the poor parents of kids who do sports are making up oodles of games this coming weekend. I find myself relieved that my girls do not (yet) do sports.
Charlotte had her big ballet show on Saturday, two performances of Aladdin. Along with her girly friends, she was a darling little Ruby in the Cave of Wonders. Per usual, I was stunned at the quality of SHOW and dancing that our little town's ballet academy does. As an unabashed ballet lover, I am so, so, SO happy this opportunity for Charlotte (and Lorelei) is here and oh so very local.
I was a backstage parent for the matinee again, which . . . well, this show was a tough one. The kids were squirrelly with too much down time, and a fire alarm during act two (due to the fog machine) interrupted the show, ejected everybody outside, and then act two started over again, extending the time the kids needed to be in managed and entertained.
Our husbands had wine pre-ordered and waiting for us at the local restaurant after the matinee.
We got to be in the audience for the evening show, and the kids did great. I cried a couple times, surprise, surprise.
I'm looking forward--like, literally thinking in a forward direction--to actual summer. Only a few more morning routines where I'm held hostage by the school bus schedule. No more jackets or long sleeves. The kids perpetually smell like sunscreen. The dog is in search of all the cool places in the house (until Daddy gets home and turns up the AC--Mama likes it hot). The days are humid and Texas Big Hair is becoming my daily style, despite a lot of effort to tame it. No more school library books to remember. Ballet is done until camp. Sunday school is done. Summer camps and vacations are lined up. Summer storms pop up now and then, which I always secretly enjoy. The dog, however, does not.
There has been precious little time for books, but we still fit them in. Chris actually has a book that he has nearly finished, Extreme Ownership: How Navy SEALS Lead and Win, which was given to him by his folks for Christmas. It's the ideal book for Chris--a blend of management and military strategy. If it could integrate weather data and kitchen gadgets, it would be perfection.
Charlotte finished Ramona the Brave about a week ago or so. We went to the library to return it (and Mommy had a book to pick up). She looked a little pained as she gave the book back. "I know you loved Ramona the Brave," I told her, "But now somebody else can read it and love it too."
Charlotte looked unconvinced. "Can we see if the library has the next Ramona book?"
"Don't you want to read something else?" I asked. I mean, I love Ramona as much as the next girl, but shouldn't my kid broaden her reading horizons?
Yeah, that's a big mistake parents make with their child's reading: trying to control it. I backed off.
"No," Charlotte said. "I want Ramona."
"Then let's go look," I said. We went to the children's section, and with the books alphabetized by author last name, Charlotte was able to find the Beverly Cleary section. And lo and behold, the library had a copy of the next Ramona book, Ramona Quimby, Age 8. So, guess what we're now reading every night?
We're still slogging through Lulu and the Hedgehog in the Rain. It's quasi-cute, but most of its charm has waned. The story doesn't have enough meat or humor to really keep Charlotte or Lorelei's interest. I want to finish it, seeing as how we've come this far, and there's only about a chapter left. We're also reading a Peter Rabbit tale every once in a while, usually just spur of the moment when I need a time filler with the girls. This is a book I keep downstairs (easy access!), not on a child's nightstand.
Lorelei tends to tag along on Ramona or Lulu reading, but I do worry that she's not getting enough picture book time. Of course, she's entering the princess phase, and every picture book we've read has been a Disney princess book. So perhaps she's better off crashing Charlotte's story time.
Me, I finished Dora: A Headcase, which was just raw and awesome--an inversion of the shrink-patient relationship and adolescent screwed-up-ness. It was also set in Seattle, so bonus points.
I also read Chris Bohjalian's The Night Strangers, a ghost story that develops from a plane crash. I liked a lot of aspects of it, but overall, I wasn't terribly impressed. It got a tad repetitive, though I kind of liked the ending. I enjoyed Bohjalian's Midwives and especially Skeletons at the Feast, and I like ghost stories . . . but this one didn't quite deliver for me.
Right now I'm reading The Rocks by Peter Nichols, which is set in Mallorca and is a mult-generational tale that goes backward in time, not forward. I like most of it, though the narrative gets bogged down by unnecessary details at times, usually concerning ancillary characters. Still, parts are brilliant and I'm enjoying the read.
Finally, I'm also reading The Diviners by Libba Bray. I just adore Libba Bray's writing, and it was time for me to read a good YA book. Bray knows her characters so well and they are so expertly layered. The story, set in Manhattan in 1926, is moving along at a good clip, and this one is dark and creepy. We shall see . . .
After a super wet spring, the poor parents of kids who do sports are making up oodles of games this coming weekend. I find myself relieved that my girls do not (yet) do sports.
Charlotte had her big ballet show on Saturday, two performances of Aladdin. Along with her girly friends, she was a darling little Ruby in the Cave of Wonders. Per usual, I was stunned at the quality of SHOW and dancing that our little town's ballet academy does. As an unabashed ballet lover, I am so, so, SO happy this opportunity for Charlotte (and Lorelei) is here and oh so very local.
 |
| Rubies backstage, about to emerge from a treasure box for their dance! |
Our husbands had wine pre-ordered and waiting for us at the local restaurant after the matinee.
We got to be in the audience for the evening show, and the kids did great. I cried a couple times, surprise, surprise.
I'm looking forward--like, literally thinking in a forward direction--to actual summer. Only a few more morning routines where I'm held hostage by the school bus schedule. No more jackets or long sleeves. The kids perpetually smell like sunscreen. The dog is in search of all the cool places in the house (until Daddy gets home and turns up the AC--Mama likes it hot). The days are humid and Texas Big Hair is becoming my daily style, despite a lot of effort to tame it. No more school library books to remember. Ballet is done until camp. Sunday school is done. Summer camps and vacations are lined up. Summer storms pop up now and then, which I always secretly enjoy. The dog, however, does not.
There has been precious little time for books, but we still fit them in. Chris actually has a book that he has nearly finished, Extreme Ownership: How Navy SEALS Lead and Win, which was given to him by his folks for Christmas. It's the ideal book for Chris--a blend of management and military strategy. If it could integrate weather data and kitchen gadgets, it would be perfection.
Charlotte finished Ramona the Brave about a week ago or so. We went to the library to return it (and Mommy had a book to pick up). She looked a little pained as she gave the book back. "I know you loved Ramona the Brave," I told her, "But now somebody else can read it and love it too."
Charlotte looked unconvinced. "Can we see if the library has the next Ramona book?"
"Don't you want to read something else?" I asked. I mean, I love Ramona as much as the next girl, but shouldn't my kid broaden her reading horizons?
Yeah, that's a big mistake parents make with their child's reading: trying to control it. I backed off.
"No," Charlotte said. "I want Ramona."
"Then let's go look," I said. We went to the children's section, and with the books alphabetized by author last name, Charlotte was able to find the Beverly Cleary section. And lo and behold, the library had a copy of the next Ramona book, Ramona Quimby, Age 8. So, guess what we're now reading every night?
We're still slogging through Lulu and the Hedgehog in the Rain. It's quasi-cute, but most of its charm has waned. The story doesn't have enough meat or humor to really keep Charlotte or Lorelei's interest. I want to finish it, seeing as how we've come this far, and there's only about a chapter left. We're also reading a Peter Rabbit tale every once in a while, usually just spur of the moment when I need a time filler with the girls. This is a book I keep downstairs (easy access!), not on a child's nightstand.
Lorelei tends to tag along on Ramona or Lulu reading, but I do worry that she's not getting enough picture book time. Of course, she's entering the princess phase, and every picture book we've read has been a Disney princess book. So perhaps she's better off crashing Charlotte's story time.
Me, I finished Dora: A Headcase, which was just raw and awesome--an inversion of the shrink-patient relationship and adolescent screwed-up-ness. It was also set in Seattle, so bonus points.
I also read Chris Bohjalian's The Night Strangers, a ghost story that develops from a plane crash. I liked a lot of aspects of it, but overall, I wasn't terribly impressed. It got a tad repetitive, though I kind of liked the ending. I enjoyed Bohjalian's Midwives and especially Skeletons at the Feast, and I like ghost stories . . . but this one didn't quite deliver for me.
Right now I'm reading The Rocks by Peter Nichols, which is set in Mallorca and is a mult-generational tale that goes backward in time, not forward. I like most of it, though the narrative gets bogged down by unnecessary details at times, usually concerning ancillary characters. Still, parts are brilliant and I'm enjoying the read.
Finally, I'm also reading The Diviners by Libba Bray. I just adore Libba Bray's writing, and it was time for me to read a good YA book. Bray knows her characters so well and they are so expertly layered. The story, set in Manhattan in 1926, is moving along at a good clip, and this one is dark and creepy. We shall see . . .
Comments
Post a Comment