I got my wish. It's starting to rain. Now, if I could just make a slight adjustment to that wish, I'd wish for it to start raining on Monday. Tomorrow is B0eing Family Day at the waterpark. It won't be a lot of fun if it's rainy and windy. But the tickets are already purchsed, so we'll go. If it's a bust, we'll come home.
It cooled down a lot today. And it was very windy. It got ahold of our patio umbrella, and even with the heavy iron base, it went airborne and almost took the table over the deck railing. P caught it just in time, but the umbrella is bent now. Next umbrella I buy will have one of those open tops that let the air flow through. Live and learn.
Yesterday after work I went shopping for new fall and winter clothes for B. It's much easier to shop without her, then try everything on her at home and take back what I don't like or doesn't fit. What I'd like to know is who comes up with those measurement/size charts? According to the tags on the clothes I bought, she should have been able to wear a 4T. So that's what I bought. But every single item just fell off of her. So now I have to take almost everything back. I'm keeping all the tops, because the bigger the better with tops, as far as I'm concerned. But the pants won't stay up and are way too long, so they have to go back. I did find her a couple of really cute jackets for fall that were on sale. One is a nice flannel lined rain coat, and the other is a thick, soft fleece jacket. We'll shop for her winter coat another time. Still need to get shoes and perhaps a few sweaters and sweatshirts, but after I exchange all the pants I bought, she should be set up for a while.
I need to do the same for myself, which I hate. I love shopping for B and for P, but I hate shopping for myself. It's a chore I only do because I have to. But my wardrobe is dismal for lack of shopping, so it needs to be done. I do look forward to new fall and winter shoes. I'm getting tired of mules and flip flops.
Today we took B and K up to the little grade school just above where we live so they could ride their bikes. We live in a very hilly area, and both kids are novice bike riders, so we need a flat place for them to learn. B is a fearless little thing. She wants to go over the sidewalks, up and down the ramps, over hills, through grass. But her little bike with the training wheels won't allow her to do much of that, so she gets a little frustrated. I can imagine that she'll be like those kids on Rocket Power. K, on the other hand, and bless her heart, is about as uncoordinated as a kid can get. She's 10 and a half, and is just now learning to ride a bike. She is neither interested in nor has an aptitude for anything athletic, I'm afraid. We encourage her to participate in sporting kinds of things, like soccer, or swimming, or volley ball, or whatever. But she is not encouraged at home, in fact, she is discouraged. The result is, this kid is rapidly gaining weight. In the past year, she has gained 30 pounds. She is just starting the 5th grade and already weighs 104 pounds. Apparently her mother doesn't see anything wrong with this, but WE do, and we don't know what to do about it. So when she's with us, we encourage exercise and outdoor play. But she gets winded too easily, and her lack of skills makes her frustrated too. It's a problem.
Oh, but she is being encouraged to join the band. Meaning trumpet lessons. Yes, I am rolling my eyes. While I think music education is great and worthwhile, a kid who can't ride a bike has no business taking music lessons when she SHOULD be exercising her soft and overweight little body instead. That's my opinion. Ideally, a kid should be able to do both. Again, her mother seems to think otherwise. She wouldn't even allow K to go to the waterpark with us tomorrow, because you know, even though there will be a thousand lifeguards and a bazillion people around, she might have a seizure you know, and well, no one there would be able to help her. Never mind that she hasn't had one in 10 months.
Ah, it doesn't do anybody any good to whine about it. I know this. The upbringing of this child is not something we can negotiate with her mother. SHE is her mother, period. No discussion required or welcomed.
Just keep sending that $500 check every month, please, and mind your own business.
Not really, but sometimes that's how it feels. What are we to do?
So our little B is about as opposite from her sister as can be. Strong, lean, and athletic. It's hard not to make comparisons. And when we marvel at and encourage B in her physical abilities, I think it makes K feel like we value B more than her, for those reasons. Not true. Not true at all. We do think it's important and we DO encourage B and get excited about the things she can do, and it IS sometimes difficult to muster the same enthusiasm for the things (yawn) that K does, like church choir practice and potentially trumpet lessons. Because that's it. That's ALL she does. Besides watching a lot of TV. No wonder she's becoming overweight.
If I sound frustrated, it's because I am.
Perhaps I should concentrate on making my own poor old body more able to keep up with my own Rocket Kid. That's about the only thing I can control, I guess.
Almost time to switch off for the evening. We've got a waterpark to conquer tomorrow. Rain or shine.
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