Sports and Such

I haven't blogged in a long time. I am sorry. It has a lot to do with not a whole lot of things going on. Jack is loving kindergarten. Our latest development is his sudden hatred of the hot lunches at school. I had been paying the $2.50 per day for him to get the hot lunches. Most of the menu items are things he likes - hot dogs, chicken nuggets, and pizza. But I guess all of a sudden they are NOT things he wants for lunch and begged me to pack him a lunch. I think it might be because a lot of his class were packing their lunches so he wanted to join the packed-lunch crowd. So peanut butter sandwiches and carrot sticks and yogurt are now the lunch-time fare, which he seems happy with for the minute.

We also tried to put him in football. I should say that it was more Jim's idea to put Jack into football than mine. I was about to sign him up at Taekwondo (which is a major financial commitment by the way) when Jim came home and told me he signed him up for football - tackle football! With the full pads, helmet and the whole thing. I pretty much knew at the time that he was not going to like it, because he's Jack. He's a very sensitive child and does not like to be tackled. He is not a rough and tough kid at all. But I thought at the time we would try it for one season.

He started out with practice twice a week and then when I got there, found out that the practices lasted almost 2 hours! From 5:30 - 7:30 Tues/Thurs we were at football practice, which peeved me because I think getting home from football practice at almost 8:00 is a bit late for 5 & 6 year olds. I could tell Jack did not enjoy the practices. The coaches, in my opinion, were too harsh with the boys and were yelling at them too much. But it got him outside in the fresh air exercising, which is a good thing. And I thought that once we got to the actual games, he would start to enjoy the game. So I continued taking him to practices.

I could not get a schedule for the games, when they would start, and where they were, to save my life. The organizers of the whole thing were not too organized at all!

The last practice we went to, Jack was crying pretty much the whole time. He was miserable and my heart was breaking for him. He just isn't made to be a football player. Then at the end of that practice, they said they were upping the practice schedule to 3 nights a week for two hours each night! I went above peeved straight to blood-pressure boiling point. These boys are five and six years old! They do not need to be practicing for 6 hours a week plus add a few hours for the actual games!

I went home that night and was angry. I told Jim that I wanted to pull Jack from the team. I can tell that Jim is disappointed and wanted Jack to stay in the game, but everything as a mother was screaming to pull him. And that is what I did. I understand the importance of learning to be on a team, getting exercise, and all that jazz, but when my five-year-old is miserable, all that jazz is not that important.

Yesterday, we signed him up (took the financial committment plunge) for Taekwondo. He LOVES it and he actually is pretty good at it. He was better than some of the boys who had been taking the classes longer than Jack. The classes are two or three times a week for 30 minutes per class. A more managable time for both Jack and Mom.

Who Knew?

I took Jack to the eye doctor yesterday. It was the same doctor that Jim and I both go to and we think she is great. Because Jack has just started school and reading and whatnot, I thought why not go and check on his eyes just to make sure everything is alright.

First of all, it was a full-blown eye exam. Jack did somewhat okay with most of the exam except when it came time to look into the camera to take pictures of his eyes. I was on the other end so I could see what the eyes looked like UP CLOSE, which by the way is way cool. But Jack did not want to keep his eyes open wide enough or long enough for her to get very many decent pictures. And I kept having to tell him not to touch the equipment or play with all the knobs on the lens machine. I just could read his mind saying that all the stuff in the exam room was great toys.

Then she had him read the screen across the room and this is where we ran into trouble. Turns out he inherited my astigmatism and the boy's vision is blurry! Who knew? She said that he is seeing about 20/40, which isn't horrible, but not good for his age.

So glasses it is. Jack, of course is so excited to get glasses and I let him pick out his frames, which are adorable on him, I have to say. But I just wonder how long he will be excited about the actual wearing of the glasses day in and day out. And how many pairs will be broken? She said that he doesn't need to wear them to play sports or around the house, but for school and reading they are a must. Poor kid, of course he had to inherit my bad eyes from me, he couldn't get his Dad's good eyes.

Kindergarten is going well. Of course, he doesn't share anything with me about what goes on during his day. I have gathered bits and pieces from the fragmented phrases he does say about his school life. He likes music class and he loves to sing songs, which he sings for me quite a bit when we are in the car. Love to hear that.

He does not like PE, which he has on Tuesdays and Fridays, but he does like his PE uniform that he gets to wear. Oh and he thinks changing in the locker room after PE is really cool because he gets to see what the other boys underwear are like. Sigh.

His best friend seems to be Cameron, who was in his K4 class last year. He doesn't like a kid named Kai because he always pushes him down while on the playground.

On Thursdays the whole school has chapel for an hour and even though he doesn't say much about chapel, he hasn't said he doesn't like it, so I guess that is a good thing. I have noticed that he is able to sit better during church on Sundays so maybe school chapel is teaching him something.

He is starting to read, but doesn't really like to. I know he knows more words than he says because when we are reading bedtime stories, I will ask him what a word is and after persuasion he usually comes up with the right answer.

All in all, he is doing very well. His teacher, Miss Hartwick always tells me he is so well behaved and helpful. I am looking forward to parent teacher conferences to see what he really is up to during the day instead of "I don't remember what we did today."

Update

If you were reading the blog a few days ago about Jack making fun of the boy at church who had a speech impediment, well I had a breakthrough on the subject yesterday. It seems that Jack really truly thought the kid was talking funny on purpose just to be silly. And it makes sense because I really don't think that he has ever encountered anybody like him before. He brought it up yesterday morning as we were getting ready for school. He told me that the big kid was talking really funny. I told Jack that the boy had an accident by falling off his bike and hurt his brain and that is why he talks like that all the time. He is not doing it to be funny. He can not help it. I watched Jack take that information in and try to digest it. At first he argued with me saying that the boy did not have an accident quite emphatically. But when I argued back that yes he indeed have an accident, I saw Jack crumple in tears right in front of me. I think he finally got it. He understood that the boy could not help how he talked. A lesson learned about being sympathetic...hopefully.

Random Bites

Jack has chapel on Thursdays at school. Here he is with his chapel uniform. So cute. However he did end up breaking the clip off the tie on the first day. Last week, I used a paper clip to hold it on, sorta. But I need to get another one for this Thursday for picture day. This could get expensive if he continually breaks his ties!

Can you say spoiled? Jim picked up a tv at a garage sale for really cheap and put it in Jack's room. The cable thingy doesn't work, so he can't actually watch tv, but he can play his PS2 games and watch dvds. Yeah he is spoiled, but Jim and I have the family room tv back!

In other news, Jack went to the dentist today and again the boy did not have any cavities. I swear he does not have my teeth because I get cavities really really easy. They took x-rays and the dentist said that Jack's teeth are "perfect". He also said that Jack should be losing his bottom front teeth within the next few months. How is it that my baby is losing his baby teeth? Anyway, he walked out with his prize, a monster truck, just what we need in this house is another monster truck.

Not Fair!

The new Planet Fitness gym opened up near me a few weeks ago. So Jim and I signed up and to tell you the truth I was dreading having to start working out. I am at my basic core lazy! The idea of sweating and hurting is just not for me. Yuck.

But when Jack started back to school two weeks ago, Jim and I started working out. I usually do 30 minutes of the circuit training and then 30 minutes on the treadmill. I have actually come to shall I say, enjoy it! Who woulda thunk it. And I am feeling better and thinking clearer than I ever did before. So it is a good thing.

I am also following the Weight Watchers diet of counting my points. I am not going to the meetings because I have been there, done that already. But I am following the diet and eating what I should to hopefully lose weight.

And the results after two weeks of working out almost every day and eating right? I have lost two whole pounds! Yippie! It is so not fair. I am convinced it is because I am in my 40s and pre-menopausal and my body is holding on to the fat for dear life. Sigh. But I will not let it get me down. I am enjoying the results from the exercise, but I just wanted to say - NO FAIR!

Church...The New High School?

I have been thinking lately just how alike church congregations and high school are alike. At least in my church.

For the past almost three years, we have been getting together with a group of people almost every Friday night for a small group experience of fellowship and bible study. When it started it was only four couples who had small children, so we all had a lot in common. Well it grew and grew and grew to where it became a small church gathering with close to 40 people every Friday night. And that is where the problems started.

First of all you have those people who think they are the most important, do the most for the church, the church couldn't run without them. One person even told me that she was a "mover and a shaker" of the church. They also believe that their poop don't stink. Among these types, it seems like there is a contest to see who can do the most "stuff" at church.

Then you have the "cool kids" and some of these people are also in the group I just described above. They are the ones that "everybody" thinks are so fun to be around. They are the "life of the party" and have all the other "cool kids" over to their house for all the "cool parties". You know like the jock or the cheerleader in high school. But they only associate with the "cool kids" that they deem are "fun" enough for their little "cool kids" get-togethers. They also feel that actually doing a bible study where you have to actually open a book and read is beneath their "coolness".

There is also those who are the "cool kid" followers, but never actually are elevated to their status. They are so thrilled like a puppy dog to be allowed in their circle every now and then, but are talked about behind their back by the "cool kids" when they are not around, mainly because they just don't measure up in the "coolness" factor.

Then there are the "Nerds" of the church. These are the people who are normal, but may have a deadly "flaw" in the eyes of the other groups. One may like to talk too much about her disease (Multiple Sclerosis) or made the deadly mistake of opening up and sharing a painful part of her past that could be used to gossip about by the other groups. Or there is the guy who was born with a defect and therefore not like the others, making him an easy target of more gossip.

There is the "older" group who basically is anybody above the age of 50 and not to be friendly with because they have nothing in common with this group. As one person said "I am just not going to be friends with an 80-year-old".

And lastly there is the "floater", who befriends everybody, no matter what group you belong to. And this is the group that I like to think I am a part of. In high school, I was a part of this group also, so I guess it just goes to figure that in High School part Two, I would be in the same group.

You are probably wondering why I am going through all this. And it is because we started a new small group formation this week. We split up into smaller groups and started to meet in the homes again. I am hosting one in my home. In this new small group, there is a mixture of "nerds" and "floaters."

There are now three different small groups to choose from and the "movers and shakers" and the "cool kids" have formed their own group. They are not actually going to be studying anything bible related, just getting together for "fellowship" as they call it. I call it a "gossip and I-am-hotter-than-you" session.

But I guess the final straw for me was when all this "church high schoolness" started showing up on Facebook with statuses that are so juvenile and petty. In fact, they are not even high school, they are more like junior high playground worthy.

And in all of this, you noticed I never mentioned God, the most important reason to even have a church. That is because there is no God in all this mess. And I am sure he is very disappointed in his humanity that call themselves "Christian".