Tuesday, September 20, 2005
My mind has stopped whirling around madly like a crackhead mouse on a wheel, finally. We got Alesia's first grades yesterday.
My friend Bronwyn, who picks up Alesia from school since my mother still can't drive, said Alesia showed her the grades on the way home, and Bronwyn said to her "What do you think your mom's giong to say when you show her these?" and she said Alesia replied "I don't know, but it's gonna be scary." Bronwyn said it was really difficult not to laugh at that.
Alesia's grades weren't that bad - mostly, C's, 2 A's, and a failing grade in history. They averaged out to a 79. However, she can do much better if she tries.
When I got home, we loaded up Granny in the Toyota and headed to CVS. In CVS, Alesia asked me if she could buy some sort of little electronic game, saying she didn't have enough money to get it [from her allowance]. I said "Girls who make bad grades on their report cards don't get my help with things like that." She looked utterly abashed, and wandered off. I felt kind of bad, but I wanted her to understand that I really wasn't going to tolerate her grades being below par. Plus, I wasn't going to tolerate her attitude about projects and tests.
I have come to the conclusion that SOME of the difficulty is just language. She doesn't understand what the teachers are saying and hates to admit it. Some of it, though, is just KID. Some parents don't care how their kids do in school. She's not used to ANY parental involvement.
She brought her Science book home last night and we were finally able to work ahead a little bit. I enjoyed reading it. I didn't realize that most of our air is Nitrogen, not Oxygen.
Mother also spent a lot of time reviewing her Georgia Studies notes with her, for the test. I pray she does well on that test, so it will boost her confidence.
I also had the pleasure of seeing our yard finally starting to look decent. The landscaper finally finished re-grading the backyard, and got the grass planted. It's red dirt with an overlay of green, and the backyard looks huge. They also built up a raised flowerbed about 5x8 right next to the back patio, and we are looking forward to planting flowers and veggies. Alesia loves raw tomatoes, and squash, so next summer should be good. We've also planted roses in a little side yard and maybe they will climb up the fence - it's a privacy fence between the driveway and backyard.
We're planting azaleas and camellias in the big pinestraw bed out front, in a few weeks. That should be beautiful next spring. I hope to plant some bulbs, too, maybe irises.
Last night when I was putting Alesia to bed, I told her a little story, about her great uncle Don. I said when Don was a little boy and didn't want to do his schoolwork, my grandfather had a talk with him. He told Don, "You can either make your living with your back, or your brains." I explained to Alesia that she has the same choice. She can do hard physical labor, or go to college and get to sit in a nice office in front of a computer. She loves computers. She's not big on doing dishes, and I told her that was the sort of work she might have to do if she doesn't work hard in school. I think it made an impression. We also talked about that if she goes to college she will be able to have a lot of choices, and not just get stuck doing something menial.
I told Alesia if she will staudy hard in math and science - 2 subjects she actually likes, and is pretty good at - that she could be a veterinarian, if she wants. She's not sure about that, but she loves animals. When I was in the adoption process, the caretakers at the orphanage told her she could be either a fashion model or a veterinarian. She was oblivious to the whole debate - we were all sitting at a big table, discussing her future. She was looking at the photo album I had brought to her.
At least now she's beginning to realize she HAS a future, and she's not oblivious any more. One day I will have to tell her she is a beautiful girl, and that gives her a lot more power in this life. For now, I want her to stay innocent. She has no idea what she can accomplish, with her beauty and brains...
