Saturday, May 20, 2006
I had to go into work for a while this morning and try to get caught up. I have
been so distracted with all the adoption paperwork that I have gotten behind. I
have a meeting with my boss on Monday afternoon to discuss all my cases. I got
a lot done, with nobody there to distract me.
I took Mother and Alesia and Bronwyn to lunch. Bronwyn and I had a good discussion,
mapping out the plan for the summer tutoring. I went online and ordered the
curriculum from a homeschooling outfit called Alpha Omega. I just ordered the
testing, language arts, science, and history, not math. She will get that from
Kumon. Bronwyn will be with her as she does the computer learning and gets
through the curriculum. The CD-ROM program is supposed to be very visually
stimulating, and since Alesia is a visual learner I am hoping this will spark
her interest. I want Bronwyn there to make sure she is doing it right, though,
and help her with vocabulary. I also want her to work with Alesia on regular
reading and vocabulary building. I am praying it will work out well - I think
it will.
We had a MAJOR discussion this afternoon about being safe and not wearing
provocative clothing. Alesia kept crying because she felt like I was being
unfair to not let her wear tiny short shorts out in public. I kept trying to
explain to her about the important of being modest and not inciting lust in
wicked men. I finally just started crying myself. Mother made us both come
downstairs and she talked to us and got us calmed down. Once Alesia realized
how genuinely upset I was, she calmed down. I just don't know if I got through
to her the idea that she is a beautiful girl and she MUST be careful for her
own safety.
The worst part was trying to get Alesia to understand that no, not all men are
bad and will want to kidnap and rape her, but SOME men are, and she must be
vigilant. So many young girsl wear things that make them look like hookers. It
was also hard trying to explain words like "vulnerable" and
"provocative" and even "rape." Then I had to
backtrack and say sex is a beautiful thing between two people who love each
other and are committed to one another, etc. I didn't want her to think every
man who stares at her is some violent rapist. She is a bit like Forrest Gump
sometimes and takes things quite literally.
By the time we left for our Target shopping expedition she was much more calm.
Alesia tried on 8 pairs of modest pedal-pushers, but she only liked two pairs. That means she only has a total of three pairs of non-long pants I will let her wear in public. When we were looking at pants, we looked at some that were a couple of sizes too big and had a rather generous "seat" as my grandfather used to say. Alesia looked at them and made a face. "Mom! They're too BIG. My butt doesn't HANG like that!" I just laughed. I then said "WAIT 20 years, my child. Wait."
I bought a printer for the computer I'm going to put in Matthew's room, and
it's a snazzy one that is also a copier and prints photos! We checked out the
price of the printer ink cartridges, and they're not too bad - less than the
printer I have. I want the computer to be totally usable. Alesia loves
computers and I think will be fascinated by it.
By contrast to the dramatic afternoon, after the Target trip I was happy to get
home and do yard work and bathe the dog, even though I sweated a lot through
both chores! Our little garden looks like it’s going to give us an abundance of
fruits and veggies this summer. I just wish our little watermelon seeds would
sprout. Alesia loves watermelon.
Coco put up with the bathing very well. Her hair has gotten really long but
we dare not groom her. I told Alesia that while I'm at work tomorrow morning,
she must try to carefully pick out Coco's mats and trim the hair around her
face. She has the patience to do it.
Stay tuned...
