Michael is now a baseball player. We went to a nearby Baptist church that has a small rec league and he did a practice and liked it. Most of the kids are a bit younger - it's 4th, 5th, and 6th graders - but that's OK. They can't throw as hard or run as fast but I told Michael, he can play with this little team and learn the game and it's a good first step into the baseball world. Michael got a little coaching on batting and hit several nice ones. The coach seems to be knowledgeable and compassionate. Everyone I talked to there was extremely nice. I just need to help Mike focus on getting homework done quickly on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.
He will still play tennis, and tennis will take precedence, but I am happy he is branching out into another sport.
I was delighted this morning when I talked to the benefits people about my COBRA coverage and the subsidized rate is extended another 6 months. That's a long-winded way of saying my insurance won't double in May, as I had feared. My horoscope said I would get good news this morning - how eerily accurate those things are, once in a blue moon.
Last night at dinner, Mother asked Alesia to give the blessing. We could tell she was hungry. She thought for a moment and said, "Thanks for the food. Bless everyone we love. Amen." Our normal blessing takes another few seconds to say. After the amen, Mother looked at her and said something like "that was short and sweet" and Alesia said "I didn't want to say a long one! I am HUNGRY!" We had to laugh.
I bought some flashcards with trivia facts on them, made by a company called Brainquest and now every night as we finish up dinner, I quiz the kids a little bit, to test their general knowledge. It's fun. For instance, did you know the Great Wall in China is the only man-made object visible from the moon? Or, as Alesia pointed out, it depends on which side of the moon you're on, whether or not you can see the dang wall!
The other night I asked a question like "What classic story includes the Merry Men, Friar Tuck, and Little John?" Alesia frowned at me. "The married men?!" Nope. We laughed. I know she has seen the movie Robin Hood. Finally I said I would give her a hint and I pantomimed a bow and arrow. She frowned again. "Cupid?!" Well, he usually makes married men merry, but whatever.
Something was asked the other night about what the states were called after the south split off during the Civil War. We were looking for the word "union." Alesia said "You mean the gray men?!" Uh, nope, that's the Confederacy..
Sometimes her Central Auditory Processing Disorder provides moments of mirth.
Sometimes I wonder if Alesia is still deficient in her knowledge, due to being adopted at such a late age [13]. Then I ask her something and she pops out with the answer straightaway, and I heave a great sigh of relief. She may not know Robin Hood but she can name all the main subatomic particles.
I go back and re-ask some they missed every night to see what they're retaining. It's learning, but it's fun.
Gotta go. I have a job interview. It's a lunch interview and I am wearing a white shirt. Maybe I should've chosen a dark shirt, since I often end up wearing my food. Oh well...
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