Cookies...

 I just got done tromping around the neighborhood selling Girl Scout cookies with Sidney out of a sled. Many blocks and unshoveled walks later, we went back home seven boxes lighter. This might not sound like anything to brag about, but if you could have seen how many houses had nobody home, it might be easier to understand our victory. Plus the fact that it was such a fun thing to do with her. It was a balmy 20 degrees, finally warm enough to be outside safely. This weekend also entailed Eli participating in his first band contest playing his trombone. So you know I’m not a tyrant, I understand Eli is only in sixth grade. I will spare you the details, however it was a time his father and I had to let him fail to learn a lesson.

Apart from cookies sales and tough love, Sidney is going to start getting additional help with reading for 30 minutes a day from a professional that comes into the school. I was pleasantly surprised when her teacher commented that a lack of early literacy can have a great impact when a child is first learning to read. Typically when I explain something about Sidney in relationship to her early experiences and how it impacts her daily life, the person does one of two things. Either they look at me like I’ve grown a second head, or they say, “Yeah but she was so little then. Certainly that shouldn’t have an impact now.” I also explained to her teacher it’s probably only been about a year and a half that we could get her to sit down for a book.

My take on the situation is she simply needs more time. And as I said to my mom on the phone this weekend, I can’t compare her skills to other kids, because she hasn’t had a past that parallels any child I know.  This isn’t rocking my boat much, because I know her incredible growth and development considering where we started. It doesn’t matter the situation biological or adoptive (and I have an opinion because I’m mothering both), our kids don’t come with a guidebook. Plus, my gut tells me at some point it will simply click. Her teacher has talked about a second year of kindergarten, however I think if she’s bored, it’s going to be more opportunity her to get feisty. She’s doing very well in math and science, so it’s a balancing act. Thankfully, as my friend reminded me the other day, we don’t actually have to make a decision until next August, and so much can change in between.

I’m off to another week and hopefully someone doesn’t find me buried under an avalanche of cookies. I forgot to mention not only are we selling them, I am the cookie mom. That’s another post entirely.