A Full Week

We have had a busy week here. Maribeth arrived on Monday to stay until Friday (yesterday), and she had many appointments and activities scheduled. We love being her "home base" when she needs one, and it was fun to get up in the morning and chat over coffee in our cozy jammies or workout clothes. How often do we get to do that with girlfriends nowadays? We were able to enjoy some lunches and dinners together, and that is a gift, especially when a friend has moved that far away...I am thankful for these visits!

The goofy thing is that I didn't take ONE photo with her all week...not one. How silly. Well, you all know what she looks like from this post.

David has had tennis practice, or a match, every weekday, since before school started. He has a busy life, with three advanced placement (AP) classes (History, English and Biology) and his place on the tennis team (#3 singles/varsity).

David has made a lot of progress in his game this year. He ended up qualifying for the league championship tournament, which was held in Port Angeles (an hour and a half from here) yesterday and today. They were on the bus in order to leave our school at 6:45 yesterday morning.

It was a FULL day: David played a match against another #3 singles player (his level) and won, a second match against a #1 singles player (and lost), and then played a third match against a #2 singles player--his own teammate, Rex! They played a great match, but David lost to Rex...and all of this took place before 2:00 p.m. David didn't have much time to rest between the three matches. He was disappointed to be eliminated, but was ready to head home.

I think he will welcome the extra hours for studying, though he will miss playing tennis with the great group of guys on the team 5 days a week. The coaches are kind, and have high standards for sportsmanship; they boys have a wonderful cameraderie. I am so proud of how much David has accomplished this year, how hard he has worked, and the progress that he has made in his game. He is a gentleman on the court (and off). In addition, he had fun!

This is also Homecoming weekend; the football game was last night, and the PSAT (practice SAT) test was this morning, starting at 8:00 a.m. David was exhausted! The Homecoming dance is tonight.

Hello, Planning Department? May I have a word with you, please?

Here is the interesting part: I won't go into detail, as this is really David's story, but he does not like school dances. At all. He is a junior this year (nearly 16), but he did not ask anyone to the Homecoming dance, simply because he did not want to go; he doesn't like the music, says it's too loud to really enjoy any conversation and hard to dance to (it's rap and hip-hop). He is at a dinner party right now, with a bunch of his friends (most of whom are going to the dance), but he is coming home afterward (his choice). Yet he is looking forward to going to the symphony 3 times this year. Talk about moving to the beat of your own drummer!

I respect his independence, but maybe he is missing out on something... important? I don't know that I would consider Homecoming as really important. I didn't go to all of those events at his age, and I didn't mind. I was busy with other activities. Gregg didn't like school dances, either. Hm. I don't know what to make of it. I love to dance, but I wouldn't like dancing to that music, myself. In the end, it's really up to David. And if he changes his mind, there is always next year.

Isn't it fascinating, that something so far off in my own past, needs to be reviewed now that I am a parent? That is one of the interesting things about having children. You do all kinds of things that you wouldn't do if you didn't have kids, and you think things through differently. They expand your world.