Sorry I'm Late

The mornings are a little rough around our house. I think Priya inherited some of Daddy's sleeping genes. She tends to move a bit slow when getting ready for school, as it takes her a long time to really wake up. I know this about her and yet I still let her sleep until the last possible minute. I have always, always had difficulty waking a sleeping child.

So, this morning was no exception. She first got angry with me because I got the toothbrush ready for her, instead of letting her do it herself. Sounds a little petty, but it was a new electric toothbrush and she really wanted to put the toothbrush head on it herself. Understandable, I guess... but she didn't tell me this until after I had done it. So, a fight ensued. I put some clothes out for her and told her to get ready and let me know when she was done. Naturally, she took her sweet time getting dressed and now the clock is really ticking. I mention to her that it is likely that we will be late if she doesn't pick up the pace. She still needed socks and a brush to her hair. Emotions were tense from the earlier toothbrush fight and she seemed to not be bothered about being late to school. When I mentioned going to the office to sign in she said something to the effect, “we've only done that a couple of times”. This prompted Dad to give a small lecture on the importance of being on time for school, and I snapped. I cannot recall what made me do it, but I got really mad. She ended up walking out of our room and sitting on the bed in her room simply ignoring the fact that she still was not ready for school.

Before leaving the house, I insisted that she write a letter to her teacher to explain why she was late. This really upset her, but it didn't appear that she was bothered by having to go to the office, so I knew I had to step it up a notch. She was afraid that the teacher would punish her and rightfully so... her first grade teacher is a little intimidating. The kids are very well-behaved in that classroom. :) Anyway, I'm hoping that this lesson will stick. And, tomorrow I'll be waking her up 15 minutes earlier... well, the new alarm clock will be waking her up 15 minutes earlier. I just can't bring myself to do it.

Here's the letter with the teacher's response in the lower left corner...



“dear: (teacher), I'm sorry I'm late. I'm late because I was siting on the bed to long. So I was late. I will try harder next time. Thank you, Priya”

“Priya, Thank you for your note. I know you will try harder next time. :) (teacher)”

Like Father, Like Son

Not only do they share the same hair, but they also share the ability to not be able to find what it is they've been told to retrieve, even if it's right under their nose and/or some clear direction has been given as to where to find said object. I realize that this can probably be generalized further to encompass the entire male population, but for now let's just uncover the facts of this particular case.

It happened while I was packing up to return home. So that he felt included, I asked Sanjay for his help. “Sanjay, can you get the plastic bag for me?” Realizing this may not be enough information, I added... “It's on top of the sink in the bathroom in our bedroom.”

Minutes later, this is what I walked in to find...



Meanwhile, the only thing on top of the sink that “doesn't belong” is this plastic bag... the one which Sanjay was unable to find.

Weekend Getaway With My Boy

Turns out Daddy had some work at home this weekend and Mommy had some work in the mountains. As much as this story sounds fabricated, it's really not. Really. So, we split up. Daddy and Priya stayed home and Mommy and Sanjay took off for the slopes. It was a full on powder weekend with almost constant snowfall... sensational. Looked a little like this:




And this:



Sanjay's skiing improved and his legs are growing stronger with every visit. We're trying to build him up to a 7-day stamina for our week-long trip in February. I believe it's working.

My dad was asking a while back what's so enticing about skiing in trees and I gave him some sort of analogy about driving cars on the wide open road versus maneuvering through an interesting course. However, I think I now have the proper answer... you never know what kind of treasures are waiting for you in them there trees. Fun stuff.

Overheard at the Bus Stop

SNOWBOARDER 1: Are you on Facebook?
SNOWBOARDER 2: Yeah... aren't we friends?
SNOWBOARDER 1: I don't know.
SNOWBOARDER 2: Dude, yes we are, you wrote on my wall.

Some conversations transcend time, not this one. This could only have taken place within the past year, the year of the Facebook phenomenon. Facebook has become the world's default social networking site, and only because I wonder what will become of it years from now, I am noting it's significance here. today. now.

Newest Ski Bum

Sanjay is now officially a skier. Here's the classic ski-school-pose photo, only I didn't pay $25 for it. :)



After only 2 lessons at the beginning of January, we had no expectations for this weekend in the mountains. I really was prepared to spend the entire day on the bunny hill, tow rope even. However, we were pleasantly surprised when Sanjay skied with strong legs, no fear and a great attitude all afternoon long. He even got upset with me during one stretch where I didn't take him through the trees. He did so well and earned so many compliments from Mom and Dad that Priya grew very jealous and turned on a lovely, most unpleasant attitude. Precisely the attitude which causes Mommy to loose it and Daddy to break off with Priya alone. Only he knows how to deal with the attention-seeking, feelings-burned female. Lord knows... he gets lots of practice with me.

Feeling optimistic after Saturday's skiing, we decided to hit the big mountain (Vail) on Sunday. This video shows us at the top of China Bowl at about noon, if I remember correctly. About 10 minutes after the video was shot, the day fell apart. The top part of this bowl was a little much for Sanjay, the beginner. Although he managed to get down most of it without falling, the burden on his little legs was too much. Even with frequent breaks, his legs were burning. He started crying and kept repeating “I don't like China Bowl”. The promise of easier trails once we got down to the chair lift didn't seem to help.

Near the bottom, he just plopped down and was done. Hmmm.... we were still quite far from the bottom and our salvage, the chair lift. What to do? Bartee was about 100 yards downhill from us and was prepared to carry Sanjay, but I had to get him down there. Coaxing the little guy to even stand up was very difficult, but I finally managed. Holding him under his left arm and letting him ski just uphill from me, we started down... as I approached Bartee our speed had increased and Sanjay's ski was completely on top of mine and for whatever reason, I could not dig my edge in to stop, so I let go of Sanjay hoping he'd land somewhere near Bartee and I proceeded to fall flat on my bottom. Now, mind you, this was a fairly steep part of the slope... so when I landed, gravity took over and I slid. Far. Unable to turn any part of my body or ski equipment into a brake. Priya watched the whole thing from a little farther downhill, and got quite a kick out of seeing Mommy slide out of control for those 20 seconds. I know because she told me all about it later. At this point, I was too far downhill to get back up to Sanjay and Bartee to offer any help. So, Bartee popped Sanjay's skis off and took them downhill a little past me. I went down to meet him and Sanjay slid on his bottom down to us. From there, Bartee held him, I held the skis and we all made our way to the chair lift. Next stop, Two Elk Lodge for some grub.

Unbelievably, Sanjay was not scarred by this experience and he was more than willing to hit some easier trails after lunch. Turns out though... as much as his mind wanted to do it, his legs just didn't have the energy. After lunch, we probably made it half way down the mountain and ended up having to take a chair lift the rest of the way. So, we learned the hard way his limits and will certainly keep that in check the next time we hit the slopes.

These are the videos that are referenced in this post (in case you find it easier to just view them here):

Permission Granted

You have got to be kidding me. This came home today in Priya's school folder.



Is this really what public schools have resorted to? They won't challenge my child to more difficult math work without my permission first. Don't get me wrong, I understand the “we're taking your kid on a bus” permission slip, the “it's ok to videotape my kid” permission slip and the “we'll be using the internet at school” permission slip. But this is complete nonsense... I'm not even sure what I'm agreeing to here. Seriously.

Enough already with the red tape, the procedures, the locked doors... just let the teachers teach our kids. That's what they signed up for and that's what I, as a parent, want them to do. You don't need my permission for this.

And now back to your regularly scheduled blog posts; you know the ones that don't involve me complaining. this much.

OMG, my BFF is moving to Germany. ATAB.

I figure I had better brush up on my netlingo since we'll likely be having more and more conversations online. With the 8 hour time difference and the cost of international calls, our daily phone speak will all but disappear. Our friendship is going back to where it started... online.



Katy and I met through a Yahoo group serving a Colorado Springs playgroup. I posted a message there when we were considering the move westward, and she was one of the first to reply to my bombardment of questions. We exchanged a few emails and based on those alone, I thought she was Chinese (her last name is Ong) and she thought I was Indian. It wasn't until we met that we found out our interracial marriages were just the first of a long list of things that we'd have in common.

Katy is the kind of BAC that I can always count on... whether it be to finish off a bottle of wine, to watch my kid while I'm visiting my sister in Germany, to recommend a good book or movie, to join me in letting loose on the dance floor to old 80's hits, to give me sound parenting advice, to research and put together a training plan for the triathlon we would compete in together, to put up with my annoying call-backs when I think of one more thing to tell her or to find and share in fun activities around town for the kids. She acknowledges and puts up with my stubbornness, my desire to always be right, my competitiveness and the bounty of other character flaws that I possess. Our relationship moved quickly passed the acquaintance phase to where now there are absolutely no formalities between us. Just the way I like it. We are like sisters and I'm really, really going to miss her. I'm not usually a touchy-feely person, but the realization that she's leaving Colorado and there are but days left, is making me all sappy and out of sorts.

LUMTP Katy!

* If you need help deciphering any part of this blog post, check here.