The Kids

" So, what are the kids up to these days?", you ask.

My son is trying to finish up his schoolwork for the year. To the right you see him working his way through an end of the year free reading choice, The Picture of Dorian Gray, with his reading partner, Daisey Mae. He is finished with math for now and tomorrow he wraps up world history. Over the next two weeks he will complete economics, health, English, and biology. We have already decided on some of his curriculum for next year. I can't believe he will be in 11th grade! He is my baby.

Other than his schoolwork, he is working on a walking stick for one of his hockey buddies and a connecting series of nine fantasy maps in the style of the maps in the Lord of the Rings books. The neighbors have hired him to maintain lawns and rebuild stone walls that have fallen over. He was my garden rototiller this year because my husband was still on crutches from his knee surgery. Whatever free-time he has left is usually devoted to talking to friends online, playing games online, and learning to drive.

My daughter is finished with her community college classes for the semester. She ended up with an A in English, an A- in chem II, and an A- in Calc. Yes, I know it isn't polite to brag, but I am going to do some shameless bragging anyway! She tutored a girl in chem this year and her professor recommended her as a tutor again next year. The math lab wants her as a tutor too, but she is not so interested in that. Then there is the English professor who sat down next to her one day after class to say, "Julia, I know you are a science major, but have you considered majoring in English?" Sheesh, must be nice to have so many gifts and choices! This summer she is taking calc II and this fall she is signed up for bio I, gym (because she will be full-time then), calcIII, computer art, and an elective that escapes me now (perhaps philosophy?).

She continues to work at Kohl's and volunteer at a handicap riding program but, the biggest news to her is that her boyfriend is coming home from school this Friday. The other big event in her life is her new 20 gallon fish tank. She has been keeping fish for a while now, but this new tank opens up a world of possibilities!

Yesterday they both went to a rocket launching in the morning with some hockey friends. My daughter and one of the boys there found a milk snake and had to pick it up and hold it and get bitten by it, numerous times of course. It didn't bother her in the least. She was in snake heaven. Last week she found two garter snakes in our lawn and corraled them in a pail to watch, and hold, for a while. Yeah, I think she chose wisely when she decided on science for a degree!

The kids, yeah they're keepers. And I am a shameless braggart of a mom!