Thursday, December 17, 2015
Saturday, December 5, 2015
Heartbreaking loss
Yesterday Milton schools informed us of the passing of a schoolmate. Maria Dorn age 17 a band student and fellow flute player with Grace. Grace knew her but not closely. She does have a sister that is a freshman as well. Even though we didn't know her or her family closely it is so heartbreaking.
Last year Grace had a band concert I attended by myself. I arrived early to get a good seat. I sat next to a lady that I realize now was Maria's mother, Alita. We ended up talking for an hour before the concert started after we figured out that our girls were in the same grade. We talked about the start of the school year and how it was for our girls. I had mentioned that Grace was having some trouble with a teacher and it was causing some anxiety with her work she brought home. At that time she would have some moments at home where she would get really overwhelmed with her homework and shut down. Almost as though she was having a anxiety attack. I had mentioned that I had thought about taking her to see someone. Alita started to tell me that her older daughter which happened to be Maria has had many issues of anxiety, depression and was overcoming an eating disorder. She gave me some advice on where I could start and how insurance would cover certain places but not others. She was the most wonderful person to talk with and the nicest lady. Her husband Michael is a teacher at Milton high and one of the nicest guys.
Thinking back about this conversation with her and hearing her struggle then reading Maria's obituary hit me hard. Maria commuted suicide by overdose. Her obituary states her life was tumultous. By talking with those who were close to her there were many more factors that went into her struggle. She was a cutter and also realized she was gay. I just can't imagine having so much pain as a young girl. Life is hard enough at that age I can only imagine putting your own struggles on top of that.
I will indeed be hugging Grace a lot tighter today and we will have a mom daughter heart to heart about Maria and her struggles. This is just so very hard to swallow.
Thursday, December 3, 2015
What's with all the old posts?
Logging into blogspot I saw I had a few posts that never uploaded. Sorry to overwhelm you 😉
Homework Nights
Grace is needing help with math just about every night. Thank god Aaron is able to help with that! Not to mention all the other events between two kids!
I have a very high needs special Ed student I am with most of the day that can turn into a ball of furry at a blink of an eye which adds a lot of stress. However, I have to toot my own horn. I have been able to get this kid to both science and his art, gym and music classes for the last 2 weeks with no problems! This was not able to be done last year hardly at all.i am so proud at how well he has been doing!
Anyway, it's only September??? I'm just hoping that we get in the swing of things very soon!
12-3-15 happy to report we have got over the homework hump! Both kids are settling in well to the school schedules!
Socialite Grace King
Here are a few pics I caught via social media of Grace this week.
The first set are pics off Miltons Twitter page;
Homecoming week
Owens greatest day ever
What a day for our little man! Started out with his first hockey game in Madison. His team played a great game with several goals and one scored by Owen! He skated so well and in just a month we have seen great improvements in his skating ability!
Whoa
I came across this picture today....
It was taken just 3 years ago. I am dumbfounded as to how little the kids look. It made me very happy and sad. Happy because I see the joy on their faces and think about how special this moment was starting the elf on the shelf tradition. I had begun dreading the return of the elf this year. It's always when I'm tired and ready for bed that Aaron reminds me that we have to move the elf and I started to regret the thing. But, when I saw this photo and the morning the elf returned this year and Owen began remincing about his antics it made me so very happy! Knowing that these are memories he will carry forever I knew then it was all worth it!
The reason I feel sad? Well, look how big these kids have grown in just 3 years! Grace is in a kid body in this photo and now she is in an adult body!! No wonder she's so out of whack sometimes, look what she has transformed into in just 3 years! I also think about how naive she is here to the elf and now she joins me in the joy of creating the next elf antic! She had saved me many times last year by moving Buddy early in the morning after I had forgot! It is just so crazy how 3 years brings about so much change. This will be one of those moments where I have to say... Thank you social media for stopping Father Time and taking me back to a wonderful moment of Christmas past!
Friday, November 6, 2015
Chair assignments
Grace got some cool news today! They recently had auditions for chair assignments for band. Because our band is so big and they don't have enough room they have to split the band into two. They have an ensemble band and symphonic band. Ensemble band is the higher level band.
There are 20ish flutists in the band. They take 6 for ensemble and the rest in symphonic. Grace got her chair placement and was placed 2nd chair for symphonic band and 8th in all!!! So very proud of her 😊 I guess u can say she takes after her mom when it comes to her music talent, ha!
Thursday, September 24, 2015
RAD, is not a cool term
Doing a little bit of studying on RAD Reaction Detachment Disorder. It is a condition of one of my students that I have this year. Here is the first paragraph I read which truly brought me to tears.
Reactive attachment disorder (RAD) is a condition found in children who have received grossly negligent care and do not form a healthy emotional attachment with their primary caregivers -- usually their mothers -- before age 5.
Attachment develops when a child is repeatedly soothed, comforted, and cared for, and when the caregiver consistently meets the child's needs. It is through attachment with a loving and protective caregiver that a young child learns to love and trust others, to become aware of others' feelings and needs, to regulate his or her emotions, and to develop healthy relationships and a positive self-image. The absence of emotional warmth during the first few years of life can negatively affect a child's entire future.
I will go more into this disorder at another time as to how I have been learning to deal with her condition. It is all so overwhelming and a hard concept to learn. This is a real tough one. It makes me sad that I don't feel I have the skills for what she really needs at school but where do these kids go has been the biggest question. I am finding its not an easy answer.
Sunday, September 6, 2015
Thursday, August 27, 2015
The time has come
Grace is out tonight with the Pom girls delivering signs to the homes of the football players! What does that mean?? She is riding around town in a car with another teenage girl 😩ðŸ˜ðŸ˜³ðŸ˜¬ yikes!
Tomorrow is their first game day. They are meeting at 1pm for a full day of events before the 7pm game. Painting the rock, late lunch/dinner at red robin and back to one of the senior girls houses to do their hair and makeup before the game.
Tomorrow nights game is parents night as well which means we walk With Grace out on the field! We teases her that we were going to wear banana costumes!
This is all becoming reality!
Not to mention we saw Graces good friend Becca out driving with her Dad yesterday! Craziness!
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Saturday, July 18, 2015
More articles
Detroit update
Wow. Is all I have to say. What an amazing adventure Grace has been having!! Below is a link for a really great article about the good deed they have been doing in Detroit. The Karate studio they mention was Graces service project! Aaron and I have been watching her adventure unfold all week with social media via Facebook, Instagram and mostly snap chat stories. Truly remarkable week they have put together!
Monday, July 13, 2015
Detroit
Grace leaves for Detroit tomorrow for the national Lutheran youth gathering with 30,000 other youth and leaders. Today she started packing. I have been trying really hard to let her do it herself. The only thing I did was provide her with the packing list we received from church and went and bought her some personal items and snacks from the store. Of course the control freak in me is going crazy!!! Of course I couldn't help but ask if she remembered to pack underwear and socks! Making it even harder to relinquish the control was when I walked in her room and saw that instead of folding her clothes in her suitcase everything was tossed in!!! Oy. Then again I had to give my 2 cents and of course I get the moan and groan. Walking away I remind myself.... Why was that so important, they aren't my clothes! I have got to learn to back off! Live and learn right??
Friday, July 10, 2015
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