Rachel is so little, it's hard for us to remember (well, it's hard for ME to remember) that she's in kindergarten, which is "real" school. She comes home with a folder full of writing samples. Apparently she is also learning math. Consequently, we have begun giving her little word problems at dinnertime. (On Friday I kept goofing around and told her, "If a car is 50 miles away and drives 70 miles an hour, and another car is coming from the opposite direction and drives 80 miles an hour, at what point do they meet?" I always hated word problems because I could never translate the words to the math).
This Saturday, while Drew was sleeping in, I decided to give Rachel some word problems. If there are three cupcakes in a store and six kids want them, I said, how do you divide them up? I drew a picture of three cupcakes, pretty sure she wouldn't get the answer.
"What does divide mean?" she asked.
"It means to split things up," I explained.
She then promptly took the marker and drew a line down each cupcake. I was flabbergasted. "What if there are 12 kids??" I demanded. She then drew lines across each cupcake. Then we go into a discussion about there being no point to splitting each cupcake in fourths because, you know, the cupcakes would get all crumbly and there wouldn't be a lot for each kid. She understood.
Then she started asking ME to do word problems.
"If one car's going right, one car's going left, and one minute hand is pointing to the 12 on one clock and one minute hand is pointing to six on the other clock, what point do they make? Draw a heart if you know and draw an x if you don't know," she said.
Um, not sure.
Second word problem:
"If two ladybugs are fighting, what makes them not fight anymore?" Rachel asked. "Give them a aphid. If they're fighting and you give them an aphid, they feel a lot better."
"Now, you do a word problem," she said. "Don't do anything about time, because I don't know anything about time."
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
First day of kindergarten!
Later, when I'm back from my weeklong catering job in upstate New York, I'll talk more about the journey Rachel and I took to our new home in Arlington, VA and how we've settled in. But I'm leaving within the hour and I still have packing to do. And I couldn't go without giving a quick update on Rachel's first day in kindergarten.
Let me repeat this: RACHEL'S FIRST DAY IN KINDERGARTEN. For this blog's older readers, kindergarten is now what first grade was for me, so it's a much bigger deal. All the crying (by parents) takes place a year earlier now. So it was with me: I'm not in any of pictures I took because I was weeping the whole time. Seeing Rachel walk to school with her Hello Kitty backpack (almost as big as she is), Hello Kitty lunch bag, skirt from Mammaw (thanks, Mammaw! A thank-you note is on its way), shirt from Grandma and sparkly shoes that Rachel picked out for me to buy in Oregon made me realize, as I have realized a thousand times since giving birth, that I'm now part of the big wave of humanity sending their kids to school for the first time. It's one of many small steps Rachel will take toward independence, and I really shouldn't be sad; this is what we're raising her to do, right? To be independent. Yes. I imagine I'll cry on the first day of her senior year in high school, since it will be the end of her primary/middle/secondary school career. And as Drew reminded me before he caught the train for work, I will be a MESS when we drop her off at college.
The halls of McKinley Elementary were crowded with men in ties and dress shirts (but no suits, thank god, and no Silicon Valley-unself-conscious-khakis-and-polo-shirts-without-ties) and their wives, some dressed up, some not. The men were smiling and resolute, the women were weepy and shooting photos. Some of the kids were crying, most not (including Rachel; she was momentarily shy but then jumped right in to say the Pledge of Allegiance. I didn't know they did that anymore).
What must Grandma and Grandpa have thought when they took Dad and Uncle Dan to school for the first time, so far away from their torn-up country? Oh, how I wish I'd had the sense to ask them that when they were alive. Were they silently giving thanks that they escaped the Nazis? Were they scared about the new school system, what Dad and Uncle Dan would be learning and if what they would be learning would take the boys away from their parents? In a way, it was that journey out of Belgium that got Drew and I where we are today, dropping off our only child in kindergarten -- new school, new house, new town, new life. Just like Grandma and Grandpa did so long ago.
That thought made me cry even more.
Let me repeat this: RACHEL'S FIRST DAY IN KINDERGARTEN. For this blog's older readers, kindergarten is now what first grade was for me, so it's a much bigger deal. All the crying (by parents) takes place a year earlier now. So it was with me: I'm not in any of pictures I took because I was weeping the whole time. Seeing Rachel walk to school with her Hello Kitty backpack (almost as big as she is), Hello Kitty lunch bag, skirt from Mammaw (thanks, Mammaw! A thank-you note is on its way), shirt from Grandma and sparkly shoes that Rachel picked out for me to buy in Oregon made me realize, as I have realized a thousand times since giving birth, that I'm now part of the big wave of humanity sending their kids to school for the first time. It's one of many small steps Rachel will take toward independence, and I really shouldn't be sad; this is what we're raising her to do, right? To be independent. Yes. I imagine I'll cry on the first day of her senior year in high school, since it will be the end of her primary/middle/secondary school career. And as Drew reminded me before he caught the train for work, I will be a MESS when we drop her off at college.
The halls of McKinley Elementary were crowded with men in ties and dress shirts (but no suits, thank god, and no Silicon Valley-unself-conscious-khakis-and-polo-shirts-without-ties) and their wives, some dressed up, some not. The men were smiling and resolute, the women were weepy and shooting photos. Some of the kids were crying, most not (including Rachel; she was momentarily shy but then jumped right in to say the Pledge of Allegiance. I didn't know they did that anymore).
What must Grandma and Grandpa have thought when they took Dad and Uncle Dan to school for the first time, so far away from their torn-up country? Oh, how I wish I'd had the sense to ask them that when they were alive. Were they silently giving thanks that they escaped the Nazis? Were they scared about the new school system, what Dad and Uncle Dan would be learning and if what they would be learning would take the boys away from their parents? In a way, it was that journey out of Belgium that got Drew and I where we are today, dropping off our only child in kindergarten -- new school, new house, new town, new life. Just like Grandma and Grandpa did so long ago.
That thought made me cry even more.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Moving, Part 1
Boy, did I forgot how much moving sucks. Makes a lot of sense to me what Marilyn, our dithery real estate agent told me: Realtors try to move about every five years to remind themselves how awful it is. Thinking that maybe we should do the same, since I never want to have to go through this again. Or as I told Dad this afternoon, who said I'll never have to do this alone again, "The next time, hopefully it'll be Rachel moving me into an assisted living facility and I'll be too old to care about possessions anymore."
That got a laugh. Hey, at least I have somewhat of a sense of humor left.
Anyway, the movers came and forgot to pack up a bunch of things. Apparently they are also incapable of taking down wall hangings because, you know, they involve nails. And the ones that don't involve nails and are simply hung from the crown moldings and need nothing more than a little nudge to come down -- well, they're waaay too complicated to deal with. So, after they left I went around the house taking things down with a hammer and a Philips screwdriver. Then I started cleaning out what's left of the food in the refrigerator. We have about five huge bags of garbage, plus recycling, that I'll have to haul to the curb tonight. I have no idea what time they'll start loading the truck tomorrow, but I hope it's after I get Rachel home from preschool. This whole thing hasn't gone as smoothly as I'd anticipated, which is a shame but there's really nothing I can do except stay up late, finish all the tasks I can and hope we make it out of here without having extra boxes of stuff that I'll have no idea what to do with.
Tonight was also bittersweet -- it was the last trek to Hot Lips Pizza, playing in the Jamison Fountain and getting chocolate sorbet at Cool Moon Ice Cream. They're all within a block or two of each other, and on really hot days, like today, I'd arrange for Rachel, her friend Devin, Devin's mom Linda (who I really like) and, sometimes, Linda's husband Jim to join us for an evening involving all three. This was the last extended time we'll all be able to spend together, and Linda started crying a little at the end because, she said, she's going to miss us. Linda is going through a hard time -- a nightmare work situation where she is disrespected at work, even though she's an award-winning architect; a friend who's going through chemo; a house that she says is a disaster and just general stress all around. I told her to make sure to CALL ME, even if I'm on the road, and I can talk her through things. I had thought that Devin and Rachel would remain besties even though they were heading to different kindergartens. We've promised to keep in touch, and Jim's family lives in Maryland so there's a reasonable chance that we'll see them again, but it won't be the same. And that makes me sad.
That got a laugh. Hey, at least I have somewhat of a sense of humor left.
Anyway, the movers came and forgot to pack up a bunch of things. Apparently they are also incapable of taking down wall hangings because, you know, they involve nails. And the ones that don't involve nails and are simply hung from the crown moldings and need nothing more than a little nudge to come down -- well, they're waaay too complicated to deal with. So, after they left I went around the house taking things down with a hammer and a Philips screwdriver. Then I started cleaning out what's left of the food in the refrigerator. We have about five huge bags of garbage, plus recycling, that I'll have to haul to the curb tonight. I have no idea what time they'll start loading the truck tomorrow, but I hope it's after I get Rachel home from preschool. This whole thing hasn't gone as smoothly as I'd anticipated, which is a shame but there's really nothing I can do except stay up late, finish all the tasks I can and hope we make it out of here without having extra boxes of stuff that I'll have no idea what to do with.
Tonight was also bittersweet -- it was the last trek to Hot Lips Pizza, playing in the Jamison Fountain and getting chocolate sorbet at Cool Moon Ice Cream. They're all within a block or two of each other, and on really hot days, like today, I'd arrange for Rachel, her friend Devin, Devin's mom Linda (who I really like) and, sometimes, Linda's husband Jim to join us for an evening involving all three. This was the last extended time we'll all be able to spend together, and Linda started crying a little at the end because, she said, she's going to miss us. Linda is going through a hard time -- a nightmare work situation where she is disrespected at work, even though she's an award-winning architect; a friend who's going through chemo; a house that she says is a disaster and just general stress all around. I told her to make sure to CALL ME, even if I'm on the road, and I can talk her through things. I had thought that Devin and Rachel would remain besties even though they were heading to different kindergartens. We've promised to keep in touch, and Jim's family lives in Maryland so there's a reasonable chance that we'll see them again, but it won't be the same. And that makes me sad.
Monday, August 5, 2013
Our final week in Oregon
It's down to the last few days, really. Rachel and I leave Oregon on Friday morning with Molly, driving across the country to Minnesota, dropping Molly off in West St. Paul, then continuing on to Madison, WI (to see Drew's best friend Jack) Chicago (to see Ruth, Steve and some friends from college and beyond), Memphis (to see my old boss), Ohio (to see a dear friend and former colleague at the Oregonian), then Roanoke (to see one of my former reporters on the Daily Northwestern), then HOME to Arlington, VA. Can't believe it's finally here.
I've been immersing myself in the chaos of last-minute packing, getting rid of all our food (and, geez, do we have a lot of Tupperware! I am NEVER buying any Tupperware AGAIN), finishing up some projects at work so I can drive unimpeded -- i.e., without checking emails or phone messages -- racing around Portland to eat dinner and lunch with all the friends we can possibly squeeze in, getting the house in shape for the movers to just pick everything up and go, getting my car looked over to see that it's drivable (yes), returning the Comcast cable box, getting my car cleaned so we won't start our drive with gunk all over the seats and floors, etc. etc. All of this craziness is probably a coping method for me to put off having to process leaving a place I've called home for the last 15+ years, a place I hated at first but now have grown to love, a place where I saw my greatest career successes and failures, a place where I really became a grown-up -- bought a house, sold a house, had a child, acquired a circle of friends from different parts of my life (singing, OAJC, chavurah, synagogue, Willamette, Oregonian) -- a place I never thought we'd leave. I'm not sad enough to cry (yet, if ever), it just amazes me that within two months this spring, I was all of sudden ready to go. And now, we're going.
***
"I actually LIKE getting owies," Rachel said, examining her banged-up legs this morning. "That shows that I've been having fun!"
***
"Beauty is not more important than health," Rachel said as she was washing and brushing after breakfast.
"What makes you say that?" I said, astonished, since it came out of the blue.
"Because it's TRUE," she replied calmly.
It amazes me what a good head she has on her shoulders.
I've been immersing myself in the chaos of last-minute packing, getting rid of all our food (and, geez, do we have a lot of Tupperware! I am NEVER buying any Tupperware AGAIN), finishing up some projects at work so I can drive unimpeded -- i.e., without checking emails or phone messages -- racing around Portland to eat dinner and lunch with all the friends we can possibly squeeze in, getting the house in shape for the movers to just pick everything up and go, getting my car looked over to see that it's drivable (yes), returning the Comcast cable box, getting my car cleaned so we won't start our drive with gunk all over the seats and floors, etc. etc. All of this craziness is probably a coping method for me to put off having to process leaving a place I've called home for the last 15+ years, a place I hated at first but now have grown to love, a place where I saw my greatest career successes and failures, a place where I really became a grown-up -- bought a house, sold a house, had a child, acquired a circle of friends from different parts of my life (singing, OAJC, chavurah, synagogue, Willamette, Oregonian) -- a place I never thought we'd leave. I'm not sad enough to cry (yet, if ever), it just amazes me that within two months this spring, I was all of sudden ready to go. And now, we're going.
***
"I actually LIKE getting owies," Rachel said, examining her banged-up legs this morning. "That shows that I've been having fun!"
***
"Beauty is not more important than health," Rachel said as she was washing and brushing after breakfast.
"What makes you say that?" I said, astonished, since it came out of the blue.
"Because it's TRUE," she replied calmly.
It amazes me what a good head she has on her shoulders.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Really awesome week
I convinced Willamette to let me work as a contractor once I get to DC to finish up the fall issue of the magazine and some other projects that aren't quite done and won't be until after I leave. That's money (not a lot, but some) coming in that I didn't think we'd have for a while. YAY!
Also, some intriguing job possibilities have come my way. Looks like I'm on tap for a couple of interviews in the next few weeks.
And the law school is hosting an informal reception in my honor next Friday, my last day at work. The associate dean sent out the nicest email today. Here is what it said:
A party! For me! No one has ever done this for me when I've left a newspaper.
***
"I love you with all my heart," Rachel said the other day. "You're the deepest part of my body. You really are."
***
I took a good look at Rachel's legs tonight -- bruises and what the pediatrician called "road rash" all over them. You'd think that we (or someone) regularly beats her. Of course, it's just what comes from playing all day.
"I like getting owies!" Rachel said when I remarked on how banged-up her legs are. "It means I've had a lot of fun these last days."
I've said it a million times: she is truly ready to be a mom. NOW.
Also, some intriguing job possibilities have come my way. Looks like I'm on tap for a couple of interviews in the next few weeks.
And the law school is hosting an informal reception in my honor next Friday, my last day at work. The associate dean sent out the nicest email today. Here is what it said:
"Hi, all,
I am sad to report that Lisa Lednicer, the Director of Communication for the law school, will be leaving Willamette. Lisa will be relocating to the East Coast. Lisa has served as the school's Director of Communication since 2010, and, during her time here, she helped oversee a remarkable transformation of our marketing materials, most notably the Willamette Lawyer magazine which won several awards under her editorship. We will miss Lisa, and we wish her well in her new endeavors.
Lisa's last day is next Friday, August 2nd. We will hold an
informal reception next Friday at 1:30 in the Faculty Lounge to honor Lisa's time at
Willamette. I hope you will be able to attend."I am sad to report that Lisa Lednicer, the Director of Communication for the law school, will be leaving Willamette. Lisa will be relocating to the East Coast. Lisa has served as the school's Director of Communication since 2010, and, during her time here, she helped oversee a remarkable transformation of our marketing materials, most notably the Willamette Lawyer magazine which won several awards under her editorship. We will miss Lisa, and we wish her well in her new endeavors.
A party! For me! No one has ever done this for me when I've left a newspaper.
***
"I love you with all my heart," Rachel said the other day. "You're the deepest part of my body. You really are."
***
I took a good look at Rachel's legs tonight -- bruises and what the pediatrician called "road rash" all over them. You'd think that we (or someone) regularly beats her. Of course, it's just what comes from playing all day.
"I like getting owies!" Rachel said when I remarked on how banged-up her legs are. "It means I've had a lot of fun these last days."
I've said it a million times: she is truly ready to be a mom. NOW.
Last Shabbat on the Plaza
I've written many times about the lovely tradition of Shabbat on the Plaza, which was started a few years ago by our synagogue, Congregation Beth Israel. Six times a summer they hold services outside, with Rabbi Cahana playing guitar, his wife the cantor singing and others joining in on bass and electric piano. It sounds out there but is really very traditional, and we go every chance we get. You bring a blanket and a picnic dinner and eat/socialize afterward.
This year the synagogue is providing cookies, lemonade, water and popsicles (and fudgsicles!) for dessert. Tonight I was more organized than I've ever been; I made Rachel a jelly sandwich, grabbed a salad and gazpacho from Trader Joe's for me (as well as some leftovers from last week's barbecue at Professor Warren Binford's house in Salem) and packed things in a cooler with cold packs and stashed it in the trunk while I was at work. THEN I made it up to PDX early, picked up Rachel from preschool and we headed to synagogue. We were there right at the beginning which almost never happens, so we got to enjoy all of the service.
Rachel at one point wandered over to the dessert table and somehow persuaded Greg, the newly hired facilities manager for the synagogue, to play with her. Man, they were whooping it up -- he twirled her, let her climb on his back, hoisted her on his shoulders; they looked like they were having a blast. Poor guy had just returned from a river trip and he was exhausted, but he gamely entertained Rachel and I thanked him profusely.
After the service, a congregant walked around with a bowl of strawberries and a bowl of melted chocolate and invited folks to dip in. Rachel made a face at the combo but I LOVE chocolate dipped strawberries so I tried them. Gotta love an outdoor Shabbat service where someone passes around strawberries and chocolate, right???
Then I got into a long conversation about DC with an assistant US Attorney here, Ron Silver, who is a member of the congregation and gave a great lecture at the law school a few months back on the Dreyfus case. He loved DC, absolutely loved it, but has been in PDX for 20 years and is from the West Coast originally, so he likely won't be going back East. It's so relieving to hear that people really like DC, even if they don't end up staying. It makes me feel even better about the move.
Meanwhile Rachel snuggled up next to Bill Baer, whose wife, Sidney, is the synagogue's executive director. Bill has always taken a shine to Rachel since she was a baby and constantly refers to her as "a little sweetie." He showed her videos on his smartphone featuring his niece and grandson and Rachel leaned against him to watch. At one point he played some snatches of opera. "She's so poised!" he said to me afterward. "If you want, you can leave her behind and take my cat."
I will really miss CBI. This is the synagogue I had expected Rachel to be bat mitzvahed and confirmed in. But change is life and life is change and hopefully we will find another synagogue in the DC area that will move us as much as this one has. I truly hope so.
This year the synagogue is providing cookies, lemonade, water and popsicles (and fudgsicles!) for dessert. Tonight I was more organized than I've ever been; I made Rachel a jelly sandwich, grabbed a salad and gazpacho from Trader Joe's for me (as well as some leftovers from last week's barbecue at Professor Warren Binford's house in Salem) and packed things in a cooler with cold packs and stashed it in the trunk while I was at work. THEN I made it up to PDX early, picked up Rachel from preschool and we headed to synagogue. We were there right at the beginning which almost never happens, so we got to enjoy all of the service.
Rachel at one point wandered over to the dessert table and somehow persuaded Greg, the newly hired facilities manager for the synagogue, to play with her. Man, they were whooping it up -- he twirled her, let her climb on his back, hoisted her on his shoulders; they looked like they were having a blast. Poor guy had just returned from a river trip and he was exhausted, but he gamely entertained Rachel and I thanked him profusely.
After the service, a congregant walked around with a bowl of strawberries and a bowl of melted chocolate and invited folks to dip in. Rachel made a face at the combo but I LOVE chocolate dipped strawberries so I tried them. Gotta love an outdoor Shabbat service where someone passes around strawberries and chocolate, right???
Then I got into a long conversation about DC with an assistant US Attorney here, Ron Silver, who is a member of the congregation and gave a great lecture at the law school a few months back on the Dreyfus case. He loved DC, absolutely loved it, but has been in PDX for 20 years and is from the West Coast originally, so he likely won't be going back East. It's so relieving to hear that people really like DC, even if they don't end up staying. It makes me feel even better about the move.
Meanwhile Rachel snuggled up next to Bill Baer, whose wife, Sidney, is the synagogue's executive director. Bill has always taken a shine to Rachel since she was a baby and constantly refers to her as "a little sweetie." He showed her videos on his smartphone featuring his niece and grandson and Rachel leaned against him to watch. At one point he played some snatches of opera. "She's so poised!" he said to me afterward. "If you want, you can leave her behind and take my cat."
I will really miss CBI. This is the synagogue I had expected Rachel to be bat mitzvahed and confirmed in. But change is life and life is change and hopefully we will find another synagogue in the DC area that will move us as much as this one has. I truly hope so.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
The things you learn about your kid
Today as I was racing to drop Rachel off at preschool so I could head to the house of a friend (actually, a colleague from work who is helping me create a personal web page), I stopped short when I noticed a wallboard of all things Rachel. There was a picture of her at the top and several things about her below:
Favorite thing to do is: Art
Place I want to visit: Disneyland and Disneyworld
Favorite TV show: Wreck in Ralph (huh? She never watches TV!)
Favorite food: Bread
When I grow up I want to be a: Scientist
So...we have an artistic kid who wants to be a scientist when she wants to grow up! I can't think of a better combination. The board, apparently, is one they do every month for every kid in class.
***
Speaking of science...Rachel is learning about planets at school and finished a neat mobile with the sun, the earth, and mercury on it, which she brought home the other day. Really, I'm astonished how much she's learning; I tend to assume she goes to preschool and plays all day.
***
More science: The other day, Rachel said, "You wanna know what's really small? Veins."
Me: "You know what's even smaller than veins? CAPILLARIES."
Rachel: "You know what's even smaller than capillaries? CELLS."
She won that round, hands down.
Favorite thing to do is: Art
Place I want to visit: Disneyland and Disneyworld
Favorite TV show: Wreck in Ralph (huh? She never watches TV!)
Favorite food: Bread
When I grow up I want to be a: Scientist
So...we have an artistic kid who wants to be a scientist when she wants to grow up! I can't think of a better combination. The board, apparently, is one they do every month for every kid in class.
***
Speaking of science...Rachel is learning about planets at school and finished a neat mobile with the sun, the earth, and mercury on it, which she brought home the other day. Really, I'm astonished how much she's learning; I tend to assume she goes to preschool and plays all day.
***
More science: The other day, Rachel said, "You wanna know what's really small? Veins."
Me: "You know what's even smaller than veins? CAPILLARIES."
Rachel: "You know what's even smaller than capillaries? CELLS."
She won that round, hands down.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)