Fighting M…

Here are the auto suggestions from Google as I started typing in “fighting mid life crisis”:

- Fighting midgets (just weird)
- Fighting mid life flab (which is PART of the crisis, you know)
- Fighting midland funding (WTF?)
- Fighting middle ages (probably means fighting in THE middle ages, not fighting against being middle aged)
- Fighting middle east (put my little crisis in perspective)

There were also references to Jerry Springer, but I don’t think I’m that bad off yet.

45!

45 years old. That sounds old. It even feels old. Makes you start thinking about what mark you leave on the world. Does it go past your family and friends? Does it need to? Or, is it enough to make a difference on those closest to us so they can soar?

When to step away

When is it quiting and when is it just no longer putting yourself through the wringer?

We, as a family, decided to pull my son out of little league for the season. His coach's treatment of him was just unbearable. The guy was a real jerk. To us, this is not quiting, just protecting our child. He left the game in tears declaring he hated baseball now.

We spent the car ride home remembering all the other teams and the excellent coaches. By the time we arrived home, he was already making plans to rejoin his old league in the fall. Sure, it is a long drive for us, but it is worth it to see his excitement again!

Little league is supposed to be for everyone!

My son has lived for being on a baseball team for the past five years. He loves belonging to a group and being treated like one of the other kids. The coaches’ praise for his hard work was priceless.

Until this year.

We moved and had to join a new league. What a disaster. We have never asked for any special treatment from the team or coach even though our son has a few disabilities. One of his favorite parts of baseball is being treated like all the other kids.

After a few practices and games, my son started talking about hating baseball. We noticed that the coaches only played their own kids in the action spots while the rest of the boys were rotated through the outfield. The coaches’ kids were top in the lineup, while the others were lucky to get to bat once.

We confronted the coach, politely but firmly. His excuse was that he knew, without our telling him, that our son was disabled so the coach decided he could not handle being in the infield. Bull. And, bull again.

So, the next practice, as payback (?) the coaches put him in at first. Well, my son showed those doubters – he was flawless and did the same again in the next practice. Come game time that week, he scored the first run and made a crucial out on his own.

The moral is to never underestimate anyone! Especially a determined 10 year old boy.

Everybody is “exceptional” now – a rant in B major

In many school districts, children with disabilities or giftedness are labeled as exceptional children, EC for short. Most of the children are able to receive much needed support to fully realize their potential through documents called IEPs.

 

Lately, I have been noticing that more and more parents are talking about their child’s IEP and all the EOG accommodations their children will get. These are children who barely qualify for a learning disability yet their IEPs are more complex and have more support than my own child’s does, and he has several disabilities. My son, who is PDD-NOS and has a few comorbid issues as well, get extended time for one test only. That’s it. And, that is at our request and with his teacher’s blessing. Why do we do it this way? Because that is real life. He can, and is, learning to cope and excel without extreme measures. What scares me is that these border line students are being given an easy way out and will not learn to function WITHOUT external support. Plus, it stretches the resources thin for those students who really need them.

 

I am seeing this in school, little league sports, and even just playing with other kids in the neighborhood: parents are expecting accommodations for all sorts of things. When we go against the norm and demand NO accommodations, we are treated like we’re crazy. Yes, our son is different, but he will learn to function in the world as it is and the world will learn to appreciate all that makes him unique and “exceptional”.

I need a project...

Not that I have a ton of free time. But, it is always nice to have something that is just for fun and just for me.

Maybe I’ll do something with all that fabric I’ve been hoarding. Or, maybe I’ll just take another weekend off. I am getting lazy in my old age.

Ebb and flow

Things get too busy to think then too slow to get motivated. But, I am learning to enjoy those slow times more. So what if a weekend goes by without a project. I don’t feel guilty anymore for just spending the day puttering around in my pj’s.

My husband has been able to do that for years and I am glad it wore off onto me.