Learning New Words

There have been some new words floating around school, and the girls have been "experimenting" with them.

Last week the word was "constipation". The girls were using it in a song, rhyme thing they were singing and when I asked them what it meant, it was clear they had no clue. So, of course, this led us into a discussion regarding it's definition. Both girls got a funny look on their face when I explained it and sort of dropped the subject. Until it was time to use the word, now everyone seems to have it. Yep, "constipation". We're constipated morning, noon and night here. Under normal conditions, this amount of constipation could require medical intervention. Luckily, the "situations" seem to be resolving themselves very quickly once they've used the word.

While we're still bantering about last week's word, a new word came home yesterday. La Nina had heard the word at school. "Hore", she was pretty sure it was short for horrible and therefore, really not a bad word at all. And I'll be darned if she didn't have a "hore" day because she was constipated.

However, she and her friend tried to look it up in the dictionary, but you know, they just couldn't find it. She was a bit confused about why she couldn't find this new word under "h", so she thought she better ask the Dad about it. He wisely advised her it wasn't a nice word or a short version of "horrible" and she shouldn't be using it. But this didn't really answer her question as to why it wasn't in the dictionary.

Next she hit me up and asked why it wasn't in the dictionary. Note: not what it meant, not if it was bad, just why she couldn't find it. So, I answered the question. I pointed out that in English there are some letters that are silent in front of "h" and that could change the spelling. Either way, "hore" was not a good word and she should never use it even if she found it in a dictionary somewhere. (Following all the parenting advice I've ever received, I only answered what I was asked and I wasn't asked for a definition...whew!)

Now, of course, I'm walking on eggshells and I'm trying to figure out how to explain "prostitute" when she finds that word in a dictionary defining whore.

Running the Child: Session 1

For those of you who have met the Magster, it will come as no surprise that she has an issue with excess energy. She's a bit like a puppy. She needs to be run. So, really, for her, sports like soccer and basketball are perfect They wear her out. But this isn't soccer or basketball season, and let me tell you, we made it one week without soccer. Between her little high pitched voice and over enthusiastic helping, it's time to make sure this child gets her "run".

So, tonight, while La Nina was at dance, I decided I would take my puppy for a hike. I actually gave her a couple of choices: running on a track, riding bikes at a park near our house, hiking up the ridge. She chose to hike up the ridge. For those not from the area, the ridge is fairly steep incline and it goes for miles. Our goal was to make it to the first gate, about an hour round trip hike.

When she jogged up the steep first part, we took the steeper of two paths up the hill. I walked at a fairly normal pace up the hill and she kept pace with no problem. About half way up the hill, I broke a sweat. She did not. About three-quarters of the way up the hill, I was huffing and puffing, she was not. When we had a choice about continuing to the top to get to the first gate or heading down the hill, she chose to keep going. She was terribly offended when anyone passed us on the trail and at one point, told me I needed to hurry to catch the people in front of us.

She made it to the first gate in about 23 minutes and her only regret was that we had to head down to go pick up her sister. I promised her we would take some time and hike to the second gate on a weekend in the near future.

The good news is she was nice and mellow when we came home and she wants to go up the ridge again. In fact, she's hoping we can do it soon. I hope I can keep up.

Life Lessons in Dance

La Nina wrapped up her 4th competitive dance season this past weekend. It's been a good year for her. Her groups have generally done very well and while the dances get harder every year, she always rises to the challenge and performs beautifully.

This year was her first year competing in a style of dance called, Lyrical. It's a cross between ballet and jazz. I think it looks like contemporary, though I'm sure many dance experts would scoff at my untrained eye. For young dancers, when you're cast in a lyrical piece, it's a sure sign you're growing up and being viewed as "a big girl" by your studio. I don't think studios see it that way, but I know at least one young dancer who does. Her group danced to the Rob Thomas song, Little Wonders, a personal favorite song of mine and a lovely piece of music with a great message.

Lyrical is a tough style of dance. The judges are demanding. Toes need to be pointed. Shoulders need to be relaxed. Movement needs to be fluid. Tough, tough, tough when you're going slow and every goof up can be spotted easily. Her trio of two 8 year olds and one 9 year old saw very little success in terms of scoring. This dance was consistently her lowest scoring piece and deservedly so on more than one occasion, which brings us to last weekend.

When the Little Wonders took the stage, they performed well for the first 1/2 of the dance, then tragedy struck...they lost music. And what do you suppose those dancers did? Well, like the professionals they are, they kept dancing, keeping time in their heads and keeping an eye on each other to ensure they stayed together. It was just an amazing thing to see these little girls carry on to the cheers of their mothers and really nothing else. I was so proud of them.

Backstage, I asked La Nina how she knew to do that. Had her teachers told her if they lost music to keep going? No, she said. She saw her friends kept going and she didn't want to let them down, so she just watched them and imagined the music in her head. What a great answer.

My biggest concern about her choosing dance over sports has been that she's missing the team experience, but last weekend changed my mind completely. I finally saw team work truly happen in the realm of dance. Her answer proved to me she had learned her lessons about team work well.

Now, wouldn't you think that this mishap and professionalism would help them out in scoring? Well, you'd be wrong. Dancers are expected to continue and not react to unfortunate happenings on stage. They did only what was expected and were scored appropriately. But somehow I think the life lesson they learned facing that challenge is worth a lot more than any scoring award. Personally, Friday's High Silver will be the performance I remember most vividly from this season.

The picture above was taken during the performance of Little Wonders. It was snapped before the a cappella portion of the dance started.