Monday, January 31, 2011

'Tween Report

That's right, I'm just gonna call it: he's a 'tween. I don't care if some people think this is an invented phenomenon, I swear there is some sort of hormonal shift that has happened in Luke in the past four months, a shift that makes him care about what he wears, care about his image, try to be "cool" and not "babyish." He doesn't watch commercials, nor does he watch television geared at his age group, so I don't believe that this is some sort of media-invented thing.

But I got a bee in my bonnet recently about school, and about how at least half of this recent attitude is coming from a bad fit with his teacher and the influence of his peers. And so when he said that he didn't feel good this morning, I let him stay home, even though I thought he was faking it--he had a sub anyway and his project that was supposed to be due today was postponed until tomorrow, so I figured it might be a slow day in his class.

We had an awesome day. We made a schedule, and we mostly stuck to it. He did some sudoku puzzles, then he baked cornbread all on his own--his first solo baking job, which turned out a little strange but pretty tasty. Then he put the finishing touches on his poster project on Egypt, and then he read aloud to me. After we picked Henry up from school, they ate lunch and watched a documentary on ancient Egypt. Then I read him some chapters from the book we are reading together, and he did his chores. When we began to bundle up for some outdoor time, he asked if he could stay inside since he felt dizzy.

Guess what? He's running a fever.

I don't know if we had such a pleasant day because he needed a day off, or because he was subdued due to illness, or because Henry wasn't home. It was probably a combination of all of it. But I needed a good day with my first born. It was lovely.

4 comments:

AKmamaOf7 said...

That's awesome. My son has turned that corner...not so much the look of himself (well a little) but more the emotinal stuff...weeping, throwing fits, getting angry when he was always even keel before. ugh.

Having one-on-one time is awesome, it helps with their school and attitude so much if I can concentrate with them even just for an hour.

Tracy said...

And as a bonus, it's good for mom. It's nice to have these snippets when other days aren't as good. I think we all need a little down time every now and then.

so yung wilson said...

I know it's awful, but I guiltily enjoyed when Baby Barrett was a little sick; he'd snuggle and want to be held all day long and I loved it.

Hope Luke's feeling better soon. And at least his fever wasn't so bad that he's in severe pain. Sounds like a lovely day.

I love that he baked on his own. Is there a picture to share?

Anonymous said...

I'll never forget when Mara had the chicken pox. She played with her stuffed animals quietly for two days. It was soooo nice. Mom