This is just a sweet moment thing, but it makes me feel good about my kid not acting conceited (in fact, I think he still underestimates himself). DS told me that he thinks he can get along with pretty much anybody, because he thinks everybody has something special about them, all he has to do is find out what they have in common.

When my DS had a homework issue in a math word problem ("Amy divided all the candy she had amongst 4 friends ..." and DS was not sure if it meant 4 friends including Amy or excluding Amy) I told him to go to the teacher during "extra help" time where they help kids who have homework or academic issues. And he said almost the same thing to me - "Teachers are at school because it is their job to be there. I need to figure this out by myself." Yes, I am raising a 8 year old cynic, it seems. We have always encouraged DS to approach teachers and engage them in discussions, so I am not sure where that attitude comes from.

This is precisely how my DD moves through the world. She *never* lacks for friends.
Mostly they can't truly go where she can, and she knows it. Still, she always hopes, and she genuinely likes everyone (the sociopaths excluded-- those she loathes and goes out of her way to punish, or at least keep busy so that they don't bother her other homies).


She has a classification system, actually-- it divides at the EG level and beyond, though, because those people may either be globally capable or more specialist types. MG+ people gravitate to her, though the ones who are pretty invested in their intellectual superiority find her a tough person to be around intensively, much to her dismay.

When she really takes the mask off, she wows.

For an example, she recently learned to play SET while at a college math club meeting. After observing 2min of play (coming in late), she proceeded to clean the floor with everyone else in the room. She even beat the faculty advisor. Twice. Her speed was apparently downright superhuman.

Then she did a discrete proof that the other Wunderkind had been struggling with for two days. It took her 20 minutes, and then she went off to play rehearsal, happy as you please. She's never had any discrete math or any real instruction in how to construct proofs, never done competition maths, nothing. This is just raw ability.

The club president and advisor are eyeing her for a Putnam team next year when she'll be seventeen.

So yeah, mine is one of those sweet souls that is so pro-social that she isn't "dumbing down" so much as genuinely looking to make other people feel great about themselves, and wishing for true peers. So she searches for ways that she is LIKE others, not ways that she isn't. It's a terrific gift, that.

This is lovely! Such a great attitude, and so true!

Total gifted moment.

DD16 is assistant director for a college theater production-- in other words, management. She's also serving as an extra since this particular production has a lot of them, especially in the early scenes. They have to stay in makeup and costume until curtain call, however-- which is about 2h. So she's in charge of "babysitting" the dudes in the green room/dressing room to keep them quiet and well-behaved during performances...

they play cards, mostly. Someone had the bright idea to play casino games. For money. I think that they anticipated that sweet, clean-cut, preppy 16yo DD would be an easy mark-- and she has (mostly) wiped the floor with them at everything else they've played. She's a GIRL, even if she is a sort of dude-bro kind of girl. And she's way young.

The other young woman (wisely) opted out... but stuck around to watch it all unfold rather than going to gossip in the girls' dressing room. They nominated DD to be the dealer, since she's quick and quite expert at dealing and shuffling both (which should have been a tip-off, right?)... and then furthermore adopted her suggestion that play would be faster-paced if they didn't reshuffle after every hand...

yeah. She cleaned out their pockets. About the third deal, the young woman piped up; "You DO know that she's a math major, right??"

DD has the devil's own luck at cards. Truly. As if that were not sufficient, she can also count cards while keeping up a running patter/conversation. Entirely too easy with only one deck and not even reshuffling-- she can manage up to about 3 decks at once, this I know for a fact.

They now have a rule that if DD is playing cards, they don't play for money.

She kept the money, though. (It was less than $10, to be fair.)

Speaking as someone whose friends used to introduce her to people as, "This is Elizabeth. Don't play cards with her for money," I say it's a good rule.

We had DS9's parent-teacher conference. Even his teacher finds that he gets so into reading that at times he has to tell him to stop reading. And DS's own chosen reward for not reading when he's supposed to be doing other things? Staying in for part of lunch with the teacher - reading.

My first grade DYS is homeschooled except for attending the neighborhood school for a Gifted class. When we entered the office to sign he in today he
Somehow managed to do a near perfect Grand Jete' in the lobby. He does not nor has he ever taken ballet. The Secretaries gasped and after they recovered from the shock they applauded. I didn't know whether to be profoundly embarrassed or proud. After I gave him the time and place for everything speech
I had to ask him where he learned to do the move. He replied, Billy Elliot, don't
You remember watching that a while back.

DS7 likes to make up alternative lyrics to popular songs

Last night he came out with this, which made me LOL!

"Hello from the other side
This bathroom is occupied..."

I'm going to think of this whenever I hear it now...

Sounds like he is in touch with the same, er-- muse-- that regularly makes house calls around here. Of course, as they get older, much of the content becomes NSFW. Or anywhere else, for that matter.