Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Grinity - OT meanderings

Hi Everyone,
I just wanted to talk about the rest of my life for a while.
Let's see - I sprained my ankle on Friday, and been in an ace wrap since Monday. It didn't seem to be improving until I got into see the Physical Therapist on Monday, but now it only hurts 2/10, except when I bang it - yuck!

DS11 is going to camp on Sunday - sleepaway for the first time, just a 'regular camp' although he'll be with grademates, so they will be 1+ year older. I have more socks to buy, and almost nothing has his name on it. I'm starting to think that my sharpie is going to get quite a work out on Friday night. Perhaps an all-nighter? I've got silver for dark colored, and black for light colored.

Srry I haven't been around much lately, first we traveled to the Davidson gathering without DH, then we returned and took off again to the beach with DH for the long weekend. Also I've been driving DH to summer day camps that are almost an hour a way, that's cutting in to my posting time. But it's good because these are 'build it' and 'do it' science camps. DS built and programed robots, and he built airplanes, and marble runs. He's loving it, and still moving around, and it's so great to see the light of love of learning in his eyes.

We saw 'The Love Guru' and totally enjoyed it. I expected it to be more 'off-color' but it was all jokes and references and no explisit stuff. There are plenty of ladies in bikinis but I think I got over that with the 'Nintendo Magazine' pictures when he was 7. He kind of knows that 'that's what sells.' And that 'when he's older' that will probably interest him more. He seems to know that IRL girls are a whole different thing.

I started a garden 'square foot garden' style - but that hasn't taken up much time - except for the research!
But I am spending much much more time cooking since I read, 'The Omnivore's Dilemna.' I'm excited because an IRL girlfriend is interested in going in on a grass-fed half cow with me for the freezer. I used to be big into 'do ahead' cooking. Anyway I'm trying to reduce my dependence on processed food.

Recently I got DS hooked on Orson Scott Card's Alvin Maker Series, and he chewed through all 6, enjoying them very much. I'm finishing Journyman Alvin. So touching! My stock went up so much with DS for the suggestion that I started him on my favorite from my 20's Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover Series
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darkover_series

It's such a pleasure to see him enjoying some of my favorite books, it even inspired me to go back and re-read Stormqueen! Talk about people having gifts that change their lives and affect how everyone treats them! The adults in that book make all the classic Sylvia Rimm mistakes with their young gifted female.

Frankly I didn't think that I would ever enjoy reading fiction again because I so much more enjoy chatting with you. I keep thinking it's weird that her characters don't have cell phones. But it is a treat to read in tandem with DS. We often end up in giggle fits over the pronounciations of some of her made up words.

Anyway - now that we have an off topic area, I figured I'd wave and report in. I love you all so much! This place in cyberspace is like having Laran (MZB's word for telepathy) so I can see into your hearts. How cool is that? I'm living in the world I imagined for myself in my 20's.

Love and More Love,
Grinity

Hi Grinity!

Thanks for the wave and the report and, or course, the love! Yes, technology is good!!!!!!!

Someone once told me that the 20's were solely for getting one's a$$ kicked! IE: career, relationships, financial security, etc.

I enjoyed the second half of my thirties so much more!

How fun that you and DS are sharing fine literature, what a cool bonding experience.

Your summer sounds very fun, it's going too fast, though, right?

We've been out and about as well, haven't posted as regularly. Although the last two days have spent too much time online here.

So are you going to be okay with DS's first sleepaway from home? Sounds somewhat daunting!

Sorry about your ankle, bit of a drag. Hope you heal well and soon!!!

Neato

Hi, Grin!

As someone who has sprained ankles more times than I can recall--LOTS and LOTS!, including one stress fracture from a bad twist--I strongly recommend doing ankle strengthening exercises when your injury has healed.

The best and easiest just involves standing on one foot and letting your body weight sway around a little so your ankle has to work to keep your balance. It has been amazingly effective for strengthening my muscles and ligaments and whatnot around the ankle area so that they don't just give way, like they used to do almost constantly. (Seriously, I could twist an ankle on a chalk line drawn on the pavement!)

The stronger your ankle gets, the bigger your swaying can become. But I do this in a small way even when standing in line at the bank or other public venues. Talking on the phone or when cooking dinner are other good times to do it.

Seriously, this was life-changing for me! You know how not-evangelical I am about stuff, but I AM evangelical about this. It's that good!

Hope your ankle heals fast!

Grinity,

What a list! Just reading that makes me tired You have been quite busy.

Sorry about the ankle. Ouch. I hope it will be 100% soon. BTW Use is as a nice excuse to spend lots of time reading and yeah Internet browsing

I am glad DS is enjoying the camp. Good luck with marking all the socks. The kids started camp this week. Yesterday DS4 came home with a different towel and today with 2 socks but only one of them is his

Ha! DS has 2 matching coats hanging in our hall right now for the same reason and we can't find the other owner.

Thanks for the update Grin! Sorry about the ankle. I actually did the same thing out hiking a few weeks ago and I'm still struggling a bit with it. So thanks for the suggestions Kriston.

Both my husband and I really enjoyed Omnivore's Dilemma! Good luck with the cow. I would love to do this, but need to invest in a chest freezer first (not to mention - find a spot for it). We are enjoying some beautiful CSA boxes right now though!

I love this place, too! It's great to find people who love the same books and games and have such interesting things to talk about.

I hope it works for you like it worked for me, kimck. I haven't sprained an ankle once in the 15 years or so since I started using the exercise. You have no idea how big that is! Really, I used to sprain my ankle nearly daily!

Really, really, a very, very big deal!

Grinity! You need to buy a grass fed(or finished) beef, not cow, hahaha. Have you checked out Eat Wild website ? It's got a lot of research regarding grass fed food products, and a directory of suppliers across the US.

Sounds like you're having a pretty good summer, except for the ankle. Take care of it, and it should heal up about the time summer is over!

Hi Grinity,

Best wishes with the ankle. I used to have an ankle problem. Now it is knees.

Sounds like a great summer for your DS. My DD is doing tennis camp this week, swim camp next and did a week of Space camp she really liked and then Rainforest camp. The other kids were about 1-2 yars older. Same with tennis.

Ren

Grin-

Glad to have you back. I'm sorry that we didn't see more of you and DS last month, but I guess that's the way things go at these mega-gatherings! There's always Splash! though...

I hope the ankle heals quickly. Injuries can be so frustrating! But sometimes, I think they can teach us to appreciate what we usually have, and encourage us to rely more on other people, which we Moms rarely seem to do.

The camps sound really fun. My guy will have a week at scout camp in August, and both he and "Artemis" are in a play this summer. I'm glad that I pushed him to audition for "Alice" way back when, as he has really taken to theater. And it is very cool to see my shy little girl getting excited about performing as well.

I'd say that we are taking it easy this summer, but our days still feel full and busy as can be.

"Easy" is a relative term, isn't it, Lorel?

Both sound lovely Lorel! Hi!

Thanks for the Advice -Kriston and Kcab. I'm trying the alphabet, and looking forward to trying the swaying.
Glad to hear that you've improved - but not you Wren!

Kimck, Lmom and Dottie - how weird is that with the clothing? I'm just hoping he'll come home with both sneakers.

OHG - nice link, thanks! I never understood why chicken is chicken, but beef and cow. ((shrug)) city-girl, I guess.

Smiles,
Grinity

what about me!



((hands on hips, stamping feet impetuously))

Best I can figure is a cow denotes a gender and maturity level of a bovine, beef is a generic term for the meat. 'Chicken' isn't gender specific.
You can refer to eating a steer, a neutered male raised primarily for food; a bull, raised primarily for breeding but butchered at 12-20 months is good eating and leaner and richer flavored than a steer. A cow or older bull, is leaner and stronger flavored, generally used for hamburger.
OK, that was my unsolicited, cattleman public service post of the day, hahaha.

Moo!

(It's my second post of the day containing a moo. It just seemed to cry out for one!)

Oh and 'Neato, I'm laughing at you, not with you! :p

nice.

;p

OMG Grinity - I never thought about labelling !!! Off to the store for some silver permanent markers!

Opps! Sorry Neato - you dissapeared on me there. I've very glad that you are making yourself heard - ((big grin))
Love and More Love -
Grinity

So - DS11 is deposited at his overnight camp. It sure is quite around the house. Saying good bye was sad, but I put on my best front because I knew he wouldn't want to get emotional in front of the other boys. My ankle is almost fine. Nothing really more to report.

I just realized that I did respond to you, Neato, because I remember making a bad pun about sprained ankles being a drag....as I'm dragging around my bad foot, but it looks like my responce was published in invisiable ink because now I can't find that post.

Grin-girl

No worries, Grinity, my friend. I was actually just looking for a reason to use the red face!

Enjoy your peace and quiet. It will be short-lived, I'm sure!

Wow - Folks! I just got back form an African Drumming Class in my little town, and struck up a conversation with a woman who lives around the corner from me, and I could 'just tell' that she's 'one of us.' Can you believe it? Yippee!

Insane or from a GT family?

Or both!?

<tee-hee-hee>

Grinity, that is so cool!!

So how could you tell, Grinity? What was the tip-off?

maybe she said "we are hugh"

Ha! Love the ST reference, St. Pauli!

Mine will be gone for four weeks! And we are also looking at it as a kind of a trial time re:boarding school, although lately I am not so amused by the possibility anymore.
Those camps right now are different, with cell phones and ability to talk to your kid at almost any time (if they pick up that is)
Ghost keeps talking about food (GREAT, GREAT, MOM - IT IS CATERING!!!) and keeps sending me pictures of their buffet table. Oh, those hungry teens...

I must have missed this thread--made me smile now to read posts. Grinity, hope your ankle is healing (a good excuse to catch up on reading and relax a little--though it sounds like you're still busy busy). One of my favorite memories of my mom was when I just started working and went to Puerto Rico for extended work. My mother had broken her leg and sounded depressed on the phone. So I told her to come use my mostly empty fancy hotel room since I was out all day & she could mend in a nice setting. She came down and I would help her to the poolside each morning with her books, and collect her in the afternoons. One afternoon I came back and it was pouring rain. I panicked because I could not find her and asked the hotel staff if they had seen a women with a cast on her leg. They told me she was tucked under the far end of the pool canopy & there I found her surrounded by a dozen Marines, laughing and sipping margaritas (she was an ex-Marine). They carried her there when the rain started. I should have known my mom was resourceful enough to handle a little precipitation.

Ah, another mom crush for me! (Or did I already have one on your mom, cym? It seems like I might have already discovered her from one of your past posts...)

Anyway, I love a woman who manages to surround herself with Marines and margaritas, regardless of the circumstances!

Ha! Me too. Great story cym! Your mom sounds like a real gem.

Great story Cym

I love it! Too cute for words. Those marines, they really stick together.

It was so nice to hear from DS by phone. He says he is having a great time. Next Saturday we are invited to take him 'out' for the day, and it will be great to see him. I'm not sure what we should plan. An activity? Just chill out at home? He may even bring a friend who is too far away to get a parent visit.

Ankle is officially all better now! Yippee!
grinity

G-

So glad you're better. Good news from ds as well, that's great! I hope you enjoy your parental visiting and the transition back won't be too hard on either of you.

Today is DS11, er, I mean, DS12's Birthday! Yippee! Every year seems to bring him more equipment to handle the everyday challenges of life, and me a little more fun.

I didn't get to wish him a verbal Happy Birthday, becasue he's at camp, but DH saw him and says he's looking fine and happy and says he's made friends with almost all the 11 kids in his bunk (all 12 year olds)

DH reports that DS12 didn't cry when they were together (DH was dropping off birthday cake and little balsa wood airplanes as party favors for the bunkmates) but that DH did tear up.

Drumming class met again, and I went for a nice walk with that mom Monday night. Yippee!

Smiles,
Grinity

Please wish DS12 a happy birthday from all your e-friends the next time you see him!

And yay for the drumming friend!

Hippo Birdy to your DS

Happy Birthday to Grinity's DS!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DS12!

I'm so glad you found a like-minded peer!

Happy Birthday Grinity's Son!!!!

Happy Birthday! I hope he had a great party at the camp.

Are you a little bit sad that you didn't get to see him on his birthday?

Thanks for the well wishes on DS12's birthday! It was a little sad not to see him myself, but it helped that DH did, and could tell about it! And it helped to see all the 'happys' for you dears!

Smiles,
Grinity

I got to see DS12 yesterday. He seems so calm and mature! We had a great time at visitors day, and DH and I were impressed. DS12 was so worried about 'making it on his own' and I can see that he is proud of himself.

Interesting tidbit. He plays sports and sleeps with agemates, and he loves not being the youngest one! AND he gets to drift over to the 15 year old boy cabin to play Magic Cards and talk music with the bigger, I mean older, boys. There is even talk of a counselor of the 15's starting a Dungeons and Dragons game during afternoon rest period starting today. Wow. no wonder he is having fun.

BTW - he is so proud that he hasn't touched a computer or TV in the past two weeks.

Smiles,
Grinity

Belated birthday wishes to Grinity's son! His birthday is one day after GS9's!
We spent GS9's birthday taking cattle to a county fair, we left that fair on Thursday and went to the next one on Friday. It's amazing how much our GS is growing this summer.

Two weeks without a computer or TV? I told my son about it and says he couldn't do it. Last week we went with my husband to a conference that was held at a state lodge near a beautiful lake and I thought there would be things for us to do like swimming in the lake and hiking. But with temperatures close to 105 degrees, hiking didn't sound like much fun to either of us and there were no other kids around. Part of the time we listened in on a the training conference. We heard them talk about different learning styles and best teaching methods. My son thought the instructors were only going over common sense learning methods that everyone should already know about and it was really a waste of time and money for the people attending the conference, but he did think the role playing games his dad had to participate in sounded like fun.

When we got home, one of his friends called and told him that he had just returned from a Boy Scout camp where they had to hike up a hill which he said was named "Cardiac Hill" in the 105 degree heat. He told my son, who has one more year as a Cub Scout, that he needed to stay in scouts so he could do this too. Somehow I don't think this will help me convince my son to stay in scouts.

I thought it somehow relates
Are any of you "guilty as charged" ?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/26/nyregion/26camp.html?_r=1&em&ex=1217217600&en=add411fef8da74b7&ei=5087%0A&oref=slogin

Maybe I am guilty of this somewhat, but years ago, I was easily able to send my daughter off to spend a week with her friend's family on their vacation and I thought nothing of it. Her best friend was an only child and so was my daughter at that time. My daughter really enjoyed it and I enjoyed the time alone.

It is very, very different when you have a child with a disability like my son's. He would not be able to keep up with the others physically and he is not interested in a lot of the things his age mates are. Kids like my son are often targeted by bullies and I will not put him in an environment where he is likely to be bullied. He doesn't even want to go to a church camp and I will not make him.

If he could go to a camp with other kids who are gifted but have motor dyspraxia and hypotonia, I think he wouldn't mind going and I might be more inclined to let him go. I saw something on TV recently about a camp for kids with Tourette syndrome and these kids got to be with others like them and I thought this would be a really good thing, but there isn't anything like that available for my twice exceptional son.

Lori, I've been thinking of you this past week while we've been at our cattle shows. GS9 wouldn't(I think!) be diagnosed with anything other than being very uncoordinated and a bit weaker than other boys(or girls!) his age. I see 6 year old girls easily handling wheelbarrows loaded with manure, but I only let GS9 return it empty because he still tips them. He struggles to carry partial buckets of water, and still loses enough to soak his pants. He struggles to keep the cattle under control, while others his age seem to do it effortlessly.

All that reminds me of a friends son born with CP. He walks with crutches, but they were told he'd never walk. He drives, and works on their farm. He's now 29, but when he was a teen our pastor was so impressed with his determination to learn to ride a bike he asked the boy to talk about it to a small group. He didn't have much to say, just that he really wanted to ride with his brothers and he kept trying until he could. He was skinned up and his mom wanted him to take a break but he insisted on continuing until he learned.

That's the kind of tenacity I want my GS9 to develop, and I hope your DS has. Labels and limitations don't bother kids with that kind of determination. I'm sure what I see in GS is minute compared to what your DS has to deal with, so I wish you both the best.

But that's the thing. He doesn't have the desire and determination that is needed to do the physical things. He just doesn't care about doing more physical things. He says he would rather work on things that he has a better chance of learning to do well.

He does have the drive and determination he needs for learning things he knows he will need later in life and he is very willing to work on those things. Typing for instance. He knows this is a very useful skill and that he will need this ability later in life. Learning to type is more difficult for some people with dyspraxia and he is working really hard to increase his speed. But for other things that he doesn't think he will need later in life, he is not willing to put in the effort. He thinks it is a waste of time to learn to do something that he can never, ever be as good at as most other people. For example, bike riding. If he really wanted to ride a bike, he probably could since he has worked on his balance issues, but he knows that even if he learns to ride the bike somewhere, he might not have the endurance that he needs to get back. Another example is hiking. He could go on hikes with the other Cub Scouts and only go about half the distance they go and then have to turn around and go back before they had to and this makes him feel even more different. Boys his age are not kind to the kids they think are physically weak.

He was willing and worked very hard to overcome a fear of learning to swim because this is a life skill that he knows he needs. He is willing to continue working on this.

A lot of people with dyspraxia have trouble with spelling and he had not spent much time on spelling before he decided to try out for the spelling bee. He knew that he would have to learn to spell thousands of words and do well on a written test when handwriting is a problem for him, but he didn't let it stop him. He certainly had the tenacity to do what it took to do well in that, but it was something he wanted to do.

He just accepts that there are some things that he can't change and he thinks his time is better spent on the things that he feels are important.

He also knows that he can hide his disability if he isn't required to do anything physical and he is at an age now that this is what he prefers to do. He knows there are plenty of jobs that he could do later on that don't require the physical skills that he is lacking. He knows that he needs to get plenty of exercise and he says he can get enough of that by working out with a weight machine and treadmill at home. He is not overweight and he looks healthy and he rarely gets sick except for headaches so he doesn't see a problem.

Hey, I just read that article. I don't think I could draw anykind of parallel between the parents in the article and you, Lori.

It's glaringly apples and oranges.

KWIM?

Wow Ania - that article is a little alarming! 2 cell phones? On the other hand, if you're spending 10K on a summer camp, I guess you've perhaps earned the right to be picky.

I actually tend to the opposite end of the spectrum. I am very hands off when I drop my kids off at a camp or class unless I see something very unusual going on. I've usually researched the heck out of it ahead of time though, so when I have made the decision to send them to something I feel pretty comfortable at that point letting go. And both my kids are pretty go with the flow with teachers and other kids. I'm not ready for sleep over camp though!

And Lori, I agree with 'Neato. I really haven't seen any behavior like that around here!

Perhaps, but spending a large sum of money doesn't entitle someone to disregard the rules they agreed to when they signed their child up.

That's annoying.

Oh we cross posted.

Kim, I'm so glad you agree with me! I love it when someone agrees with me!

It seems to happen so rarely!

Our kids didn�t have cell phones until quite recently. We consider it a necessity for logistical communications at distant schools this fall, but to their dismay they don�t get texting service.

The one week college summer swim camp they attended had no restrictions on bringing a cell phone. It was fortunate for our son who called every single night. Our daughter (who we knew was still alive per our son) never felt the need to call (us, at least).

Maybe instead of a no cell phones allowed policy, they should designate at certain time when kids are allowed to call home. I don�t feel that a kid should endure homesickness at the expense of enjoying camp. Our son needed to connect for a short period each day and then he was fine. Last year, he burned up his 90 minute phone card in 5 nights and this year he only needed approx 10 minutes before returning to free time activities. Who knows, next year he may even skip a night.

I think the lesson of camp autonomy can be more gradual than just �sink or swim�.

However, I agree that parents should know and follow the camp rules.

GS9(+1 week) went to his first sleepover camp in June. It was Sunday through Wednesday. He was a bit reluctant to go but going home he started crying because he couldn't go until next year again! He didn't say anything about anyone wanting to go home.

I won't take an actual stand against cell phones, because I think there is a place for them, such as when the camp is many weeks long or when a child is young or fragile for some reason (medically, or just sustained a loss etc).

But I can tell you that it can become very hard for a child to become immersed in the full camp experience if they can call out or get a call in at any moment. A faculty friend of mine who has been leading college trips for decades says that it seems much harder for college students to separate from their friends and family these days. They call home to report every small happiness or disappointment. Small interpersonal problems that could have been solved pretty easily escalate rapidly when everyone calls home to tell friends and family their side of the story. And they miss a lot of the trip because they are thinking about home and talking to people at home and not taking advantage of where they are.

Not giving your child a cell phone at camp, I think, can send the message that you really have confidence in them, that you think they have what it takes to get by without you, and that you are able to let them grow up and be independent and even make mistakes and figure out how to fix them on their own. So DS has spent a total of 2 weeks at camp with no cell phone and has done great without one. It's been harder on me, but I am trying to grow up too!

I agree, acs. 20 years ago, cell phones were not on everyone's hip, and we all got along just fine. I'm not saying they don't have their place...I just don't think their place necessarily has to be EVERYWHERE!

Well if we both agree then it must be settled!

Darn tootin'!

(Or we're just Luddites...)

Darn you Kriston, I had to look that up!

LOL! My work here is done...

And who says those two are mutually exclusive...

You make an excellent point.

And I'm LMAO!

LOL, neato!

I guess the real questions is How did you look it up
Did you use a paper dictionary or did you go online? LOL

Ooooooooh! You are so bad!

Okay, fellow wordsmiths.....

You will know the answer to that question if you also know that I am Uomo Universale- loosely defined.......

(jeopardy theme music begins.........)
doo do do do do do dooooo do do do do dooooooooo do do do do do do do do do do do dooooooooo do do do do do do do!

I agree with Kriston - I don't trust technology either!!!

Its interesting that the Luddites were high skilled workers replaced by non-skilled labor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luddite


I was in a large meeting recently where someone asked, "Who still uses the CLI much these days?" It was said in a disparaging tone like only idots use it.

Two hands went up - mine and one other person - the only person I talk to socially outside of work - and a polymath as well. And the only other person that everyone turns to as a last resort fix problems.

(CLI = Command Line Interface.)

Its interesting that the Luddites were highly skilled workers replaced by non-skilled labor. But today we see them as unskilled village idots standing against technological progress.

LOL! You got me! I didn't know that term, though if you had said "Homo Universalis," I would have known that version.

Call me whatever you want; just don't call me late for dinner!

I was going to say that but I'm neither a man, nor a "homo".
(beavis and butthead type snort-snickering)

Austin-POLYMATH-bonus points.

Yeah, I forgot to mention: "polymath" was what kept me from having to look up 'Neato's word, actually. So thanks for the assist, Austin! Good job!

For all you Uomo Universales out there:


http://oyc.yale.edu/