Yeah, yeah, I know. Where are the pictures, where are the interesting anecdotes (as if there ever were any)??? This has been a period of routine mummying. Nice, cosy family times.
I am still commuting to Syd to train my replacement. She is struggling to get the concepts of what we do, but working harder than I have ever seen someone work to learn a job. I want her to learn to do it all, and well, for her own sense of mastery. But the best learning is, in my experience, what you direct yourself to learn. Is she doing that while-ever she has me to appeal to, to solve a problem or explain something? At the same time, it is hard to learn to do something, when you don't even know what it is you need to do. So we slog on.
BabyG is crawling, but still backwards at this stage. Pulling up to her knees on people and furniture. Plopped her on the floor in an open space at Borders this evening, so I'd have time to browse a section of books before she made it to the shelves herself. Worked this time, but my time is limited. *sigh* I do love a good afternoon at the bookstore.
Observed the now-archaic ritual of Long Jump with No. 1 yesterday, and introduced babyG to the ritual at the time. Feels almost like 3 generations of women when we do things together. No.1 amazes me with her athleticism. How she can just walk onto a field, warm herself up a bit, and then jump 5m, or run 100m in 13s, after a year of not doing athletics at all, and a few more since she has trained at the disciplines. I would really like to see her as her fit, fast self, doing a 400m. 55, 56s I would think. Glad she doesn't define herself by her running, though. As a discipline to perform, I think running is exhilarating, and I think she does, too. Chasing titles, victories, is meaningless. But to exceed what you thought you could do, by effort of mind and body, is wonderful.
No.2 continues to challenge me. He wants me to set his limits, clinging to childish irresponsibility, so he can feel free to indulge in whatever misuse of time he can "get away with". I want him to set his own limits, as I am stretched in my current roles. He also knows that, and is using it to his advantage. *cue flop into exhausted heap* So this weekend I got them all to do yardwork for an hour, together, to see what they could accomplish. No. 1 enjoyed the task, has the maturity to reflect on the value of work. No. 2 only showed glimmers of the same, with a fair amount of the kind of plaintive attitude we had when our parents made us work on things as kids. TBC...
No. 3 is grooving along. Main source of complaint is the volume of his guitar practice. Yes, darling, it does sound like Jimi Hendrix / Neil Young, but it's TOO LOUD!
