29 April 2008 - Spring Report

Another winter gone already. With temps in the 70’s and 80’s every day, it’s hard not to have spring fever. We started up the pool last weekend! Of course, March was a bit of a puzzler: We had snow and temps in the upper 70’s (although not at the same time).

Tomorrow, 30 April, is the one-year anniversary of buying the new house. Usually things like this feel like both “forever ago” and “just yesterday,” but this time it feels like about a year. We still have rooms that haven’t been touched since we stacked the boxes in them, loads of pictures to mount, and a junk drawer (or shelf) in every room. For the most part, things are pretty organized.

Nicky’s outgrown his bike finally, and we got him a new one today. Zack has also outgrown his bike, but is inheriting Nicky’s old one. To make it seem less like a hand-me-down, we’re splurging on a new paint job. Zack chose blue and red. I reminded him that I had not one but three older brothers, and inheriting stuff is just the way life goes sometimes. He was still a bit sad initially, but soon perked up when contemplating the new colors.

Nicky School

Nicky is finishing up third grade. As the material got harder during the year, his performance slipped a little. He still does well in spelling and math, and his accomplishments in English are nothing short of amazing. He has no discernable accent, and uses slang with ease. His vocabulary grows daily. He no longer qualifies for ESL services. He does a good ninety percent of his homework by himself, and gets it all done quickly. Areas for improvement include math concepts, reading comprehension, creative writing, and logical/critical thinking—in short, he’s right on target for his grade.

I find Nicky’s artwork interesting. He’s always liked to draw and paint, and seems self-motivated to grow his skills. Lately, he’s begun working on representational art, getting proportion, perspective, and lighting accurate. He’s also begun planning three-dimensional projects, drawing all the parts of an object on paper, then cutting them out and gluing them together to make a 3D object. This takes good spatial perception (as those of you who have trouble inserting Tab A into Slot B know) and planning. He must conceive the finished object in his mind, break it down into parts with connecting edges, allow for folding or curvature, and only then make the drawings.

Zack School

Zack is floundering a bit this year. Unlike Kindergarten and first grade, second grade expects him to master skills or concepts and use them for the next step. His pattern of just doing enough to get by is catching up with him and causing problems. Some of this can be attributed to his ADHD, but a large part is immaturity and generalized dislike of doing anything that takes effort. Zack is a very immediate, concrete boy: if he cannot see the benefit of doing something, he’s not interested in it.

At the beginning of second grade, Zack tested at the entering first grade level in most areas. Now, near the end of second grade, he’s caught up only to where his classmates were at the beginning of the year. So, in a year, he made a year’s progress—just the wrong year. We have some formal testing planned at the school to make sure there aren’t any neurological dysfunctions at the root of his academic problems, but it seems most likely he’s simply not ready yet for third grade.

Since the school’s testing won’t start until next academic year, I’m having a full neuropsychological workup done for Zack this summer, to rule out (or identify) any learning disabilities or neurological disorders that might be preventing him from keeping up. My gut feeling, however, is that he’s simply suffering from a bad start, and is one of those boys who goes at his own pace in every single area of life. His stature is small, he lost his teeth late, he’s emotionally immature, and he’s overall exactly what one would expect from a younger boy. As far as I can tell, he’s not anything other than delayed, which means more time is all he needs. I’ll have to decide whether or not that means repeating second grade, but I don’t have to decide today.

Gardening

The kitchen no longer looks like a commercial nursery. For a while during the winter, every available surface was covered with flats of seedlings and supplies under the glare of grow lights. Now almost everything (except the house plants) is outside, either in pots or in the ground.

We added two French drains, new sprinklers, a flagstone walk from the garage gate to the patio, and a patio extension, too. Along the walk, around the trees, and beside the house we’ve made large flower planters and filled them with bulbs, seeds, kitchen-grown seedlings, and a few mature plants from local nurseries. The veggie garden is 16x20, and we’re growing carrots, lettuce, beans, corn, taters, peppers, and a half-dozen other things.

The trees are fully leafed out, the pear blossoms have come and gone, and the crepe myrtle blossoms are coming soon. Flowers are popping up everywhere. The vegetable garden is doing well, too. Since we’re all new to gardening, we enjoy walking around the house every day, watching to see what’s changed overnight. I imagine this thrill will fade over time. Zack often slips outside first thing in the morning to check the plants he’s especially fond of (mostly ones he’s planted himself, although he’s also interested in anything with blooms). Nick is less enthusiastic, and can be heard muttering, “No more plants!” under his breath, but that’s okay – I’m not expecting the boys to love gardening, but to learn from it. If they like it, too, that’s okay, but not required. They already have a much better appreciation of the variety of life, and are gaining an understanding of what it means to plan for something without immediate results. To a preteen, doing something in February that won’t bear fruit (pardon the expression) until May seems incomprehensible. I’m hoping that working with the garden will prepare them for future endeavors that don’t have an immediate payoff. If nothing else, it helps teach responsibility and faithfulness. It may also help teach them a better appreciation of beauty, especially the ephemeral forms.

To show off my new-found mastery of horticulture, I’ll tell you the kinds of flowers and trees that have been in bloom these past few weeks: White things, purple things, greenish-orange things, yellow things, pink things, and red things. I tried really hard to tag the plants, seeds, and seedlings as I put them into the ground, but a good 70-mph wind can do wonders at randomizing a garden, and I somehow never got around to labeling half of them anyway. Here’s a typical conversation from our daily walkabout:

“Oh, that’s pretty. What is it, Daddy?”

“A flower.”

“What kind of flower?”

“The pretty kind.”

“What’s its name?”

“Purple.”

Music

Nicky got a 3/4-size guitar for Christmas, and proudly tells everyone that he’s taking guitar lessons. Alas, the truth is that he wants to play guitar, but doesn’t want to do the work needed to play. As with any beginner, he finds the fingering awkward and difficult. Tuning is very frustrating for him. During practice sessions, he’ll stick with it for ten or twenty minutes at a time, then not be willing to play again for a couple of weeks.

I’m letting him just toy with the guitar for now, leaving the actual playing until he’s motivated. I don’t think forcing him to practice is the right thing for him at this point in his life. Instead, I’m encouraging him, and telling him that practice is the only way to get better.

Zack occasionally picks up the guitar and plucks a few notes, but isn’t that interested in making music. However, he’ll sing along with his favorite songs (as long as the music is loud enough that no one can hear him), and I got him a boxful of drum-type stuff for Christmas. He has things to bang, rattle, shake, bounce, and smack. He’s in heaven.

Each boy has developed a favorite song. Zack listens to his over and over, just the one song, for hours at a time. He falls asleep to it every night. Nicky has a favorite artist, and one particular song that he loves. If I play that song on the piano, he’ll come sit by me and even sing a little.

Health

Both boys had nasty lingering coughs and fevers throughout the winter. As soon as one got over it, the other one got reinfected and shared the germs with his brother. It kept going round and round. Fortunately, all of their illnesses were mild. Except for missing a bit of school, there were no repercussions. For the past several weeks, everyone’s been healthy, and I hope it stays that way.

Zack and Nick have become a bit sensitive to pollen, but they respond very well to allergy pills.

It’s been hard for me to play the piano, and almost impossible for me to play the guitar since before Christmas. During the fall last year, I developed significant pain in the finger joints of my right hand. Since the pain came and went, and seemed to get better after massage or warm bath, I figured I’d strained it somehow, and didn't worry too much. But as time went by, the pain became severe enough to keep me from doing household activities such as chopping food or carrying groceries. When it reached the point where I could no longer carry a coffee cup in that hand, and my fingers were curled all the time into a claw, I decided to see the doctor.

Have you ever had cortisone shots? They insert the needle directly into the joint. I’m still not sure whether the original pain was better than going through those shots. However, the shots did help quite a bit. My index finger and middle finger are near-normal. They twinge like arthritic joints do when the weather changes, but otherwise are just stiff. My thumb, however, did not fare so well. It’s still difficult for me to grasp anything that requires opening my hand very far.

I haven’t had the heart to unpack the recording studio (one of the rooms I mentioned that is still nothing but stacked boxes). While I’d have no problem twiddling knobs, I don’t think I’d be able to play well enough to record anything.

On the other hand (literally), the first two fingers are twinging. I suspect another round of cortisone isn't far in the future. Oh, joy. At least it's only pain, not true disability. I have good days every now and then, when I can play the piano for up to a half hour. The doctor was unable to offer a good reason for the problem, other than it's just one of those things that happen. The tendons swell and catch as they slide through their narrow tunnels. As long as the inflammation exists, any motion at all irritates things, and the inflammation continues. Either complete rest (as in a cast) or surgery are my only options if the problems persist.

Business

2007 was our best year ever in terms of sales. So far, 2008 is going strong. We’re very fortunate that I’m able to work out of the house, spend lots of time with the boys, and still be able to provide for the family.