a couple things about me and some updates

Well hell, I've been kind of half-thinking of this "8 things" thing for a few weeks now and it's time to just let it go. I am going to write as many things as I can think of, and that will be that. This would be easier if I didn't include so much trivia about myself in my regular posts (I'm afraid of escalators, I stay up all night watching Lost...)

So.

1. I have a tattoo. Working with college students as I do, I know that tattoos are quite commonplace now. (I'd say that 50% of the student employees in our office have tattoos- many have a big one across their lower backs.)

But when I got mine, back in 1990, the summer before I turned 21, it was still a somewhat unusual thing to do. (That sounds kind of like a lame plea to be considered a rebel!)
A girlfriend and I cooked up this idea and didn't tell anyone. She has the same string of flowers running up her ankle- her flower petals are blue and mine are yellow.

That same summer this friend and I took a road trip to Ocean City, MD. We stayed in a teeny tiny house for a week with some other friends who were working there for the summer. We met surfer guys with dreadlocks and worked on our tans (probably the only time I actually got a tan). I was reading No One Here Gets Out Alive, about Jim Morrison, and we listened to a lot of Janis Joplin in the car. I guess you could say it was kind of a flower child summer for us- 25 years too late.

Funny how many details I remember about that summer- I think I knew at the time that it was kind of the last summer I would have free. When I got back to school in the fall I got a parttime job (at a daycare center) and worked and went to school in the following summers.

I bet I haven't seen my tattoo friend since our 10-year high school reunion (9 years ago)! We exchange Christmas cards and the occasional e-mail. But hopefully she still smiles when she stops to think about her tattoo. (Or maybe she has had it removed!!! I'll have to ask her!)

2. I played the violin from elementary school through, I think, 10th grade? I stopped playing at some point during high school because orchestra class conflicted with newspaper or yearbook class, and I cared more about those. Like many things in my life, I look back and wish I would have put more effort into the violin- I hardly ever practiced. But I do feel that it gave me an appreciation for classical music that I would not have gained otherwise.

During Bill's end-of-season basketball pizza party this year, the boys and I explored the school a bit (not the same elementary school Henry attends). We discovered that the stage was set up for an orchestra or band performance- with chairs and music stands. I described to the boys what that's like: you get dressed up and your mom and dad are out in the audience waiting to see you. You sit down with your instrument, and get your music all ready. Then these curtains open up and you start playing music! For everyone to hear!
They both seemed fascinated- especially Henry. So I hope that he will learn to play a musical instrument someday.

3. I was a precocious reader in elementary school and read Gone With the Wind in 6th grade. A friend had read it first and then loaned it to me. We went on to watch the movie and collect some memorabilia. I remember my 6th grade teacher saying "maybe you'll want to read it again when you're older. You might get more out of it."
Now that I'm an adult and read children's literature (our friend with the lightning-bolt scar) I guess I've come full circle.
So, there- 3 tidbits about me.
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I wanted to update about Henry's gymnastics class, with some photos:
There he is, right in front of the instructor, doing just what she is doing.

Here, he is ready to swing out over the "pit" of foam blocks. The other kids hold on and swing back and forth before dropping. Henry does not grip the trapeze at all- once he dropped straight down onto the floor.

Walking backwards on the low balance beam.

I have to update, also, on the other boys in the class. They had all improved so much in 2 weeks (we missed a week because of vacation.) I mentioned that to the one boy's aide, and she replied that he usually has an extra-hard time when something is new, which makes perfect sense.

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Tommy said something cute on vacation: he was in my room with me while I was getting dressed. I opened my drawer and started shuffling through my shirts. "Wear that one," he said, indicating a particular, melon-colored striped polo shirt from American Eagle (hand-me-down from my teenager).

"OK," I said "I'll wear this one."

"Good," he replied "you look very handsome in that shirt."

Do you think that kid hears a lot of compliments?!