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Chatting With Lexi: On Enrichment

what-to-do-when-your-bored-at-school_4My wife and I have been talking quite a bit lately about how challenging the school work has been/hasn’t been for Lexi. When she first started school it was a concern for us because she had shown aptitude for advanced processing and we wanted to make sure that school was sufficiently challenging her brain. Then, when we found out that she had ADHD we knew it would take a renewed effort to ensure that school was “tough enough” just to help her keep focus. But we’re still concerned.

When Lexi got her report card at the end of the school year that divide was still quite evident, with all of her strictly academic grades in the wonderful category while her behavioral grades are under the average. Why is that? We had a talk with her about it soon after the school year ended…

Me: So, Lexi, how come your grade in art is so low? You love art.

Lexi: I know, but I keep finishing early.

Me: And what happens when you finish early? Do you work on more art?

Lexi: No. I just go around and tell other kids how to fix theirs.

Me: You think what they’re doing is wrong?

Lexi: No. But I’m bored, and since I’m artist I wanted to help them.

Me: And what does the teacher say about that?

Lexi: She says I’m too loud and distracting others.

And therein lies the issue, in my opinion. Lexi more often than not finishes ahead of the other students, with significant time to spare, and then has to come up with things to do in order to fill her time. Most times, because she craves interaction with others, that means interrupting them while they’re trying to finish and getting in trouble for it. Simply put, she’s bored, and when Lexi’s bored she finds things to occupy herself, not all of which are good ideas.

Me: Did you stop going around and trying to help others?

Lexi: Well, yeah. I did, but then I got bored again so I started playing with the paints.

Me: Is that why you have a big spot of paint on your pants?

Lexi: Yeah. And the teacher said I wasn’t supposed to be doing that either.

Me: Did she tell you what you could do when you finished early?

Lexi: No. She just told me what I couldn’t do. Continue reading “Chatting With Lexi: On Enrichment”

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Crafting Poetry

I never had one of those old typewriters, but I sure wanted one, with its cartridge and ribbon, and its ability to make mistakes that couldn’t easily be erased. Instead I learned to type on an old school version of the Apple computer where the letters were huge and shaped like computer bytes, or what … Continue reading Crafting Poetry

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No Real Best Friends

As a society we tend to use friends like dinnerware. Some are good for parties, while others fit at sit-down dinners. Some are fancy for holidays while others are paper and plastic. And best friends, where have they gone? In a world where everyone is apparently your BFF, does that mean no one is your … Continue reading No Real Best Friends

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This Echo

There is joy In this echo And the silence That comes after So succinct Like gathering rain Searching for land Warm and distant There is laughter In the solitude That descends swift And as delicate As a puff of air Moving sideways To tickle your neck Such a fragile touch There is music On the … Continue reading This Echo

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Domo Obligato: The Gift and the Curse

christmas-present-1080p“You haven’t given me a gift; you’ve given me an obligation.” ~Sheldon Cooper

On December 21st of last year I got a package in the mail from a woman I haven’t spoken to in probably five years. For the first couple of years after we lost contact I sent her a gift for the holiday. I got nothing in return, not even an email with a “Thank You,” so I decided she had moved on. So I moved on. And then out of the blue, a few years later, she sends me a gift. My first thought was, “Damn, now I don’t have time to send her a gift in return.”

Obligations: we have many in this life. We have to pay our bills, to feed ourselves and our children, and to work so that we can afford those first two items. There are so many other obligations inherent in being an adult, but I’ll stop there. Except now I’ve been given one more, out of the blue. Sheldon was right. She hadn’t given me a gift. She had given me an obligation, and it came from completely out of the blue.

Don’t get me wrong, though. I loved her gift. It was very thoughtful, and it reminded me of why we had become friends in the first place. If she had sent it at some random time of year, and if it was just something she liked to do, I would have probably just smiled at it and moved on after sending her a “Thank You” card. But getting it at Christmas-time, and after so long a hiatus, it sat like a lead weight on my soul, begging me to reciprocate even though I didn’t have time left to do so. It gnawed at my brain, though, until I went out and purchased a suitable return gift, tossed in a “belated” card, and sent it off posthaste.

Then I finally exhaled. Continue reading “Domo Obligato: The Gift and the Curse”