Are We Doing Too Much?

This week I am finally beginning to feel like I know where I am and what lies ahead. I still feel a bit frantic, particularly trying to find time between kids-times to do my own things, like this blog, my writing pursuits, and the various web and graphic design jobs I'm working on (not that I mind; I'm extremely grateful for these small jobs, at the moment). But at least I don't feel so much like I'm scrambling, anymore.

Swimming
Today we went for our first family swim at a rec centre in town.

Last spring both kids took lessons there, but Tal was totally unimpressed by the lessons, which required him to be out of the water after only 1/2 an hour, and in the end he felt badly that there was a skill he hadn't "passed" (assisted float), so he would have to repeat the session. More reasons I don't like grading my kids. Over the summer he more than mastered the assisted float (and nearly the unassisted float) all of his own volition, all by playing in our plastic pool, and at the beach.

Rhiannon would have liked to take swimming lessons again, because she likes to be with those other children. But I decided that the $150 I would spend on lessons (lots more to join them in the pool, after) was much better spent taking us all for a 2-hour-long swim, instead.

So today we went, spent only 10$ for all of us, and swam our hearts out for nearly two hours. Rhiannon even found 3 similarly-aged kids to play with (approaching them all with a big grin and "wiw you like to play wif me?" The children learned more in their swim today than in the entire set of 10 lessons, last time, and we left feeling happy.

Circus
I'm getting a little disenchanted with circus school, quite frankly. We got there just as the teacher was pulling everyone in for the beginning-of-class-circle (late because we got stuck behind an entire preschool class waiting to use the toilets, downstairs!), and Tal was afraid to walk up and sit down in the circle, alone. So I walked him. Now I must tell you: this is the same wonderful teacher he's had and loved for two classes, already. Today is actually technically the first day of the "real" homeschool circus class; the last two weeks were an introductory class, but other than one new child, the students, teachers, time, and class setup are the same. And so there we came to the circle, I just about to let go of Tal's hand for him to sit down, and the teacher said, "are you here for the parent and tot class"? Uh. No. Not really? Did he not remember us? I politely said that no, I was just bringing Taliesin to sit down, and he would continue the same class he'd been taking the previous two weeks. The teacher recovered and continued, but I felt a bit perturbed.

Tal said he enjoyed himself, but all of the kids seem to spend a lot of the 1.5 hours sitting around doing nothing. For insurance reasons, they can't do much other than juggle without direct teacher supervision, so while one teacher is (for example) helping one child on the trapeze, and another is helping a couple of kids on unicycles, three or four kids sit for 10 - 15 minutes at a time doing absolutely nothing. Waiting. Finally Tal asked to use the aerial silks while he waited out the remaining 30 minutes of the class (he was too small for the unicycles and didn't want to do any more trapeze, today), and for insurance reasons was allowed only to use the silk that was so low he touched the ground when he stood in it. He made the best of the situation, and entertained himself, while watching the kids with more permissions hang from the waist-level silks, beside him. I do understand the safety issues involved. But it was kind of unfortunate, and for the effort we expend getting to the course every week it would be nice to feel like we couldn't do better at home.

So that's what I'm thinking. When my studio is built and the giant paper cabinet is out of our hallway, I will hang up some silks, a trapeze, and the rings, and put all the kids' juggling gear in the corner, and we'll have our own little circus room, here. They both love it so much. And we can then join a different class where he actually might socialize with the other children and/or get some attention from the teachers.

Well, though... we must remember: This is a Pisces moon, and I'm bound to feel more critical and less certain about anything, right now. Pisces full moon in Libra. Wow. Probably not a good time for decision-making, hey?

Now off for my Mama's ballet class and late night at the bar with the rest of the "Tequilarinas".

10 pm Update
Of course, as Leah points out, it was actually technically already an Aries moon by the time I wrote this (as of 12:45, today)... but I find, for myself, anyway, that there is a bit of lag. I'm starting to feel the effects of Aries, by now, though. That means I'm still emotional, but now with great spontaneity and potential for rash decisions and knee-jerk solutions: I nearly cut my hair off, but have decided to get somebody professional to do it in town, since tomorrow I am going to have 2 hours to kill between doctors' appointments. Report to follow.

I didn't go to the bar with the rest of the ballet class, since I was, at the time, planning to go home and cut my hair. So now I think I'll compensate with some dark (dark dark) chocolate and some Jack Daniels with Markus. I get the chocolat to myself, because Markus says it has too much chocolate in it (how can that BE?!).