Thursday, March 13, 2008

Alarming (and not so alarming) Things

Yoga class was interesting on Tues. Our teacher had an emergency phone call halfway into class, and then bolted out the door. Apparently one of her dogs had attacked and killed the other. Which seems likely to cost her both dogs, since she has young children. At least I can't see trusting a dog that has attacked another child-sized mammal in a household with kids. The instructor the Y sent in to sub didn't know yoga at all, so we kind of muddled on through on our own, with one of the advanced students leading the class.

I haven't discussed yoga here much, but I've been going to classes for about a year now. After I tore a groin muscle at the Break-a-thon (my holder flinched), I found I had lost a lot of flexibility once it healed. Plus had I been more flexible to start with, I could well have not torn the muscle in the first place. So I set off to work on my flexibility. It's been working, too. When I started I couldn't touch my toes even when well warmed up - in fact I was a good six inches short. Now I can touch them anything past stone cold, and if I'm well and truly warm I can get my hands wrapped around them. Other joints have been a little slower to succumb. I still can't touch my hands behind my back (one coming from above and one from below), and I'm a very long way from getting a side split, but even there I'm improving and it's nice to see.

No karate for about nine days for me. Thursday we have literacy night at the school, and we always go, even though it feels a little silly to be trooping around to all the activities to improve our children's reading. Both of our children are reading well past grade level already. Really, we're not too worried about it. It's a similar feeling to the alarmist looking-ahead-to-college class for parents that the Gifted & Talented coordinator offered on Tuesday. I didn't go (I actually went to karate), but Rob did. He reported that they were going on and on about how much college would cost, and how difficult it would be to get into any college, let alone one you could afford. At the same time, they were saying that >30 on the ACT, or >1200 on the SAT, and you could pretty much count on full scholarships. Which would tend to be the opposite of alarming for us. While we are not our children, they definitely show our same aptitudes school and test-wise. And these score levels made both of us snort in disbelief. (Rob scored a 34 on the ACT and 1390 on the SAT. I didn't take the ACT, but scored a 1460 on the SAT.) Plus, you know, we opened college funds for each boy the year they were born - to you know, to pay for college?

I shouldn't complain, really. It's good that the school is concerned and offering information on things like literacy and how to fund college. It's just occassionally tiring to have this kind of alarm aimed at us, when we're pretty sure it's simply not necessary in our case.

Writing Update: (Short today, it's late, and I'm tired.)

Ghost Dancer - no motion, working on A Country for Children - except that I accidentally managed to delete the most recent file of ACfC and lost two days worth of typing, which I'm in process of recreating.

A Country for Children - see note above.
Previous Word Count: 14,849
Current Word Count: 17,027

So forward progress being made despite brain-dead losses of productivity. I've managed to introduce the character around whom the central plot-thread revolves (at long last), so we may even get to make her vanish shortly!

2 comments:

Elizabeth McClung said...

Ahhh, ANOTHER place I "posted" in my mind and yet come back to find that I did not post at all.

First, as a writer, love the justiposition of the idea and ethos of Yoga with the whammy of "dog attacked and killed the other" - And the whole, children and the other dog dying likely, I'd be frozen stiff thinking about it and going, "and I'm supposed be getting relaxed and stretchy here" - just, "Partner arrested for thier pot possession" would be a Yoga emerg call I am expecting, while dogs fighting to the death? Kind of blew me away.

See, again, "tore groin muscle" and the word, "Break-a-thon" and "holder flinched" brings SO many ideas to my head, like, "you were ripping off thier face with your leg?" Actually TOO many ideas which is why I am clearly NOT asking what a "break-a-thon" is though I assume it is martial art related and hopefully involves breaking things instead of doing the 17 death strikes and finding out how many bones you broke.

Well, last time I could touch my toes was sometime around puberty, and with Marfans' that isn't going to change (well, maybe I can touch with one arm, the scoliocis (sic) closer one). In my boxing class a just retired pro ballet dancer is doing the both hands and arms WAY Past her feet which is just, wrong, in that, if I can't do it then no one should kind of grade school mentality.

You sound like good parents, my parents, one summer trip said, half way through the trip that if I wanted any college help, we would have to go home now and that would couldn't see the grand canyon. I, at like 11 chose the grand canyon and true to thier word, I gots no help, BUT did see a big hole in the ground. So, personally, I think your plan of "help them get scholarships" AND "have a fund" seems WAY better. I will send picture of grand canyon.

Perpetual Beginner said...

Good to have you here again, Elizabeth.

The dog attack/yoga juxtiposition was rather strange. I don't think too much real stretching happened after the teacher went tearing out.

Your commentary on the ideas the Break-a-thon comment gave you had me giggling. If you want to actually find out, I had a post on it around August of 2006. Otherwise I won't spoil the pictures.

I know what you mean about some levels of flexibility just being wrong. Some of the Taekwondo people can get into positions that make my hindbrain go "Meep!" because the human body just shouldn't be able to do that.

As to college, my extended family views education as extraordinarily important. If we absolutely couldn't pay for Robbie and Aaron's college, my parents would. As it is, they're sticking money in the college funds regularly. If we're financially able, I want my kids to have the opporutinity my parents gave me - to be able to get the education for whatever career they wish, without being burdened with debt. Rob's parents couldn't do that for him (though they would have if they could), and it took us a decade to pay off his college loans.