I've been incredibly busy lately, between school and home and...okay that's it. School and home.
At school: We had auditions for the spring season. They're doing The Runner Stumbles, Medea and Bye Bye Birdie. I got called back for the Nurse and Medea in Medea, and Rose and Mae Peterson in Bye Bye Birdie. I was suprised to be called back for Rose - I never thought I'd have a shot at it. I think the auditions went well, too. But both Medea and Rose went to girls who are graduating this year, and they're both very good. Can't complain about those decisions. I was a little disappointed not to snag another lead, but I was cast as Mae Peterson, the obnoxious, overbearing mother in Birdie. It's a featured part, and a comedic one, which I haven't had a chance to do here yet, so it should be fun. Today I signed up to do my final crew assignment on Runner Stumbles, so I'll be done with that in early February. Yay! Right now, I'm just starting my third one - Prop Crew Chief for The Last Night of Ballyhoo. We have tech today and tomorrow, then dress rehearsals Mon - Thurs, and the show opens Friday. We're off Thanksgiving weekend, then have another run of shows the first weekend in Dec. Midterms went well, and I've registered for Spring classes. It seems almost impossible to believe, but I'm just about half-way through! Our next auditions will be for our thesis roles. Crazy.
At home: Scooby has continued to struggle with the amount of homework he's getting. He's got all A's, except for a B- in Social Studies, so he's keeping up, but the amount of time he's been putting into assignments is outrageous. We've tried to give him a quiet, consistent place to work, (although quiet is relative around here) and I've tried to be supportive and helpful while still allowing him to work through things on his own. But it was getting extremely frustrating for all of us. So I scheduled a conference with his teachers (four of them - math, science, English, and Social Studies) and the guidance counselor. We talked about his perfectionistic tendencies - how he'll get stuck on something and be absolutely UNABLE to move past it to something else, and his inability to start working on something until he has it completely worked out in his head. They told me they expect 20 - 30 minutes per subject, max. After that, whatever he didn't get done stays undone. If he doesn't get something, he's to circle it and ask his teacher about it the next day. Anticipating major freakouts when this policy was implemented...but it hasn't been that bad. We've stretched the 20 - 30 minutes several times, but he is spending less time than before. And he seems a little more relaxed about stuff. He likes me to make him a schedule, and he tries to stick to it the best he can. I think it's progress.
Tarzan and Cinderella are doing well. I finally had a conference with Tarzan's teacher, and he's getting all A's...they're working on trying to find ways to continue to stretch him. We also talked about his "sensitive heart" and how he takes to heart some of the admonishments given to a whole class or lunch table. We also called him over and asked him to talk about anything else that was bothering him in class, and he mentioned a boy who sits next to him and uses inappropriate language. He got all teary-eyed when the teacher asked him to repeat what he said, so she let him spell it. It was B-I-T-C-H (he spelled it right) and F-U...something. Kind of like fudge. Yikes. So the teacher's going to call the other kid's mom. Tarzan also has a yucky cough right now, but at least the mystery rash seems to be gone.
Cinderella is doing fine in school too. Math is excellent, she struggles with writing. Don't know where these kids came from. There's a girl down the street that has been coming over to play, and we're all struggling with whether this is a friendship we want to encourage. Cinderella doesn't really like this girl all that much, and the family situation is not good. Theyr'e really pretty stereotypical "trashy" family...smoke in the home, two pit-bulls, shirtless Dad, mullet-sporting kids...but the girl seems okay, and probably needs a friend. And I want them to develop friendships and play with kids other than each other...but. Why can't a nice, well-adjusted family live nearby? Oh, that's right, they did. Then they moved away.
Well, my dinner break is almost over and I have to make sure I pee before tech starts back up, so I'll sign off for now. Hope to see much of the family over Thanksgiving break in DC! I'm ready for a break!!!
