ABC Thursdays: volumes I & G

Isaac
Isaac is 2. He spends his days home with me mostly playing trains. He could, and does, play trains for hours. He builds little tracks, elevating part of track with blocks, and lays on his tummy watching the wheels of the trains move smoothly along the tracks. Sometimes he pretends to talk to Sir Topham Hatt on the phone, using the computer’s mouse as a phone. He and Sir Topham Hatt talk about cake as Isaac uses a bowl and spoon to pretend to make one. On the playground I find it hard to keep up with Isaac and everyday, when I make it home with him in one piece, I declare victory and make myself some tea. Isaac loves bananas and avocados. He goes to bed at 7 and is up again at 7 to help me get Andrew off to school. Isaac is probably the most adorable thing I have ever laid eyes on. I am always shaking my head, either in disbelief about how stinkin’ cute he is, or in disbelief about how stinkin’ frustrating he can be.

Identity
When I go to Andrew’s school to pick him up, or go to an event, or to meet with someone, I still identify as a teacher. I walk through the halls thinking, “I used to do this! I used to do this!” When his teacher tells me about what’s going on in the classroom, I still relate to the teacher more than I do to Andrew. So, the other day, when the principal introduced me as “one of our Special Needs parents” I felt a little surprised. I mean, obviously I identify strongly as a Special Needs parent…so many of the entries in this book are about just that… but it still took me off guard. I think it stood out to me because it showed me that some people have only known me as a Special Needs parent… even though it still feels a little new to me. I guess I must seem like a natural.




Glee
Glee is brilliant. It’s feel-good TV at it’s best. The plot line is dramatic and engaging, the music is fantastic (I’ve bought several CDs on iTunes), but it’s the characters that make the show. My favorite character is Rachel. There is so much I can identify with in Rachel. And I love hearing her sing. Watching Glee has been good for me. It’s made me rethink the parts of high school that I didn’t like and it’s made me feel better about a future with two teenage sons. I think I think differently about teenagers altogether from watching Glee. Now, if only I could get Dave to watch with me. But when Dave said, “it’s like they took all the things I don’t like about TV and put them into one show!” I realized I might be fighting a losing battle with that one.

Green
I love the green movement. I’m all for it. I love recycling, buying things locally, trying to reduce how much trash we make and energy we use. And, I’m pretty good at it. We use cloth diapers, have a paper free kitchen, belong to our local CSA and when we bought our third (!) air conditioning unit this summer, I felt appropriately guilty about the energy use and pollution. I think I like the green movement because it makes me feel empowered about the future. It makes me feel hopeful about the quality of life we can have as we age, and the quality of life that our children can have with their children. It just feels like the right thing to do. Plain and simple.

Growing Up
I am 33 years old and for the first time in my life, I feel my age.