Alex's Roller Coaster

Remember the struggle I was having with Alex? No energy; no initiative; lots of resistance to anything and everything; no input or effort regarding the near term future of his education; etc. Well, my old Alex has emerged.

Sunday evening, at our church's Youth Group meeting, the local (for us, local means about 40 minutes away by school bus) Catholic school principal paid a visit to promote a private, Catholic high school education. This is kinda EXACTLY what I've been talking at Alex about for the past two months, which he's been resisting with every fiber of his being. That one little talk did everything all my efforts failed in doing. He has become energized and excited about something. All the things about private school that were not good (uniforms, long commute, too much money, etc) that he was feeding me (and which I countered as not being real obstacles) are now minor inconveniences, or even positives ("Dad, I won't have to worry about what to wear if everyone is wearing a uniform!"--where have I heard that before).

Now, of course, deadlines are approaching for enrollment, but this has not deterred Alex. Where, before I couldn't get to him to even think about getting involved in the admissions process, he is now calling people in the community, asking for letters of reference. He is chomping at the bit to go to a shadow day (which we arranged for Monday) and to go to the admissions interview with the principal (also Monday). He has not even balked at taking the placement tests (which he despises more than broccoli).

I am so thrilled to see this change in him! I hope it lasts. He has even shown a renewed energy in homeschool stuff, with the prospect of attending SSPP (the Catholic School) next Fall.

As far as the rest of our lives, it's still incredibly busy around here. Earlier on Sunday, we had both sides of the family over to the house, to celebrate the January birthdays. That was fun. No arguments or even serious debates, which are difficult to avoid when we all get together. I tend to be a wee bit more conservative than my school-administrator FIL. And my mother and I also seem to have at least one major disagreement whenever we talk to each other.

Yesterday, we all went to the dentist. They lined up two hygienists to work on our family, in tandem. Of course, we also had other things to do at the same time. The dentist appt. was at 9; I had to get Tay and Bekah to their play-date ate Secret Garden at 10. We squeezed Tay and me in first, then I took Tay and Bekah (and Kearsyn came for the ride) to their playtime, while Vicki stayed to finish teeth-cleaning with the rest of the crew. They all got home just in time for lunch, then off to piano lessons for Tay, Kenz, and Connor. Tyler was in his typical mood, and wouldn't do his piano homework, so I made him stay home. I talked to his teacher, and said something's gotta be done differently, or Tyler's going to be pulled out of piano. Ray said he'd try some new things, starting next lesson, but I'm not going through this battle much longer. Tyler's young enough where he can start piano again in the future, if he decides he wants to.

Ok, I've spent long on this blog this morning. Gotta go and get folks moving. We missed a school day yesterday and I don't want to miss another one. It may snow enough for the sledding hill (yes the hill: there is only one for miles and miles) to be useful on Friday, so we may be taking Friday off, too. With this warm Winter, we have to make use of any snow we get before it melts, even it means taking off school.