A Star is Born!

Last night we went to a play about the continents to see Madison perform with the rest of the second graders from her school. It was another confirmation of what a phenomenal school and district our kids have the opportunity to be a part of. I am so glad that way back before we had children when we first started house hunting, I was already thinking about ensuring that they would go to excellent schools. Instead of the music teacher choosing a play with an already created script that anyone could use, these kids got to choose what they wanted to do a play about. The decided the theme would be the seven continents. This is a topic they have touched on all year in a variety of integrated ways. They were placed into small groups based on the continent they choose. Then together with their classroom teacher, music teacher and librarian, they researched it. Each child was responsible for coming up with their costume and the line that they said would say based on a fact that they had collected. I truly believe that the most learning takes place when a child takes ownership of it. That clearly happened with this wonderfully enriching experience. Not only did Madison learn about Australia, for weeks she came home telling us facts that she had learned about places all around the world. Her enthusiasm was amazing. I was impressed because she added to her line to make it sound more authentic. She really got into her part. Her teacher said she was a natural! I was so proud of my little girl!

Dayton Dragon's Game

Madison's school had a "Night at the Dragon's Game". So we decided to get a sitter for Mallory and take the two older girls to the game. I'm so glad we did! It was one of the most relaxing family activities that we've done in a long time. The last time I was at a Dragon's game, Madison was only about 6 months old. It had been a while. We settled in on a blanket in the lawn seats. It was a little overcast and a tad bit chilly, but all in all it was a beautiful evening. We did the night up in true baseball fashion. We were given free baseball hats and everyone wore their hat. We had hots dogs, peanuts and elephant ears. The girls got up and danced to all the songs and cheered for the Dragon's. Molly put on quite a show:) Madison enjoyed seeing some kids from school and both girls got a prize for wearing their John Hole Elementary t-shirts. Madison choose a baseball and Molly picked a baseball hat figurine. We made it to the 7Th inning stretch without a hitch. Everyone sang "Take me out the the ball game". It was so nice to just sit still in such a fun atmosphere and enjoy each other's company. It reminded me of when my grandparents took me to watch the Indians play the Orioles when I was 10. I'll never forget meeting Eddie Murray. We were introduced by some friends of my grandparents that knew him. He hit a home run and pointed up at us in the stands. After the game, he gave me the bat and an autographed picture. I still have the picture. The bat disappeared though. I wish I still had that bat. That was such a great experience for me. We'll definitely try to make it to a few games this summer. I'd love to take the girls to an Indian's game some time. In a year or two Mallory can join us too.

The Curse of the Chicken Pops!

On the Wednesday before Madison's first communion, she showed Duane a few "mosquito bits" that she had. He told her it was that time of year. The next evening after her shower she showed me how she had more mosquito bites". They looked like bug bites, but their location made me question it. So on Friday Duane took Madison to the doctors and sure enough it was chicken pox or "chicken pops" as Mallory liked to call them. We were all disappointed to say the least. We spend the afternoon canceling hotel rooms, the cake and food as well as calling everyone and telling them the news. Not to mention, helping Madison work through her disappointment and cheering her up. She ended up with a grand total of 14 spots. Molly had one. Both girls felt fine. No fevers or other symptoms. After warning the neighbors, I even let them play outside in the yard and took them for bike rides. I didn't think it was fair to keep them cooped up the entire weekend. The weather was great. We had lots of family movie nights and had a chance to relax. After all, the house was spotless and the garage and the yard were in great shape. For once, there wasn't much to do. I prayed for a week that our two huge dirt patches would fill in with grass before the party, that Kathy's knee's would miraculously be healed and that the weather would be nice. So God gave Madison chicken pox. Now we have grass in the dirt patches, Kathy is well on her way to recover and can make it for the first communion later this month. The last thing to come through it the weather. Sometimes God does answer our prayers. We just don't always realize it. The disappointment is long gone and we're back to preparation mode. Almost everyone can make May 31. The coordinator at church is working with us to make Madison's first communion very special for her. It's going to be extra special due to the fact that she'll be the only child making her first communion that day. We're really looking forward to it!

About the Author

Mother’s Day 2009 - by Duane Scott

It’s always been said that "a child needs a mother." Fortunately in most cases that happens quite automatically. Turns out it’s difficult to have one without the other, the latter bearing the brunt of the responsibility for a long, long time. Turns out though, unfortunately that in some cases motherhood really never goes very far beyond birth. This is a tragedy when this happens because if a child doesn’t have mom in their corner, life is going to be much harder to take on. When I met Amy when I was 18 and she was 15 (I know)…… I don’t remember exactly what I was thinking but it definitely wasn’t “Boy, I’ll bet she’d be a great mother!” Nope. I lucked out there in a very big way, and so did my three beautiful girls. She’s a planner. Starting with conception; seriously…..the decision was always made so that she could spend the maximum time with her new baby before going back to her classroom – another noble responsibility (don’t get me started). With the second and third this was complicated by how making the best decision for the newborn would effect the other(s). I have a feeling that the smallest, most mundane daily decisions are checked against what's best for the girls…..and all options are carefully weighed and a decision is made and carried out. The heart breaking part is that she doesn’t know it. She’s constantly second guessing her self, sometimes wondering if she’s a good mother at all. Then she devises a plan to remove any doubt and carries that out. Don’t get me wrong, I have input, but I don’t think my girls would suffer if I didn’t. As many people have recently, we have begun to study politics, and I can’t help but think that if our leaders approached government and caring for those they serve, putting them first, the way Amy does motherhood and our children, we would be far better off. So it goes that the most effective example that our kids see is the one that we set in raising them. I can only hope that one day these girls will realize what has been done for them. It’s not realistic for them to understand it now, but if they some how get a sense of what is good judgment in raising our grand children, I know a great deal of it will have come from their mother.

Duane Scott is the husband of Amy Scott and spends his days in awe of what she is capable of.