Mid-Summer Fun and Folly

Last week was arts fest, the closing day of the first 3 week session of Arts for Youth. Another wonderful time - Shara was thrilled to have the lead role as Freckleface Strawberry in the play of the same name. We don't have so much artwork to put away this year because everything was performing - acting, singing, etc. Here are highlights.



The first performance is from Shara's class
And I don't know what other ones she's in, but here are all the videos so far:
https://www.youtube.com/user/duckgreene/videos

After ArtsFest, Shara and I got packed up and went to Aunt Jill & Uncle Andy's for a weekend celebration of Bubbe's birthday. We had a great time  - Friday night we settled in and Shara had no trouble going to sleep in Samantha's bed. I hung out with Jill and chatted and finally went to sleep around midnight'ish. The next morning we picked up Bubbe to go to Syracuse where Pastabilities is located. Bubbe saw it on Diners Drive-ins and Dives and wanted to go for her birthday, so we did. We had so much fun and also made a stop at Wegmans to finish our tour. Once back home, Jill, Shara & I went for a walk to the Country Drive-In for ice cream. It was quite a walk - always worse when I can't tell how far we have to go, but it was fun. Then for the way back home, Uncle Andy dropped us off at the street just after the busy one we didn't want to talk on. Then another late night! Brunch was scheduled for the next morning at Cracker Barrel. Papa wanted to take us all out for breakfast and another lovely time with family. It really makes a difference spending the extra night. Normally we just breeze in and out but this was much more relaxing.

Monday was the start of the 2nd AFY session. It's going very well and again, Shara's most interested in the performing arts. The past few nights we've been staying cool by going in the pool and tonight Alan joined us for family night. Shara wanted to jump in and so she did! She started gradually by sliding off the side, then jumping holding my hands, then my fingers, then 1 finger, then just in. Then she was having a ball jumping in and going underwater. It was a lot of fun swimming around with her and playing underwater games. She and Alan also made salt & vinegar potato chips before dinner. They're done in the microwave. Shara had seen the recipe online a while ago and finally made them tonight. They had fun and the chips were really good!

Baseball

Last night a friend who used to be a little league coach couldn't help but give Shara pointers on batting, catching and throwing. We had a good half hour before being chased away by the hordes of mosquitoes on that rainy evening. It was great because she listened to him and he knew how to give her direction in a way she would understand and respect. He told her how to hold her arms in terms of geometry. She commented that it was more of an isosceles triangle than a right triangle, but we're not going to quibble, right? I was really happy because I miss playing sports. Until recently I stopped thinking about how much sports was a part of my growing up and want Shara to have good experiences and learn to appreciate the benefits too. Even if she never wants to play on a team, she should have the skills and be able to make the choice for the right reasons, not just because she thinks, "I don't like sports". That's something I tend to say but when I get away from that rote response, I have to admit that I actually like sports a lot. Playing and watching, if not by myself. Maybe this will be an activity we could enjoy together. Branch out from mini golf and bowling.

Holiday Weekend

July 4th was another terrific holiday this year. We helped out at church for the annual Fourth of July Bridgewater arts and music festival. We had the concession stand and Shara worked running orders to the grill, personing the baked goods table and also as an order taker. She always impresses me that she can work just as good and sometimes even better than the adults.

Again we came together and put on a fine fundraiser for First Parish. We talked with so many lovely members of the...
Posted by First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church Bridgewater, MA on Saturday, July 4, 2015

It was too bad that not many family members could come to Shara's dance recital but we did have Aunt Jill all to ourselves, which was quite a treat! We'll get the DVD at the beginning of next dance year. She's planning on continuing with Hip Hop and adding Ballet back into the mix.

There were several photos I posted about our Spring happenings. Among the highlights was Shara's birthday. Another activity I didn't have much input into. She planned what she wanted to have and all I did was send out the invitations (very late mind you) and order the pizza. I also made the cake, but Shara designed it and would have done most of the work had it not been for an unexpected homework assignment.

The other big news was the awards she won at school. First she was voted as one of the two Citizens of the Year by her classmates and the other was The President's Award for Educational Excellence — Students are to earn a grade point average of 90 on a 100 point scale and High achievement in reading or math on state tests or nationally-normed tests. Obviously we're very proud of all her hard work and she takes all the credit. Other than asking if she finished her homework, she handles almost all of it on her own.

Shara's also been adapting very well to her parents "divorce". She seems rather unfazed by it all and happy that we're dating others and are happy as well. We all get along great, maybe better and have our weekly family night - usually playing Apples to Apples while having dinner or possibly dinner and a movie. Alan comes by almost daily and it's all very comfortable and low-key.

Shara's Spring 2015