02 December 2010

golden child goes bad



I enrolled Young One in a couple of after-school activities, which is probably the reason for the back-to-school groove suffering.  We were in full-on summer relax mode, and BAM. . . alarm clocks and scheduled activities took us out.  She continues once a week with a lesson at the pool she visited with the asilo for three years.  She's in a small group with a few of the kids from the asilo that she would likely rarely see otherwise.  She likes that.  We all like it.  I chat with the other moms from the comfort of a bar with a wall of windows up above as we observe our little fish below.  I don't care for the scramble for showers or the wait that results when I don't scramble or the steam bath I receive as I supervise my little naked fish in the locker room after the lesson, but there's not much to do about that. I would not dare simply allow her to change and head for home sans shower.  And then there is the drying of the hair . . . a must.  I try to blend in and "do as the Vicentini" as much as I can -- no way would it ever be okay to exit with a damp head.

The lessons are going well.  It's all just for fun, really.  I'm not in the business of training an athlete.



Just because I like to torture myself, I also enrolled her in a gymnastics class near our house that takes place twice a week.  I invited myself into the gym during the first week to watch a lesson:  it's part yoga, part agility drills, part gross motor skills, part obstacle course, part breathing exercise, part aerobic activity.  I like it a lot, too.


Unlike the grand view that we are offered at the pool, the gymnastics lessons take place in a middle school gym behind a closed door.  The only access that we have to the action is from the windows above. I feel much like a regular Peeping Tom up there.  We both noticed that after a few weeks into the lessons that our golden child was behaving like the problem child.  (Gasp! I know, I know.  Little Miss Sunshine does have a not-so-pretty side to her at times.)  While the other kids were listening patiently to the instructor, she was doing cart wheels or skipping or climbing the wall or otherwise being off task and obnoxious on the other side of the gym -- not once, not twice. . . Every. Single. Time. Twice Richard arrived to find her getting special first aid attention.  She's needy like that.



Enough was enough and finally we stuck it to her: "Clean up your act, Sister, or no more ginnastica for you."  She sheepishly told us that she "forgets" to be a good girl because "it's so hard."  (Huh?  There are children starving in Africa.  Let me tell you about "hard" Little Miss Silver Spoon. Gymnastics is a privilege, not a right. And I'm taking away your dolls and your scooter AND Dorina is not cleaning your room. You'll be lucky if you ever play outside again. I brought you into this world, I can take you out.  I'll show you hard, Lil' Missy.)  She swears she loves the classes.

Richard even enlisted the help of Silvia, the coach, who intially played it off as Young One being one of those kinds of kids who needs to be moving at all times. I see it as she's one of those kinds of kids who doesn't respect others. Breathe deeply. Neither Richard nor I has a whole lot of tolerance for that. I know she can sit still. I know she can actively listen.  She's just being an impossible turd. After a talk with the instructor and mutiple threats talks at the dinner table or in the car or in the bed or in the tub, her day of reckoning arrived. 

She redeemed herself.
Not much more to say about it execept that . . .
the kid was quite proud of her moment of redemption.
And that's a good thing.

 
Ginnastica continues.
(For the time being.)

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6 comments:

  1. I am laughing and crying at the same time which almost seems impossible, but I am. I know this story way to well. I have even used those words with my children that I brought them into this world I can take you out. It is a mystery why they behave so badly when they love the activity. When I have questioned my boys do they want to stop the activity they always answer, "No, please no we love it." Then my question is why do you behave so badly, but they don't have any answer for that. Good Luck!

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  2. Thanks for stopping by the Blog Soup post and sharing your thoughts! I guess the fresh and interesting was more a rhetorical question :) There's no way we can really know if it's fresh and interesting to others, unless you want to use the number of comments/readers as indication, but I think that's up for debate too! A lot of the blogs I find very interesting have very few comments in the grand scheme of things!

    Anyways, back to your Golden Child, I think it's great that she gets to do so many activities! I did not of the "physical stuff" as a kid, and I'm paying for it dearly now because I'm soooo lazy when it comes to exercise! Hopefully, she learned her lesson and will be a better student in the future :) BTW -Love the "peeping tom" shot from the window! Great perspective, though I know it wasn't exactly intentional!

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  3. Kelleyn: Of course, it's all in jest. I try not to overreact in front of her, but we did warn her over and over that if her behavior didn't improve then she would have to "take a break" from the activity. She's much better now.

    Maddy: nice to see you here. It's so hard to know, isn't it. I think I'm done trying to figure it out. I blog for selfish reasons, mostly bc it's an outlet for me.

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  4. Isn't it odd how in Italian swimming pools (all the ones I know about at least) you take a shower after, but are not required to shower before? Or do people shower after precisely because nobody showers before?
    Anyhow, seems to me that golden child trying to test out the rules is normal behavior, as is your reaction.

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  5. So well put, parenting is a lesson in itself full of ups and downs like this one. Take Care.

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  6. This totally cracks me up! So much like my daughter! I'm loving your blog and how I can relate in sooooo many ways!

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