E-The Kids

Molly got her report card last week and it told us pretty much exactly what we already know. Molly is a sweet and gentle girl, who is thoughtful of others and fun to be around. She doesn’t struggle with school but she also doesn’t immediately grasp new concepts that are being taught. Molly learns well though with time and repetition. She has lots of friends and is a pleasure to be around.

Finley is quite different than Molly. She too can be thoughtful and sweet, but is not nearly as gentle. She has a more independent streak that can almost seem quirky. She has started numerous collections of things, often for no apparent reason. She is very quick to pick up on concepts and has a great memory for many things. For the most part she isn’t concerned about what others think and makes a lot of decisions based on her gut instincts.

Both girls love to cuddle and hug. They love their bedtime stories almost as much as they love stalling at night. They now share a room with two loft beds and it is pretty hard to get them to stop talking. Molly has an especially hard time falling asleep at night and nothing makes her happier than to have a partner to share in her insomnia.

I took Molly to her soccer game today and the bribery seems to be sort of almost working. The thing is, everything I mentioned about Molly above…about her being gentle, sweet, cooperative, friendly etc…… is innate to her…and of course has been reinforced by us. Unfortunately, these are not the traits that make for the best soccer player. In fact, they make for a very passive, non-confrontational little girl who is quite happy to have the other team go by her unimpeded and score over and over again. Let’s just say Molly doesn’t yet quite grasp the nature of competition and sport. I find it a bit difficult to watch and also hard to relate to in a way that could help me teach her what she needs. From my earliest memory I recall having a level of desire to compete that was much higher than any skill I possessed. Because competing always came so naturally, I can’t really understand how to teach this to someone else. Having said that, Molly seems happy enough to go out in the cold December rain and run on a muddy field, so that is a great start. Perhaps with time the penny will drop. In the mean time I have started to bribe Molly. If she keeps running after the ball, instead of standing in one spot, and does it all game, she will get to go to McDonald’s afterwards. Every few minutes today, she would look over and give me a thumbs up to seek reassurance that she was on the McDonald’s track. Sure enough she was, and we ended the afternoon with a chicken wrap and hot fudge sundae.

The girls are getting excited about Christmas. The season started with the Bright Nights celebration in Stanley Park for the Christmas lights (a few of which I had put up on a volunteer day), hot chocolate and train ride. We also all went to the Echo Memoirs staff Christmas party before I had to take off early to make my basketball playoffs at Vancouver College. We have 4 more events over the next couple of weeks before things finally slow down for Christmas.