Out of the blue, Lilly asked, “Can you give me Santa’s cell phone number so I can call him and tell him what I want.” We thought this was funny and cute, but it turns out it was all for Maeve’s benefit. She later confided in us that she’s had the whole story since the beginning of the year. This was a hard fact for Lisa to swallow and she dissolved into tears. Up they grow, yes.
In an unexpected turn of events (though not altogether surprising), Riley invited Lilly over to house for a play date. I’m already confused about this girl-friendship thing and we’re only on the 3rd grade! Coincidentally, Maeve was also invited on a play date at the house of her classmate Morgan.
Is the fact that you can’t protect them against everything. Both Lilly and Maeve were held back in Irish Dance this year. I didn’t pull a knee-jerk “not my kids” thing, but the communication from the school teachers was abysmal. This resulted in some back and forth trying to get the real criteria all the while trying to manage Lilly’s shame, humiliation, and hurt (Maeve didn’t really notice). Once we determined that the issue was memorizing steps rather than executing them, I was able to talk it through with Lilly and help her look at it as a chance to be a better dancer and to try to focus at all times.
At roughly the same time, Lilly has been experiencing painful BFF problems. Her best friends Riley and Sonja have been ignoring her, teasing her, and ditching her since school began. All I can tell her is that they don’t sound like real friends, that she’s a wonderful, worthwhile person, and that she should remember how much it hurts when she’s dealing with other people. And I try not to think about how much worse this is going to get over the next 10 years.
We collectively decided to compete in the Iowa Feis (Irish dance competition). Since it is held in Dubuque, just half an hour from Galena, we decided to spend the weekend with my Aunt and Uncle. We drove down Friday night and then left for Dubuque by 8:30 Saturday morning. It was chaos as usual, but not quite the madness of the much larger Madison Feis. Maeve placed second in her competition (there were only two competitors). Lilly did not place in Jig, but took third in the Reel which did much to boost her confidence and self-esteem. She seems quite fired up to go on to bigger and better things (and to win her solo dress — though we keep warning her that may take quite some time yet). After lunch and ride up the cable car, we headed back to Galena for some go-karting around the woods and hills of my Aunt and Uncle’s property. Both girls squealed with glee as I got them airborne over some deep ruts and careened down steep hills.
The first day of school has rolled around again. It was especially hard for Lisa since Maeve was off to kindergarten and we are now really and truly done with babies. I’m on to bigger and better things. Lisa is lamenting the end of a era. When I picked up the girls in the afternoon and asked how the first day was, Lilly proclaimed it “awesome.” I’m concerned that Maeve is taking Kindergarten a bit too much in stride. She seems very nonchalant about the whole thing. Two days later she offhandedly mentioned that some kid named Riley (“NOTÂ Sissy’s Riley”) is now her “BFF!”
Lilly had been buzzing about some store call Justice. All her friends had been there and apparently it was a must-see. I had no idea what I was in for though. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much pink or so many hearts in the same place ever. I got sensory overload in short order and plopped down in a corner and dutifully nodded my head as Lisa supervised the girls in the changing rooms. I did manage to find some totally girly bed canopies on closeout. At a buck-fifty a piece, it was a total when for me when I installed them as soon as we got home.
Day camp has ended. During this week before school starts the girls are being watched by the daughter of a friend of Lisa’s. Hannah is only 12, but seems mature beyond her years. And the girls adore her. Yesterday, Hannah also had to watch her little brother Max. (Max and Lilly have known each other all their lives — they started daycare together as babies.) Lisa thinks Maeve has a little crush on Max now. She’s been talking quite extensively about him ever since she got home.
Riding in the car the other day when, out of the blue, Maeve pipes up: “I’m Rock Obama and I prove this message.” Not to be outdone, Lilly followed up with, “I’m John McCain and I approve this message.”
We’ve been watching the Olympics quite a bit and Lilly is quite taken with the track and field events. A couple of times a day she asks if she can go out in the back yard and “run track.” She puts on her new track clothes and runs laps around the yard. Her form is pretty good (she doesn’t run like a girl!). Lisa has done some preliminary investigation about getting her in some sort of program.
We’ve been noticing a lot of fashion changes on the part of Maeve: the way she wears her headbands and barrets, how she pulls her shirts way down and layers them… When we mention these things, Lilly offers that it’s because the big-girl counselors at day camp do these things. The mere suggestion that she is emulating the “big” girls throws Maeve into a tizzy and she goes off in a pouty huff shouting “NOOOO.” Me thinks she doth protest too much.
While clapping and waving her hands in a circle: “Let’s all give a round of clause!”
On the drive back to Wisconsin, Lisa was playing with her new iPhone and asked me something about it. From the back seat, Maeve chimed in, “Momma, you don’t know a lot about iPhones… I do.”