*
Tomorrow we are heading up to Maine. It is Amy's birthday on Monday so we are going up for the weekend partially to celebrate her birthday, but also to visit with Kari, and our sons-in-law and most importantly for us, our grandson.
It is also an opportunity for Shy to visit with her sisters. Those are adopted sisters. Our biological children. Shy asked if she could have play dates with her brothers (biological). We sent a message to the adoptive parents we have contact with, but unfortunately, it looks like that won't happen. Shy has not seen her two oldest biological brothers in over a year. She has seen the other two (one a year older and one three years older) a couple of times since we moved to Cape Cod.
One of them lives in Portland, Maine and is unable to get to the area we will be visiting. We do drive through Portland, but we don't want to limit our visit and leave our grandson earlier than we have to, so that is not looking great. The other adoptive parent we have not heard back from. They live very close to where we are visiting, so a little play time and visit with him is certainly doable.
So, this all begs the question. Does Shy really want to have a play date with her "brothers" because she feels the biological connection to them? or is it more likely that she just likes to have play dates and these are a couple of boys that she can have a play date with and are the only ones she knows close to her age up there in Maine? Those are not the only questions.
What about the questions for DW and I. Is this becoming less and less of a priority for us now that all 5 of the children have been adopted. The parents of the two older boys seem to want to have absolutely nothing to do with the three younger ones. Are we heading that way? If so, I am not sure why. Of course we want Shy to be able to visit with her brothers if that is what she wants, but.....Is there something in the back of my mind that is afraid of losing Shy to her biological family when she gets older? The less she sees them now, is that less likely or more likely to happen?
How important is it for a 6 year old to maintain a bond with her biological family? Does it become less important or more important as time moves on? Will not seeing them often make her want to see them more. (You know the old "absence makes the heart grow fonder" thing). Will seeing them less make her more likely to forget them? Will that cause a more serious desire to "find" them when she reaches 18? or 21"?
Well, I guess with everything, all kids are different. All DW and I can do is hang on for the ride and see where it takes us. For those of you older folks that remember, this foster care/adoption is definitely an "E-Ticket" ride. (for you younger folks, this does not refer to an airlines "electronic" ticket" )
*
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Growing.....Two Ways!!
*
And I don't mean height and width......
Today is a visit with Shy's play therapist. She has been making real good progress and we are very happy with the way she has been handling things. She is a bit of a drama queen at times, and she does still have problems controlling her temper at times, but for the most part, she is a much improved version every day. In the last two weeks since her last visit to the therapist, I think I can't even take up a full hand counting the number of outbursts she has had.
She also has been eating quite well lately. There has been less complaints about the food we have and much more eating of what we put in front of her. At least at dinner. Yesterday she had a pretty good amount of spaghetti and then an hour or so later she wanted a bowl of cereal. She actually made it for herself.........We were in the living room and she asked if she could have some cocoa puffs since she was still hungry. We said OK, thinking that she was going to do her usual of pouring a few into a small Tupperware container and eating them by hand.
After a little while, DW looked at me and said: "What do you think she is doing?"
I decided to go check it out. She had a bowl of cereal in front of her. It was a pretty good size bowl and there was an empty carton of milk next to her. I asked her if she finished the milk and she said she had. Then she said:
"Actually, I used a little more milk than I needed, so I used this (holding up a straw from a drink box) and sucked up the extra out of the bowl"..........How resourceful of her....anyway
She didn't finish the bowl of cereal, but she ate quite a bit. So we certainly think she is going through one of those growth spurts that kids go through on occasion. It seems like she gets taller by the minute. Now her biological mother was not REAL tall, but I think she was certainly taller than average. Her biological father on the other hand was not a tall man at all. I would put him at about 5'7" or so. In any event.....
Shyanne is certainly growing both physically and emotionally, and that is something worth writing about!!
*
And I don't mean height and width......
Today is a visit with Shy's play therapist. She has been making real good progress and we are very happy with the way she has been handling things. She is a bit of a drama queen at times, and she does still have problems controlling her temper at times, but for the most part, she is a much improved version every day. In the last two weeks since her last visit to the therapist, I think I can't even take up a full hand counting the number of outbursts she has had.
She also has been eating quite well lately. There has been less complaints about the food we have and much more eating of what we put in front of her. At least at dinner. Yesterday she had a pretty good amount of spaghetti and then an hour or so later she wanted a bowl of cereal. She actually made it for herself.........We were in the living room and she asked if she could have some cocoa puffs since she was still hungry. We said OK, thinking that she was going to do her usual of pouring a few into a small Tupperware container and eating them by hand.
After a little while, DW looked at me and said: "What do you think she is doing?"
I decided to go check it out. She had a bowl of cereal in front of her. It was a pretty good size bowl and there was an empty carton of milk next to her. I asked her if she finished the milk and she said she had. Then she said:
"Actually, I used a little more milk than I needed, so I used this (holding up a straw from a drink box) and sucked up the extra out of the bowl"..........How resourceful of her....anyway
She didn't finish the bowl of cereal, but she ate quite a bit. So we certainly think she is going through one of those growth spurts that kids go through on occasion. It seems like she gets taller by the minute. Now her biological mother was not REAL tall, but I think she was certainly taller than average. Her biological father on the other hand was not a tall man at all. I would put him at about 5'7" or so. In any event.....
Shyanne is certainly growing both physically and emotionally, and that is something worth writing about!!
*
Monday, March 19, 2012
Emergency Room Visit
*
It was Shyanne's first. She had never been to the hospital for herself before, and she was not happy about this trip.
She was at the neighbors house playing outside. The kids decided to ride on the scooters that the neighbors have. Unfortunately, Shyanne did not bother to come home to get her helmet. She knows she is supposed to wear her helmet when she gets on a bike or a scooter, but I guess the temptation was just too great, and she felt like she had never fallen before, so........
She fell and had quite a bump on her forehead. When she came home crying, I was downstairs working on the tables for her trains. DW called me from upstairs and said "Come on Todd, time for an emergency room visit."
So off we went. First, we had to decide which hospital was closer. Where we live, it could be either one of the two hospitals on Cape Cod. So, we chose one and headed that way. About 2/3 of the way there, I thought maybe we had chosen the wrong one, but at this point, I am still not sure which one is closer. I will be finding that out today.
Good advice: When you move somewhere new, and it isn't obvious which hospital is closer to you. FIND OUT. You never know when you are going to need one.
Anyway, Shyanne was more concerned about going to the hospital then she was about her head. She kept saying how scared she was and that she had never been to a hospital before. Most of our calming of her had to do with the hospital and not with the injury. Although it did look pretty nasty and was about the size of a golf ball, although it didn't quite stick out that far....thankfully...
As it turned out, this was a great visit for her first. They were very nice to her, they took her quite quickly and they did very little to her. They looked in her eyes, and checked her balance and just generally watched her for a while. After about an hour, they determined that there was really no need to do anything else. The worst she might have would be a minor concussion, and the doctor really didn't believe that to be the case anyway.
He didn't think that he would gain anything from a Cat Scan that was worth the radiation it would use, and after about an hour and a half, we were on our way. There were no shots, They didn't do anything to hurt her, and mommy and daddy were with her the whole time.
So Shyanne learned two very good lessons yesterday:
1. When mommy and Daddy tell her to wear her helmet, they know
what they are talking about...and
2. A hospital visit is not the worst thing in the world, and the people
there are quite nice and take good care of you.
Two good life lessons for a not too bad injury. I would rather Shyanne never have an injury like that , but if she has to, at least she got some good lessons from it.
*
It was Shyanne's first. She had never been to the hospital for herself before, and she was not happy about this trip.
She was at the neighbors house playing outside. The kids decided to ride on the scooters that the neighbors have. Unfortunately, Shyanne did not bother to come home to get her helmet. She knows she is supposed to wear her helmet when she gets on a bike or a scooter, but I guess the temptation was just too great, and she felt like she had never fallen before, so........
She fell and had quite a bump on her forehead. When she came home crying, I was downstairs working on the tables for her trains. DW called me from upstairs and said "Come on Todd, time for an emergency room visit."
So off we went. First, we had to decide which hospital was closer. Where we live, it could be either one of the two hospitals on Cape Cod. So, we chose one and headed that way. About 2/3 of the way there, I thought maybe we had chosen the wrong one, but at this point, I am still not sure which one is closer. I will be finding that out today.
Good advice: When you move somewhere new, and it isn't obvious which hospital is closer to you. FIND OUT. You never know when you are going to need one.
Anyway, Shyanne was more concerned about going to the hospital then she was about her head. She kept saying how scared she was and that she had never been to a hospital before. Most of our calming of her had to do with the hospital and not with the injury. Although it did look pretty nasty and was about the size of a golf ball, although it didn't quite stick out that far....thankfully...
As it turned out, this was a great visit for her first. They were very nice to her, they took her quite quickly and they did very little to her. They looked in her eyes, and checked her balance and just generally watched her for a while. After about an hour, they determined that there was really no need to do anything else. The worst she might have would be a minor concussion, and the doctor really didn't believe that to be the case anyway.
He didn't think that he would gain anything from a Cat Scan that was worth the radiation it would use, and after about an hour and a half, we were on our way. There were no shots, They didn't do anything to hurt her, and mommy and daddy were with her the whole time.
So Shyanne learned two very good lessons yesterday:
1. When mommy and Daddy tell her to wear her helmet, they know
what they are talking about...and
2. A hospital visit is not the worst thing in the world, and the people
there are quite nice and take good care of you.
Two good life lessons for a not too bad injury. I would rather Shyanne never have an injury like that , but if she has to, at least she got some good lessons from it.
*
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Finally.....A report on the Cruise
*
So here is a short report on the cruise.......
We got to the terminal at Port Everglades at 10:30 on sail date. They had a small area set up to check in those of us who arrived early, and we got to sit in a special area to board first since we are high enough up in Royal Caribbeans "Crown and Anchor Society" to garner such treatment. You know a child travelling with you attains the level you are at whether or not they have travelled as much as required to attain such status. That means that Shyanne will get special treatment on her next cruise as though she had been on ten cruises with Royal Caribbean, even though she has only been on one.
Anyway....We waited for the main terminal to open up and to get let on the ship. While we waited, we noticed our new friends from Cape Cod come in the door. We went over and said hello to them and told then we would see them on board. As it turned out, we saw a lot of them on board the ship and enjoyed our time together. They are really great people and fun to be with.
So....very shortly after 11:00am they led us into the main terminal and through the door to the gangway. Of course we had to stop to get our "All Aboard" picture taken and then we made our way onto the ship. Shy got a special green bracelet that showed where her muster station was in the event of an emergency. That way, if she wasn't with us, a crew member would know exactly where to take her to be with us.
We looked around the ship for a little while, but then Shy wanted to go into the pool. We headed up that way and we spent some time in the pool, in the hot tubs, and just enjoying the Florida sun. Shy participated in the festivities at sail-away and enjoyed dancing with everyone on the deck. It was then time to go to the cabin to get ready for our first dinner and see if our luggage had arrived.
We thought that since we had gotten there early and they had taken our luggage early, we would get it early. Well, we were just about the last ones on our deck to get our luggage. Shy was getting very anxious and concerned about it as the outfit we had carried on for dinner was not the one she really wanted to wear. This falls in the category of "a women's prerogative". Anyway, the luggage finally came and we went off to dinner.
Lucky us!!!! There was another little girl just a year younger than Shyanne at the table with us. She was a little girl from New York, and she was absolutely adorable. The two of them sat together at evening meals and had a wonderful time together..
Day two started the "Adventure Ocean" camp that Royal Caribbean runs on their ships. It was absolutely wonderful Shyanne loved it and wanted to spend as much time as possible with that group. There were times we had to literally pull her away so that we could spend some family time together. What a great program and a great reason for families to go on cruises. At least with Royal Caribbean.
We did do a couple of excursions while on the cruise. We did one on Saint Martin to the butterfly farm and then to Orient Beach. Shy loved both. We also did an excursion on St. Kitts that included a plantation, a fort, and a beach. It was absolutely wonderful. Shyanne had a great time and we all enjoyed just being together.
We can't wait to take another cruise. It was certainly something we all needed after such a long period without a good vacation trip like that. I will write more about the cruise and different little things that happened along the way, but I just wanted to let everyone know how wonderful our 8 days at sea were, and to recommend it to anyone who wants to have a great time!!
A few little tips for travelling with children that we were aware of, but can lead to problems if you don't heed them:...
Make sure you have current passports for everyone!!!
If your child does not have the same last name as both parents, make sure you have a birth certificate that shows that.
If you are a divorced parent make sure you have a letter from the other parent authorizing you to take the child on board the ship and out of the country.
In any of the above cases, and as far as I am concerned, anytime you are travelling with children, a birth certificate to go along with that other information is always a good thing to have.
Make sure you have copies of all of the above documentation to take with you when you go ashore on any islands. IF there is a problem on the island, it can help make things move quicker if you have all the numbers with you.
All of the above can be a problem especially for adoptive families, so please make sure you check everything in advance so you don't have a problem at the pier that could ruin your vacation.
Foster Families typically have to have special permission to take children out of the country. When Shyanne was in foster care with us, we were unable to take her out of the country and it just about took an act of congress to take her out of the State of Maine, so be sure to check with your case worker before you plan any travel with a foster child.
*
So here is a short report on the cruise.......
We got to the terminal at Port Everglades at 10:30 on sail date. They had a small area set up to check in those of us who arrived early, and we got to sit in a special area to board first since we are high enough up in Royal Caribbeans "Crown and Anchor Society" to garner such treatment. You know a child travelling with you attains the level you are at whether or not they have travelled as much as required to attain such status. That means that Shyanne will get special treatment on her next cruise as though she had been on ten cruises with Royal Caribbean, even though she has only been on one.
Anyway....We waited for the main terminal to open up and to get let on the ship. While we waited, we noticed our new friends from Cape Cod come in the door. We went over and said hello to them and told then we would see them on board. As it turned out, we saw a lot of them on board the ship and enjoyed our time together. They are really great people and fun to be with.
So....very shortly after 11:00am they led us into the main terminal and through the door to the gangway. Of course we had to stop to get our "All Aboard" picture taken and then we made our way onto the ship. Shy got a special green bracelet that showed where her muster station was in the event of an emergency. That way, if she wasn't with us, a crew member would know exactly where to take her to be with us.
We looked around the ship for a little while, but then Shy wanted to go into the pool. We headed up that way and we spent some time in the pool, in the hot tubs, and just enjoying the Florida sun. Shy participated in the festivities at sail-away and enjoyed dancing with everyone on the deck. It was then time to go to the cabin to get ready for our first dinner and see if our luggage had arrived.
We thought that since we had gotten there early and they had taken our luggage early, we would get it early. Well, we were just about the last ones on our deck to get our luggage. Shy was getting very anxious and concerned about it as the outfit we had carried on for dinner was not the one she really wanted to wear. This falls in the category of "a women's prerogative". Anyway, the luggage finally came and we went off to dinner.
Lucky us!!!! There was another little girl just a year younger than Shyanne at the table with us. She was a little girl from New York, and she was absolutely adorable. The two of them sat together at evening meals and had a wonderful time together..
Day two started the "Adventure Ocean" camp that Royal Caribbean runs on their ships. It was absolutely wonderful Shyanne loved it and wanted to spend as much time as possible with that group. There were times we had to literally pull her away so that we could spend some family time together. What a great program and a great reason for families to go on cruises. At least with Royal Caribbean.
We did do a couple of excursions while on the cruise. We did one on Saint Martin to the butterfly farm and then to Orient Beach. Shy loved both. We also did an excursion on St. Kitts that included a plantation, a fort, and a beach. It was absolutely wonderful. Shyanne had a great time and we all enjoyed just being together.
We can't wait to take another cruise. It was certainly something we all needed after such a long period without a good vacation trip like that. I will write more about the cruise and different little things that happened along the way, but I just wanted to let everyone know how wonderful our 8 days at sea were, and to recommend it to anyone who wants to have a great time!!
A few little tips for travelling with children that we were aware of, but can lead to problems if you don't heed them:...
Make sure you have current passports for everyone!!!
If your child does not have the same last name as both parents, make sure you have a birth certificate that shows that.
If you are a divorced parent make sure you have a letter from the other parent authorizing you to take the child on board the ship and out of the country.
In any of the above cases, and as far as I am concerned, anytime you are travelling with children, a birth certificate to go along with that other information is always a good thing to have.
Make sure you have copies of all of the above documentation to take with you when you go ashore on any islands. IF there is a problem on the island, it can help make things move quicker if you have all the numbers with you.
All of the above can be a problem especially for adoptive families, so please make sure you check everything in advance so you don't have a problem at the pier that could ruin your vacation.
Foster Families typically have to have special permission to take children out of the country. When Shyanne was in foster care with us, we were unable to take her out of the country and it just about took an act of congress to take her out of the State of Maine, so be sure to check with your case worker before you plan any travel with a foster child.
*
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Good News from the Eye Doctor
*
Shyanne had an eye doctor appointment yesterday morning and the news was pretty good. As long as she keeps wearing her glasses 24/7 (except of course when swimming or showering) then she probably won't have to go back to wearing a patch. This is super news for us.
Shyanne despised the patch. It affected her so bad that DW and I hated to put it on. It required one of us to hold her down while the other put it on. Then whoever held her down, had to continue to hold her for up to an hour before she would totally calm down and be relaxed enough to go about her business with the patch in place.
We are not sure why it was so traumatic for her. She is super sensitive about a lot of things, but that has been mostly related to sight and sound, and usually not touch. We don't think this is part of a sensory type thing in that regard, but of course we have no idea what it could be from.
There is so much that we know went on in her first 2 1/2 years, but the scary part is that we know we don't know everything that went on. This leads us to start thinking about what possibly could have happened that would cause this reaction.
When we start thinking it is never a good thing. So while we try not to think too much about it, there are times when we can't help ourselves. Putting on the patch was obviously some of those times. So, news that she won't have to wear it at least until September, and that if she follows the Doctor's instructions, she probably won't have to wear it at all, is great news for all of us.
*
Shyanne had an eye doctor appointment yesterday morning and the news was pretty good. As long as she keeps wearing her glasses 24/7 (except of course when swimming or showering) then she probably won't have to go back to wearing a patch. This is super news for us.
Shyanne despised the patch. It affected her so bad that DW and I hated to put it on. It required one of us to hold her down while the other put it on. Then whoever held her down, had to continue to hold her for up to an hour before she would totally calm down and be relaxed enough to go about her business with the patch in place.
We are not sure why it was so traumatic for her. She is super sensitive about a lot of things, but that has been mostly related to sight and sound, and usually not touch. We don't think this is part of a sensory type thing in that regard, but of course we have no idea what it could be from.
There is so much that we know went on in her first 2 1/2 years, but the scary part is that we know we don't know everything that went on. This leads us to start thinking about what possibly could have happened that would cause this reaction.
When we start thinking it is never a good thing. So while we try not to think too much about it, there are times when we can't help ourselves. Putting on the patch was obviously some of those times. So, news that she won't have to wear it at least until September, and that if she follows the Doctor's instructions, she probably won't have to wear it at all, is great news for all of us.
*
Friday, March 9, 2012
I'm Tired Already
*
the weekend isn't even here and I am already tired from it. No, I am not tired from the particularly long week at work, although that doesn't help. On this Friday, I am wondering if I will make it through the weekend.
Tonight after work is the family service at temple. It starts with dinner and then the service. We will be home by 8:30 or so. The tomorrow morning it is up early as Shyanne has another Girl Scout event. This one at the Heritage Plantation in Sandwich, MA. It is supposed to be a wonderful place for children. I haven't been there yet, but we are planning on taking a trip there this summer anyway, so I will see it then.
While Shy is doing that, DW and I are going to have a day to ourselves. Maybe do a little shopping up in Plymouth, go out to lunch and just enjoy ourselves.
Then on Sunday we are up bright and early again and off to Sunday School. There is some kind of family thing going on there, so we will be staying for that. We do have to leave immediately after that and be on the road by 11:30 to head up to Beverly, MA. There the high school is putting on "Thoroughly Modern Millie" and we are going to see it. Our niece (Shy's cousin) is in it, so we thought it would be nice to go see.
We won't be able to get home in time for dinner, so it will be dinner on the road somewhere and then home again late on Sunday evening just in time to get into bed and do another week at work.
The good thing is that shy does so much better when she is busy. She absolutely does not like having nothing to do. I like that about her. She always has to be doing something. While sitting in front of the television can keep her entertained for a little bit of time, as she grows, she seems to enjoy that less and less......good for her...
If I make it through the weekend, I am sure I will have something to write about on Monday....see you then
*
the weekend isn't even here and I am already tired from it. No, I am not tired from the particularly long week at work, although that doesn't help. On this Friday, I am wondering if I will make it through the weekend.
Tonight after work is the family service at temple. It starts with dinner and then the service. We will be home by 8:30 or so. The tomorrow morning it is up early as Shyanne has another Girl Scout event. This one at the Heritage Plantation in Sandwich, MA. It is supposed to be a wonderful place for children. I haven't been there yet, but we are planning on taking a trip there this summer anyway, so I will see it then.
While Shy is doing that, DW and I are going to have a day to ourselves. Maybe do a little shopping up in Plymouth, go out to lunch and just enjoy ourselves.
Then on Sunday we are up bright and early again and off to Sunday School. There is some kind of family thing going on there, so we will be staying for that. We do have to leave immediately after that and be on the road by 11:30 to head up to Beverly, MA. There the high school is putting on "Thoroughly Modern Millie" and we are going to see it. Our niece (Shy's cousin) is in it, so we thought it would be nice to go see.
We won't be able to get home in time for dinner, so it will be dinner on the road somewhere and then home again late on Sunday evening just in time to get into bed and do another week at work.
The good thing is that shy does so much better when she is busy. She absolutely does not like having nothing to do. I like that about her. She always has to be doing something. While sitting in front of the television can keep her entertained for a little bit of time, as she grows, she seems to enjoy that less and less......good for her...
If I make it through the weekend, I am sure I will have something to write about on Monday....see you then
*
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Look at How Far I have Come!!
*
Last evening was the Purim "service" at Temple. Now I put service in quotes because the annual Purim celebration is just about anything but a service. To give you a rough idea of why I say that, let me just say that the Rabbi was dressed as Elvis, and the ceremony consisted of many Elvis tunes that had little different wording to them
To those of you who are not Jewish, I will explain. This is a celebration of that comes from the Biblical book of "Esther" To make a long story short...(not at all the tradition) Esther became Queen of Persia, but had never revealed to King Ahashverus that she was Jewish. An edict was issued to kill all the Jews by a man named Hamen. Esther revealed she was Jewish and the Jews were allowed to defend themselves which they did and Hamen was hung and his ten sons were killed during battle.
One might like to say that the Jews and the Persians lived happily ever after, but that is certainly not the case. Let's just say they lived happily together for many years after that.
In any event, the celebration includes wearing of masks and costumes and the service is always a lot of fun. Noise makers are sounded by everyone in the congregation anytime the name "Hamen" is read during the service.
So, to get back to the point of the this blog entry......Three years ago we started Shy at dance classes. She watched Olivia on television and wanted to take ballet classes. We started her in a dance program that included both ballet and tap. Naturally, they had a recital at the end of the year where all the kids get up on the stage and perform for the audience.....well, not quite all of the kids. In Shyanne's class there were two kids that just stood there the whole time and looked out into the auditorium. Yes, one of them was Shyanne.
HOWEVER, Shyanne did take a bow at the end of the dance she did not perform.
The following year, she was a little more active, but not quite totally performing the dance and still kind of just looking out at the audience.
Last night, as the ceremony was taking place, every time there was an Elvis song played, there were a lot of older kids dancing across the bima (stage). It didn't take long for Shy to find her way up there and start dancing as well. Every time she went across the stage performing her little dance, she had a HUGE smile on her face.
The smile seemed to say "Look at how far I have come!!!"
She was so happy and so delighted to be up there and dancing. It was a real joy to see.
She has come such a long way in a few short years. I can't wait to see this year's dance class recital. She has added Jazz Dance to her classes as well this year. It should be a great time.
*
Last evening was the Purim "service" at Temple. Now I put service in quotes because the annual Purim celebration is just about anything but a service. To give you a rough idea of why I say that, let me just say that the Rabbi was dressed as Elvis, and the ceremony consisted of many Elvis tunes that had little different wording to them
To those of you who are not Jewish, I will explain. This is a celebration of that comes from the Biblical book of "Esther" To make a long story short...(not at all the tradition) Esther became Queen of Persia, but had never revealed to King Ahashverus that she was Jewish. An edict was issued to kill all the Jews by a man named Hamen. Esther revealed she was Jewish and the Jews were allowed to defend themselves which they did and Hamen was hung and his ten sons were killed during battle.
One might like to say that the Jews and the Persians lived happily ever after, but that is certainly not the case. Let's just say they lived happily together for many years after that.
In any event, the celebration includes wearing of masks and costumes and the service is always a lot of fun. Noise makers are sounded by everyone in the congregation anytime the name "Hamen" is read during the service.
So, to get back to the point of the this blog entry......Three years ago we started Shy at dance classes. She watched Olivia on television and wanted to take ballet classes. We started her in a dance program that included both ballet and tap. Naturally, they had a recital at the end of the year where all the kids get up on the stage and perform for the audience.....well, not quite all of the kids. In Shyanne's class there were two kids that just stood there the whole time and looked out into the auditorium. Yes, one of them was Shyanne.
HOWEVER, Shyanne did take a bow at the end of the dance she did not perform.
The following year, she was a little more active, but not quite totally performing the dance and still kind of just looking out at the audience.
Last night, as the ceremony was taking place, every time there was an Elvis song played, there were a lot of older kids dancing across the bima (stage). It didn't take long for Shy to find her way up there and start dancing as well. Every time she went across the stage performing her little dance, she had a HUGE smile on her face.
The smile seemed to say "Look at how far I have come!!!"
She was so happy and so delighted to be up there and dancing. It was a real joy to see.
She has come such a long way in a few short years. I can't wait to see this year's dance class recital. She has added Jazz Dance to her classes as well this year. It should be a great time.
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