Emma Update

Emma is switching instruments from the violin to the bass! The bass is a HUGE violin that you play standing up. It's bigger than a cello. There was only one 6th grader who signed up to play the bass this year, so Mr. Hansen asked Emma to consider it. She would have one at school to play and one to take home to practice. Normally they charge the kids around $100 to rent it and keep it at home during the school year, but Mr. Hansen said if Emma wanted to play it he wouldn't charge her the rental cost. He told her that because she's so tall, he thought she'd do well with it. She talked it over with us and we were all for it, if she wanted to try it. She has orchestra every single day as a 6th grader and it's such a pain to haul her instrument back and forth on the bus. Plus, in our ignorance, we think it might be a little easier to play since it's a rhythm instrument. We think it might be more repetitive and maybe slower? I don't know. We just hope Emma can adjust to it and enjoy it more than the violin. She struggles to enjoy the violin.

Emma also has PE everyday this trimester. This is creating a fair bit of stress in her life. She changes classes every hour, and only has 4 minutes to get to her locker and to her next class. For PE she has to get from orchestra to PE (a long distance), open her PE locker, change her clothes, and get out to the gym IN 4 MINUTES!

Does anyone remember what would happen to Emma when we'd set a timer and tell her she had 5 minutes to clean her room? Ever since the time she was about 2 years old, she would have a major crying fit if we suggested using a timer for anything. Well, imagine how she feels about 4 minutes to get to class on time and change her clothes in the process. Locker combinations are a new part of her life, as well. She's stressed about forgetting her combination (which happened on Friday), and getting to class on time. Also, her bus is one of the first buses to leave the parking lot and PE is her last class, so she's supposed to change her clothes and get out to the bus before it leaves. I'm getting hives thinking about her stress while I'm writing this.

You know how an anorexic person looks in the mirror and sees a fat person, no matter what she actually looks like? Well, I look at Emma and see a baby, no matter what she actually looks like. So I'll be driving her back and forth to school for a few weeks until she feels more comfortable, and I've reassured her that I'll talk to her PE teacher if she finds she is having a hard time getting to class on time. We've explained that it takes time to get used to everything and she will eventually feel comfortable with changing classes. I also made sure she had a watch on today when she went to school, so she knows how much time she really has.

Both Emma and Lauren had crying, sobbing, emotional breakdowns Friday night around bed time. They were so exhausted from their new schedules that they both had to let it all out, I guess. We made them close their doors and we turned up the TV so we couldn't hear it. Bed time is a strictly enforced 7:00pm this week.