Happy 1st Day of... Spring??

The first full day of spring was kind of a bust. No one told Old Man Winter his services were no longer needed. He left us a couple inches of snow overnight. I really like snow in December. I mostly like snow in January. I kind of tolerate snow in February, but I strongly dislike snow in March. It's not fun any more. And to top it off, we had a snow day today. We are out of calamity days, though, so that means we lose a day of spring break. Very not fun any more. (And I just know that day we have to make up will be sunny and 70!)

In addition to being the first full day of spring, March 21st is also Tyler's half birthday. I mixed things up a little this time because we are leaving for vacation soon and I didn't want to make a cake right before leaving. I bought the kids bundlets, which is really more like 1/4 of a cake rather than a 1/2 anyway. It was a tight fit to cram all the candles on there though, so I ended up omitting the 1/2. He had forgotten it was his 1/2 birthday, so the cake was a pleasant surprise...which was the whole point of "celebrating" 1/2 birthdays in the first place - to add a little happiness to the otherwise dreary months of February and March.

I told him we aren't recognizing this date next year because 17.5 is way too close to 18.

Sitting in the Sunshine

 

I can see why Clara enjoys it. :)

Reaching New Heights

I now look up (just a smidge) to Danielle.

The Best Superlative of All

At school this week the 8th graders voted for the "8th grade superlatives": most athletic, most school spirit, most funny, most helpful, etc, etc. I think there were about 8 categories. Danielle said they voted on the computer. Each category had a blank answer line so you could type any name that came to mind. They do this every year for the 8th grade, and the winners are always pictured in the yearbook. The evening after the voting, Danielle told me how frustrated she was with things like this because inevitably they seem to be a popularity contest. She was afraid the people who truly exhibit those traits would be overlooked for the kids who are the most popular, and she didn't think that was fair.

Danielle is not popular. She's not unpopular. She's just Danielle, and that's good enough. She goes out of her way to include others. She's considerate and thoughtful and pleasant to be around. She has a good group of friends, and she is a good friend. She told me the other day that someone asked her why she's so nice to everyone. She said "I told her because you don't know what someone else is going through. They might need someone to be nice to them."

It turns out Danielle should have had a little more faith that her classmates would take the voting to heart. Her peers voted her the most friendly. I think it's the best superlative of all. Being athletic is nice, but it doesn't make someone feel less lonely. Having school spirit is nice, but it doesn't brighten someone's day. But being friendly can change the world one person, one heart at a time. Although the "award" won't change how she behaves or treats people, it was a nice affirmation that people notice and she does make a difference in her little corner of the world...or the 8th grade.

Conversation with My Son

Tyler has been complaining about ringing in his ears, so he had an appointment with an ENT today to rule out any problems. We were both surfing on our phones while we were in the waiting room. I ran across a post on FB about things teens think their parents don't know about social media and showed it to Tyler. While we were talking about it, I asked him if anyone had ever asked him for or sent him "nudes" (as the "kids" now call them). He said someone actually had asked him a few weeks ago, and he took a screen shot of the conversation. He pulled it up on his phone and showed it to me. I was so proud of his response...and I laughed so hard at it...that I asked him to forward it to me so I could share it. This is most of the text:

Was the sender serious? The person who asked him is someone who used to go to his school but doesn't any more. She claimed her boyfriend sent the text and was just joking around. Tyler said she's the kind of person that would see if she could get you to respond so she could humiliate you. So, I don't know if it was meant to be a serious request, but I absolutely love how Tyler handled it.

As far as Tyler's ears, everything checked out normal. We'll wait a few months and see if it goes away on its own. It's possible his brain is just louder than most. :)