Two Daughters and a Mutt: Spring Band Concert

Last night was Lin's 2nd, and last, band concert of the year. She did great! She plays the flute and is in the beginning band. She has had the luxury of being in class with only woodwinds this year, so each section gets a lot of personal attention (the brass and drums have a different class time). Her teacher said that next year the beginning band might be lumped in with the 7th & 8th grade band, and that would be unfortunate because they would lose all that special learning time. Ah, school budget cuts. Good times.

Every couple weeks, it seems, Lin indicates that she really doesn't want to play the flute. I keep telling her that if she's really serious about switching to a different instrument she can, we just need to know so that we can get her in some private lessons to catch up. But then she always says "It's okay," and I think it's because she's worried that we spent a lot of money for her flute and she feels obligated. We've tried to tell her that the money can be worked out with the store if she wants to switch, but she always sticks with the "it's okay" line. I think she really struggles sometimes with asking for something she wants, then thinking that doing so makes her a "bad daughter." I can almost see the wall go up in her eyes when she shoves down her feelings and says "it's okay." Ah, Chinese children's home upbringing. Good times...

Hmmm, I was going to make that the end of my post, but it ends on such a down-beat. So here's some positive stuff. Lin got her 5th of 6 report cards for this school year and continues to do absolutely great! Four As and two Bs. And her teachers tell us that they really are NOT modifying the work for her that much. She's doing the exact same work as all the other students, just sometimes she is given longer to complete an assignment or some other slight modification like that. She likes to talk about what she wants to be when she grows up. Depending on the day we've heard hair/makeup artist, lawyer, teacher, police officer ... she even said she wanted to be a pro tennis player after our last tennis lesson! She also really toys with the idea of going back to China in some capacity and I think she's surprised when we say, without hesitation, absolutely! We will support her unconditionally.

Ruby posing by the Chinese New Year display Lin made at school

Ruby's first-ever school year wraps up next week. She took a field-trip to a nature center this week and had a great time. By far the biggest thrill was that she had to take a sack lunch, just like a big kid. She and I are going to Mommy and Me camp in two weeks. It's just one night away from home, but we're going to have so much fun!