Busy

Now it is a busy time of the year, though every season is. This season is busy but offers little to write about. Maura is settling into her routine of school and practice and the little traumas of the first weeks are behind us. There is plenty to do and little time to do it. In addition to school, Maura has lessons or practice or religious obligations every day but Tuesday. There isn’t much time for us to take trips. Last week we had planned a trip to Cape Cod on Saturday but we had forgotten that Maura’s first soccer game was at 10:30am, much too late for us to go visit the Cape Cod beaches afterwards.

The big event this last week for Maura was the celebration of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. She spent Sunday evening, and much of the day on Monday and Tuesday in services with her mother. For me the days were ordinary. Because I am the member of the household who is not Jewish I stayed home alone. I stay home alone almost every weekday. I know I would have been welcome to attend services but I feel more comfortable staying away at the holiest times for a faith that is not mine. Somehow it seems more respectful.

Maura made a trifle for after the service on Sunday night. It was tropical fruit flavored, with mango Jello, crushed pineapple, banana pudding and shredded coconut sprinkled over whip cream on top. Jennifer told me that people didn’t believe that Maura had made it. Jennifer helped her with it but the trifle was Maura’s creation. I was lucky to get a taste of it. I can’t wait for her to really find her feet in the kitchen. I expect she will make some very creative dinners and I will enjoy eating them.

A Fresh Start

Maura is back in school now. This time of year is a time of new beginnings for both of us. This year it sees more beginnings than ever before. Maura is in a new school for 5th grade—the Abigail Adams Campus of the Weymouth Middle School. She’s taking the next step in her figure skating career by joining a synchronized skating team and taking on new responsibilities at home.

School may be the smallest change for Maura. She hasn’t changed school systems and much remains the same as it was in her elementary school. There is a larger pool of students as every 5th grader in the Weymouth Public Schools is at Abigail Adams but her class isn’t much larger and she stays with the same people throughout the day. None of her close friends from elementary school are in her class but she is staying in touch. She walks to school without me and sometimes her friends join her. So far she seems to be enjoying her new school. She doesn't complain and she gets out the door without any fuss in the morning. Her mother and I will be meeting her teacher this evening and I expect that we will hear that Maura is doing well so far. Time will tell if Maura has trouble adapting to the new school but I don’t expect her too. She enjoys learning. I hope that never changes.

There are some big changes in skating this year. Maura has joined the Winterettes, the United States Figure Skating synchronized skating team that is affiliated with the Winterland Skating School where she takes lessons. There are actually five teams separated by age and ability. Maura is on the Beginner 3 team. She is the youngest and least experienced skater on her team so she has some catching up to do but I expect that she will. Her practices with the team start today and she will be getting some extra lessons with the coach. She’s also keeping up with her individual lessons and we plan on her skating in ISI competitions as an individual like she did last year, starting with the Halloween Classic at the Rockland Rink where she skates. I think this is the year that Maura has to decide how much effort she is willing to put into skating. I don’t want her to stop enjoying it and I will never be upset at her if she doesn’t win first place but she may need to work a little harder if she wants to keep improving.

The last new start for Maura is that she began taking a share of the family cooking duties. She’ll be cooking dinner on Tuesday nights this year. She started last night by roasting a chicken. I was there to supervise and help but Maura did most of the work and as she learns her way around the kitchen I’ll expect her to do more. For now she is understandably a bit nervous with knives and the hot oven but I know she’ll get over that with practice. For now I will be in the kitchen with her but the time will come when I just expect her to get dinner ready and let me know when it’s done. I’m glad that Maura wants to learn to cook. I’ve always thought that it is one of the most important domestic chores to learn and that cooking from scratch is the best way to ensure you eat healthy food. Maura’s chicken was a very good first effort and every one appreciated it. Each meal is a lesson for her and she's already planning next week.