Wednesday, April 09, 2008
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WHAT HAPPENED TO TR?
I’ve been a less than faithful correspondent lately, for which I would apologize if anyone cared, but here in xangaland there’s always somebody else’s blog to read, so what’s the diff?
I’ve been busy shepherding my eldest child into the wonders of adolescence. In the last week this has included:
- Her 11th birthday
- A radical change in hairstyle as befits her descent into puberty
- Zits
- Braces
Check out the metal mouth (she chose the pink and blue pattern):
And what, you may ask, does the modern 11-year-old request for her birthday? This:
She’s been taking an after-school sewing (on machines) class and is dazzled by her newfound power to create. Buying the kid a sewing machine felt a tad extravagant, but we didn’t have one and it seemed like we ought to, even though I never learned to sew, in spite of the best efforts of my 7th grade Home Ec teacher. Maybe Tigger will teach me. Or better yet, Tigger will take care of all household sewing needs herself.
I hated Home Ec even though I signed up for it voluntarily, sort of. It was 1977. Far enough into the 20th century that kids of both genders got to choose between Home Ec and Industrial Arts, but early enough that all of girls took Home Ec and all of the boys took IA. I enjoyed the cooking portion of the class but could never manage to thread the sewing machine, sew a straight line, or, more importantly, see any point in making clothes when one could just go to Zayres or the May Company and buy them.
So I took Tigger to the store today to get her machine. Since it’s different from the one she uses at school, she listened attentively while the saleswoman showed her how to wind the bobbin, thread the needle, change the settings, and whatnot. When we got it home, Tigger expertly did all of those things and started sewing stuff.
She just got the braces today too. (It’s spring break.) This evening I suggested she clean her room before the health department came to shut our house down. Normally she would respond to such a directive by gathering up the items strewn about the floor and shoving them under the desk or behind the door. But today I went up to check on her progress and found her—I can hardly believe I’m typing this—cleaning the room.
“Mom,” she said, “to go along with my new style, I’m going to redecorate my room, too.”
Except for the zits, adolescence looks pretty good so far.
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Comments (25)
Awwww - she sounds like such a sweetie..... and wishing her a very happy 11th Birthday..
What an encouraging set of developments! And with a first born, it may stick too! My first born matured well and early. With the others, well, flashes of brilliance in an otherwise unrelenting fog. I'm glad for you.
Wow. Sounds like a smooth transition so far. In our school the boys tend to take home ec because the cooking portion brings with it food in school. Personally I have wanted to throw every sewing machine I ever saw through a window.
She's off to a great start. (Just wait 'til she hits 13-14. Those are the demon years.)
Gee, never thought of it as a DEscENT into puberty! Well, I graduated from that long ago and am working on chronological enhancement, so who know anyway!
My husband says maturity will set in two days after senility. But then, he's seventy-five and I'm seventy-four, so we are still learning the ropes of being human. (If we had answers, we'd have graduated already.)
Those years don't have to be bad! My daughter and I were just talking about that earlier this week (she's in her fourth year of a five year double-major program in college now). Lots of her friends did go through some of that (in fact, some of her college friends are STILL into it), but not everyone. Sounds like your daughter is meeting the teen years with a positive appraoch, so there's hope!
Ack - "approach"
happy labor day TR. my 11 year old sews up pillowcases as gifts. some kids are just natural creative beings, it's fun to watch them develop their skills and the coinfidence it builds.
My parents always bought me whatever I wanted (within reason) when it came to art supplies and creativity. I think it's great that she wanted a sewing machine and that you bought it for her.
I am very impressed by the young lady!
LOL, go Tigger! Enjoy it...the other stuff is coming.
Well, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Tigger. And congratulations on her new sewing machine. There really ARE a lot of possibilities there. Her braces also look cute. Dylan....being a farmer, gets green and yellow...to represent the John Deere machinery his dad uses. (o; And I'd be curious to read another entry on the condition of her room in a month. hee hee
Happy Birthday Tig. I'll bring my sewing machine over and we can make stuff.
Happy birthday to Tigger. And congratulations to her parents. Enjoy it (while it lasts).
Happy belated giving birth day to you. OMG. My " Pants" made it through one washing. And my " elephant" stuffed animal, looked more like a deformed cat.
Tigger never ceases to amaze me!
At least Home Ec didn't involve the danger of losing one or more fingers. I'm still relieved I finished Industrial Arts with all 10 intact.
Zayres and May Co.! You are truly dating yourself as neither exists anymore. Good idea having Tigger do all the family sewing. You have important blog work to do, WSJ had article on woman making a living writing her blog along with advertising. Sounds like a job for TR.
Both my kids did the braces thing. Ack.
Heh. My 7th and 8th grade efforts with sewing were asstastic. Pillows both years, and they sucked ass. When my sister took it (5 years earlier), she had to make a shirt in 8th, a pillow in 7th, and my mother had to make a DRESS!!!! Granted, it was 1966, but still! And they had to wear them to school! Luckily, that was during the era of those dresses that were straight up and down (whatever you call them), and she did well. There were girls in my junior and senior classes that made their own damn prom dresses, which looked so good, they could be sold in stores!
The cooking portion of Home Ec, at least in high school, was horrendous. Nothing like being placed with a girl who thought "T" meant TEASPOON! For some "mysterious" reason, our lemon meringue pie did not set. Two boys in another group felt sorry for us (after they laughed heartily), and let us have some of their (really good) lemon meringue pie. Seriously, if it were possible to keep a pie refrigerated for 15 years, I still don't think the damn thing would be set.
I didn't do any better in shop, though, so...
That's a cute mouth, even with the metal. I remember those days of hope and inspiration, imagining a newer, cooler version of my self and my room. It's wonderful that you can give her the tools.
Weird Al has kept up with the time! It cracks me up. Apparently on every album he does a "polka" set with a brief bit from current popular songs. I couldn't believe how many I recognized from my teenagers' music.
Happy belated birthday to your Tigger !! And way to go on the sewing ! I find it worth the knowledge for the money saved on curtains alone.
Wow, someone else remembers Zayres. As for the change in that kid, I'm sure something else will erupt (besides the zits) to reaffirm your faith in the belief that kids exist solely to make their parents insane.
Happy belated birthday to Tigger!
I took Home Ec in 8th grade, and honestly, I can't remember why. Because I didn't want to take auto shop, I guess. I got two electives, and I already had art, and I couldn't take art two times a day, and the music teacher was a pervert, so that left Home Ec, I guess. I don't recall liking any part of Home Ec, except for needlepoint because I was good at it and didn't have to think about it or try very hard. I made a skirt, but it was ugly and ill-fitting, unfortunately. I don't think I ever wore it. I don't think anyone ever wore it.
My daughter is planning to be a fashion designer when she grows up, and I'm currently teaching her everything I know (or remember) about sewing, which is not much. I think we will need to buy a sewing machine in the next year or so, too.
I'm thinking of getting braces this year. I was going to get the clear kind, but looking at Tigger's mouth, I'm thinking the pink and blue look pretty awesome. I mean, if you're going to have braces, have braces. I'm hip to that.