One hundred days into Grade One..

.. and Kylee’s interim school report is glowing, all A’s and B’s. But wait, there is a problem!

Kylee is pleased to have A’s and B’s, but other kids in the class got C’s and D’s, and Kylee doesn’t have any of them. Zut alors!!

She is a competitive girl and does not like to lose out, even on low marks apparently. It was explained to her that C’s and D’s were not so good, and the tears that had started to appear dried up rapidly.

Destination Disney..

As I write this, Kylee is in Florida for her yearly visit to Disney, beaches and warm weather. The family first drive to Detroit and stay over in a hotel because the flight south leaves criminally early in the morning. For Kylee, this part of the journey is almost as exciting as Florida. If it were me at that age, I would be asking when we were going to be on a beach, not looking forward to a night in Detroit.

Swimmingly good..

On the ‘learning to swim’ front, Kylee is getting set to swim Lake Ontario, well not quite that yet, but certainly the ‘deep’ end of the pool at the ‘Boys and Girls Club here in London. The only problem is that the deep end is separated off from the shallow end by a solid divider, and it is considerably colder on the other side.

Even with tears in her eyes, and swimming against the current made by the circulatory pumps, she made it from one side to the other, a truly supreme effort.

Gymnastics..

Kylee likes it but she lacks a ‘quality’ that all gymnasts have.. fearlessness. Whether swinging from bars, hanging from rings or ‘flic-flac’ floor exercises, gymnasts put a lot of faith into the landing, and Kylee doesn’t have what it takes to do that. A ‘flaw’ perhaps as far as gymnastics goes, but her fear works for her in everyday life. Safe, soft landings is her bag, and quite honestly, I think that is a good thing.

She recognizes that she is not quite the gymnast that some in here peer group are, but she enjoys the exercise and that is what counts.. 

Well, that rounds up this entry..

Almost 5..

But not quite yet. Another four months to go.

The year has been interesting and Kylee has continued to charm. She refers to herself as a ‘four’ and uses the term in the context of ‘Fours can do that’.

One of the things that ‘fours’ can do is pick up a book, open it and not use the story as written. She looks at the pictures and then uses her imagination to create a new story. The great thing about using her imagination in this way is that one book never becomes a bore because the story changes every time.

While we as adults may see this as a get-out from reading proper, it shows a great ability to adapt and overcome. Full marks for that.

What else do Fours get up to during the day? Apparently, accidents are all part of a Four’s day, aren’t they Papa.

Kylee is by no means the nimblest child on her feet, and it is normal practice to pick up a small injury during the course of the day. She is not the bravest child when it comes to climbing frames, and is often shown up by kids younger and smaller than herself, but that is no bad thing. The alarming part is that she can fall while jogging along. Excitement gets the better of her and she does not look in the direction that she should be looking.

Now for a major triumph.

On a recent weekend trip to the family cottage, Kylee was introduced to the art of fishing. Set up with a kiddie fishing rod, her Mom placed a worm on the hook and Kylee dangled the line over the edge of the boat jetty. Her Uncles, Mom and other Grandfather, all big into fishing, baited up and cast their own lines.

So who caught the big one? The biggest fish ever caught by any member of the family? Expressing concern that she had caught something and would need help, her Uncle Darryl took on the job. The fish was so big that it broke Kylee’s rod, but Darryl fought with what was left of it and finally a four foot fish was landed.

Kylee really did catch one <……… this big………..>. Never underestimate a ‘Four’.

School for the coming year will be ‘French Immersion’, and we are all hoping that she does well. She is a very smart kid when she applies herself, and being bi-lingual, even in an eminently English part of Canada will help her get work later in life, especially in government jobs.

The only downside is that nobody else in the family knows much more than ‘Merci Beaucoup’ and I doubt that they could even spell it. As with any language, if you don’t get to hear it much, it will be forgotten. It always helps if one or both parents are Francophone and neither are. Oh well.. 

Kylee goes to Florida

Who’s a lucky girl. Tomorrow, she will be joining the ranks of the Snowbirds again and having fun in the sun. This will be her second visit, and I don’t doubt that she will appreciate it more than the time before.

She has been counting off the sleeps for over two weeks now, and is finally down to one. Will she miss us? Yes, most probably but one can only hope that she doesn’t too much and that she gets maximum pleasure at the Disney park in Orlando.

Do I wish that I was going too? Yes and no. I am a Brit and was brought up with Rupert the Bear, not Mickey da Mouse. Florida is probably more humid than I can easily cope perhaps, and somebody has to remain behind to keep the flag flying and enjoy the warm – cold warm – cold weather which SWO is presently experiencing.

On her return from her visit last year, she had a play routine centred around the facial and speech idiosyncrasies of a Florida waitress. When serving us pretend tea and snacks, she would adopt a pose and voice which was definitely not her own, and we did smile (no offence to the waitress in question, whoever you are).

It will be interesting to see what she comes back with this time. When I was a kid, I came back from vacation with sand in my shoes. How boring was that??