1m2aSandbox

A few days ago, Maddie’s class had a competition to give themselves a name – you know, the All-Stars or Cougars or Champions or whatever. Her teacher, Mrs. Hall, stopped me at pick-up that afternoon and said, “Ask your daughter what name she suggested for my class.”

A little while later, I brought it up and said, “So what name did you come up with, Maddie?”

Said yesterday morning while getting ready for school:

Cora: “Mommy, can I ride my scooter to school this morning?”

Me: “Of course!”

Cora: “Yippee!”

Me: “Why are you so excited about riding your scooter to school?”

Cora: “Because I really love the sound of my shoe softly tapping the pavement when I push.”

And she ran off.

This fall Maddie made the decision to quit ballet; her level was stepping up to classes twice a week and she simply wasn’t ready for the commitment. And while I understood it, the retired dancer in me was crushed; I know how much I loved dance my whole life and want Maddie to know that joy. But we also want Maddie to find what she loves, so we step back and give her some space to make her own choices.

Horseback riding is something Maddie’s enjoyed for a while; she’s been on a couple trail rides and always loved it. So as I cast about for something to let my introverted, nature-loving, animal lover to try, I instinctively thought horseback riding would be a good fit.

Believe me, we know it can get expensive and it’s not without risk, so Brian and I talked about it a lot. But I felt in my gut it’d be great for Maddie – almost therapy sometimes. So we bought a six-class session and gave it a whirl.

And it’s a match made in equine heaven.

A few days ago I was walking home from school with Cora and asked, “Did you have a good day at school today?”

“Well,” Cora said matter-of-factly, “One kind of big thing happened. We were sitting on the rug for Circle Time and Sara started saying that I smelled like dog hair. She kept saying it over and over, getting really loud, and all the kids started laughing. And it really hurt my feelings. And so I went into the corner by myself to cry, and then the teacher told Sara to knock it off and then said I could come sit next to her. And mom,” she turned to me, bewildered, with a sad look on her face, “We don’t even have a dog! How can I smell like dog?”

Oh, my baby.

Apparently Cora is reading now.

And I missed it.

Monday night Cora shut herself in her room for a long time, and when Brian finally went to check on her, Cora said, “Daddy, I’m reading now! Do you want to hear it?”

Being a good dad, Brian said, “Of course I would!” while thinking “reading” meant “I have the book memorized and will now recite it out loud to you”.

And that’s how it sounded at the beginning, but it soon became clear to Brian that Cora was really reading. She’d skip a word and he’d say, “No, what’s this?” And she’d stop, look at it, and figure it out one letter at a time. Yep, reading.

Maddie’s always loved riding her scooter to school; she’s not quite a bicycle girl yet, but adores zooming along on her scooter, especially since she’s learned a few “tricks” like, well, braking. While Cora was in preschool she’d tag behind on her three-wheel faux-scooter to get Maddie to and from school, gamely pushing along but sensing something was different. And while she’s been patient about her rickety princess scooter, this weekend we finally upgraded Cora to the official Razor club.

Brian and Cora hit Target on Saturday and came home with a bright pink Razor, complete with wheels that light up if you go fast enough. Cora was ecstatic and scooted happily around the house on the wood floor all day. Maddie, a bit envious at how shiny and new Cora’s (otherwise identical) scooter was, handled her jealousy well and managed to be happy for Cora.

Sunday night Cora said, “Mommy, can we stay after school and scooter on the blacktop a bit tomorrow?” The school blacktop, I should explain, is sometimes a fair-weather stomping ground for Maddie’s gang; last spring we’d bring snacks and scooters and bikes and let the kids go crazy in the gorgeous weather for almost two hours while the grown-ups sat on blankets on the grass and chatted. Cora would play with her younger sibling friends or ride her bike a bit, but never had a “big-kid scooter” with which to join in.

Cora was clearly ready to roll.