Should We Let Our Children Quit?

My short answer is "it depends."

Quitting something - an activity, a club, a team, a class, even a job - can be a difficult decision. For parents and kids.

If your son started guitar lessons, then decided they were too hard after a couple sessions, would you let him quit? Or would you make him keep going? If so, for how long?

I don't believe in forcing a child (or adult) to stick with something that they hate or dread doing.

But at the same time, if they've made a commitment to something - and it's not going to cause any lasting psychological or physical damage - then I say you have to stick with it. Especially if it's a short commitment.

For example, my daughter started Track Team at her junior high last week.

This week she wants to quit.

I said, "No!"

Here's my reasoning:

1. She made a commitment to being on the team.

2. It's a very short season. Only 4 or 5 meets.

3. I volunteered to be the Track Snack Mom and I . . .

a. Don't want to quit after I volunteered.

b. Don't want to be Snack Mom for a team my daughter's not even on.

So, she's still on the team.

I'm sure once she starts practicing again, she'll be fine. (She missed all last week due to illness.) The first meet is on Wednesday.

I bet a little air-in-her-hair, Gatorade, and team spirit will remind her why she joined in the first place.

At least I hope so.

Why I Take My Daughter to the Theater

Tonight, Paul, Juliana and I are going to the Guthrie Theater to see HAY FEVER by Noel Coward. It's a comedy about an eccentric family and their weekend guests. The reviews say it's very funny.

Humor is great after a long week.

But that's not why I bring my daughter to the theater.

I bring her because I want her to see real people creating characters and situations right before our eyes.

I want her to see the complicated dance of actors playing off each other.

I want her to see the tremendous physicality of acting.

I want her to see human emotions up close and personal. But from a safe place.

I want her to be dramatically literate. To be familiar with classic and new theatrical productions. To enjoy new musicals like MEMPHIS as much as Shakespeare's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. To wonder, could I do that on stage? Could I create those awesome costumes? Could I direct a group of actors?

For many years I was a drama teacher. I've taught grades 1-12. Theater is an amazing, equalizing endeavor. Kids who might not be great in their academic classes, might shine on stage. Or kids who love to draw might excel at stage design. Kids who love organization, and being "behind the scenes", might enjoy stage direction.

Theater is a real-world application of creative abilities.

Even if my daughter never performs on stage or never designs a costume, she will have an appreciation for live theater that only comes from seeing it, hearing it, breathing it.

So tonight, I expect we will laugh ourselves silly. And I can't wait. Being a part of a group of strangers, all sitting together with a purpose - to watch and enjoy - and all laughing or gasping or crying together. It's pretty darn amazing.

Road Trip - Day 1

Juliana and I set out for Duluth, Minnesota with the car packed full of clothes, 7 pairs of shoes, chocolate-covered pretzels, music, books on cd, and a dog bowl. (I had forgotten to take the dog bowl out of the car before we left.)

We arrived in Duluth too early to check in to our Bed and Breakfast, so we visited Glensheen, a historic mansion owned by the University of Minnesota.

We have been on the Glensheen "extended" tour many times. Juliana says she could give the tour herself, which I believe. If you're ever in Duluth, and you like history and big, historic homes, I definitely recommend you check out Glensheen.

After our tour, it was time to check into our own 1904 Georgian mansion B&B - The Olcott House.

David, one of the owners, welcomed us and showed us to our rooms. We had an entire suite with bedroom, living room and bath. It was very beautiful and elegant. It felt like we were transported back to 1904, living in luxury.

(Here are some photos I took. For professional photos of The Olcott House, visit their website. It has lots of wonderful photos and information.)

The sitting room:

The staircase:

The corner of our living room:

Originally, the home was owned by William and Fanny Olcott. William Olcott was president of the Oliver Mining Company (which is now U.S. Steel). Olcott was also president of the Duluth Missabe Northern Railroad for many years.

Around this time, Duluth had more millionaires than any other city in the United States! Duluth was in its hay day, and the Olcotts were at the center of it, along with the Congdons who owned Glensheen.

We got to be a part of it all too, in our small way, by staying at The Olcott House.

At the end of the day, we snuggled into our giant, king-size bed, in our beautiful, historic room, and watched . . . Finding Nemo. We probably should have watched Pride and Prejudice or Downton Abbey, but instead we watched a clown fish search for his son and we laughed at Ellen DeGeneres' character.

Our bed:

Some Highlights of Today:

1. Seeing 4 Bald Eagles as we drove north.

2. Accidentally using Body Wash as shampoo and Conditioning Shampoo as conditioner. Oops.

3. Talking for two hours with my daughter in the car.

It's My Birthday - Here's What You Can Get Me

Today I'm turning 44 years old.

Since, 44 seems to be about right smack in the middle of my life (if I'm fortunate), I decided to make a list of things I would really love and appreciate in the 2nd half of my life.

So, if you get me (or guarantee me) any of these items, I will be your BFF forever!

1. More Sun.

- This can be delivered in the form of multiple sunny vacations, a second home in Florida, Hawaii or the Caribbean, or possibly a sun lamp.

2. A Cleaning Servie

- I love having a clean, tidy house. But I want someone else to do the work.

3. A Great Literary Agent

- I think it's about time in my writing career to have a professional partner.

4. A New Pair of Dansko Clogs

- I wear clogs a lot and my old pair is wearing out.

5. More Flair Pens

- I love colored pens. You can never have enough.

6. A Professional Gardener/Landscaper

- I love beautiful gardens and yards. But since I don't know what I'm doing, I'd love someone else to take care of this for me.

7. Blank Notebooks

- Lined, graphed or unlined. Like colored pens, you can never have enough.

8. SpanishLessons

- I'd like to brush up on (re-learn) my high school Spanish and eventually be fluent (or close to fluent.)

9. A Convertible

- I like convertibles.

10. A Long, Happy, Healthy Life (for me, my family, friends, and well . . . everyone.)

- This would be a great gift for anyone!

Thanks in advance. I will be accepting any, or all, of these gifts today and really any time is fine.

Have a great day!

I'm off to tutor Junior High kids. And have homemade pizza for dinner with my family.

Who Doesn't Love Thriller?

My daughter and I have matching i-pods.

I don't mean the size and color. I mean the songs.

We have exactly the same music on our i-pods.

Originally, this was because I didn't know how to select only some of the songs for each individual i-pod.

But then, it didn't matter.

It turns out we like almost all the same music. I think this is cool.

My daughter thinks this is a little embarrassing.

Here is a sample of our downloads:

• Stereo Hearts, by Gym Class Heroes

• Good Feeling, by Flo Rida

• La Isla Bonita, by Madonna

• Give Me All Your Luvin', by Madonna (featuring Nicki Minaj)

• Smooth Criminal, by Michael Jackson (sung by the Glee cast)

• What Doesn't Kill You, by Kelly Clarkson

• Someone Like You, by Adele

• Waka Waka, by Shakira

• The Irish Rover, by The Pogues

• A-Tisket, A-Tasket, by Ella Fitzgerald

• We Found Love, by Rihanna

And that's just a small sample.

What's on your i-pod?

Ten Things I Love about Parenting a Teen

For Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop today I chose the prompt: "What are 10 things you love about motherhood?"

I think it's relatively easy to write about 10 things you love about parenting a BABY. So soft and sweet, they coo, they cuddle, they loooove you.

But a TEEN?

They're lovable too.

Ten Things I Love about Parenting a Teen

1. She can dress herself.

2. She can feed herself.

3. She can feed me, if bribed.

4. It's never boring.

5. It's fun to shop with her. I like her sense of fashion.

6. Even though she's a Beast in the morning, she's still a Beauty at night when she says, "Good night, Mama. I love you."

7. She can put herself to sleep. (My husband and I are almost always in bed before her.)

8. We enjoy a lot of the same TV shows, movies, and books.

9. We have some pretty awesome talks.

10. It's amazing to watch her grow into a wonderful, young woman.