no limitations

Is it actually possible that I haven't written a blog post since September?  Teaching full time and parenting full time will do that to you I suppose.  It is hard to know where to start and what brought me to writing at 7 am this morning while my family sleeps.  

It seems that so much has happened since September, really it hasn't. We are the same family. We live in the same house. We eat the same meals. Michael is now forty. ha ha.

I think it feels like so much has happened since September because Kindergarten has started and I have learned more about my children. I'm surprised that there are aspects of them that I didn't know. I watch them from my office window on the playground and observe how they interact with children when I'm not around. What activities they prefer. Who they are drawn to and how they solve conflict. It is fascinating. I'm a lucky mom that I can see this.

Do you remember my fears?  I can't remember if I wrote them. I can't remember if I published them. I was afraid of the novelty of Madeleine's leg.  I was going to write in my professional blog how awesome my daughter is and why you shouldn't stare. I didn't do it.  I tried. I wrote the stupid post and I never published it. 
Why?
Because Madeleine took care of it herself. Because she didn't need me to do it.  Because she is amazing and can do anything she wants to and it isn't fair for me to discuss it with others until Madeleine has a chance to prove it. Remember this story? http://madeleineandmax.blogspot.com/2011/09/first-day-of-kindergarten.html
Yeah, she rocked it. She usually does.

She doesn't talk about her leg anymore. Kids don't ask. I went into the upper grades and explained the circumstances to all the kids and they were awesome. They asked thoughtful questions and contributed appropriately. I was very proud of them. Parents still ask me and are surprised to find this out about my daughter. But I'm ok with that.

Today Madeleine continues to rock it.  She is learning (and determined to master) to ride a unicycle.  She got a skateboard for Christmas and for crying out loud she can ride it.  I took her ice skating and she didn't need to hold the 'chair' for longer than three cycles. She continues to move beyond my expectations. I need to learn to not expect limitations.