Our family has had several busy weeks! Sebastian went to his prom which involved shopping for a suit - he looked very handsome as he departed with friends.
My nephew, who is the same age, was also attending the prom and when talking with my sister I realized that I hadn’t given Sebastian a curfew. I thought about texting him but decided to wait until I needed to - and it turns out that I didn’t need to at all. At 9:50pm Sebastian was texting to ask for a ride home. He said that he had fun but felt “like a video game player who had exhausted all of the dialogue options and had nothing left to say.” LOL! Sebastian’s maturity and wittiness are sure to take him far! Sebastian has also earned enough credits to officially graduate from high school.
He plans to go back for one more semester in the fall but it’s a very eventful month with prom, his 18th birthday and graduation all in June. I’m glad that his first official decision as a legal adult is to decide that he’s staying home for a while longer.
Clara has been working with a talented group of fellow young people in a drama group. The Ordinary Magic Theatre Company for Young Players put on an amazing performance of Radium Girls! Clara played Katherine Wiley, a strong, intelligent, and tenacious human rights advocate and director of the New Jersey Consumer League. Clara put so much effort and thought into building the character and the dedication was evident. Clara was sensational! The play is based on the true historical events of a group of young female factory workers in the 1920s who began developing mysterious illnesses while painting watch faces. Unaware that the paint was harmful, they would place the brush tip on their lips to achieve a fine point. After suffering from radium poisoning, several young women sued their employers and brought national attention to the safety of workers. While the topic is tragic and heavy, it really worked for this group of teens - many of whom could relate to the idea of human rights advocacy. So impressive!
Leora has been quite impressive herself over the past few weeks. She asked to return to school on Wednesdays after her Vision Therapy session. We were able to move Leora’s appointment to 9am so that she gets to school by 10:30am. Leora felt like she was missing too many things on Wednesdays - in particular, gym class. While I miss our weekly dedicated time together, I’m impressed that she came to the decision herself - especially since the principal’s concern was that, given the opportunity, Leora would have difficulty ever returning to the normal school schedule. Leora’s approach to school has been quite different in the past few weeks. Her positive approach to dealing with peer conflict seems so relaxed and analytical as opposed to the extreme emotional reactions we were seeing. I think this is, in large part, because of her ADHD medication.
Leora is still struggling with anxiety and this is usually quite easy for me to manage. However, I really struggled to hold space and respect Leora’s boundaries a couple of weeks ago. We were at our final Girl Guide meeting of the year. We had planned a potluck dinner, inviting all families to join us in our Advancement Ceremony when eligible girls move up to the next level of guiding. Leora has completed her Guide program and is becoming a Pathfinder. Leora was very clear that she did not want to have her name called or have to walk in front of the entire group.
This wouldn’t have been that big of a deal but, unbeknownst to Leora, she had earned one of the highest awards that Girl Guides has to offer, the Lady Baden-Powell Award.
This challenge is quite difficult to achieve since the entire Guide program must be completed plus a few additional activities that a member must complete on their own. With Leora’s difficulties in learning and her ADHD tendencies, we both thought this award was a bit too ambitious. It turns out that attending soevery meeting, helping your mom and other leaders, and showing off your special school projects makes anything possible! I really wanted to celebrate Leora’s achievement and give her the recognition that she deserves but I couldn’t do that if she didn’t want to have any attention drawn to her at all. My fellow Owls tried to help, asking Leora if someone else could walk on her behalf - trying to get her to agree to having her name announced while keeping the award a secret. In the end, I had to accept that Leora was not comfortable with being the centre of attention. I instead mentioned that we had another member who was moving up to Pathfinders but they had asked not to be named. Then I said, “This same person has been working very hard and participating to the best of their ability for the past three years. This person doesn’t know it but they have completed one of the hardest challenges to earn, the Lady Baden-Powell award. We will be sure to present this award in private later but I wanted to express how proud I am of this person. Well done!” Leora was happy. I was happy. One young person asked who I was talking about and I heard another girl reply, “the person asked not to be named.” I love that Girl Guides has become such an accepting and understanding space. The members just recognized that the person had set a boundary and they respected it. As families started to leave, Leora came up to investigate the framed certificate.
Clara jumped in to pin Leora with her award. Our Brown Owl, Melody took the opportunity to capture the moment with a few photos. Leora eventually let me take some pictures of my own and we shared our excitement for her tremendous achievement!
Our busy summer has already begun! Clara, Leora and I are on our way to the Toronto Zoo with our Girl Guide troop for an overnight experience! More on this next time! ~K
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