But I Don't Want To!!

Both the boys started karate last month, and it was quite the convoluted beginning.

When I asked them if they wanted to try karate, Youngest said no. But then he heard Oldest say yes, and he changed his mind. "Mommy, I'll just try it. Okay? I'll try."

I said okay, and signed them both up for a trial class. That way, if one or both of them didn't like it, we could walk away and not worry about losing any money. Well, when the trial day came, we walked into the dojo and Youngest started pulling on my arm and wailing. "Mommy, I don't want to do karate! I don't wanna!" I told him he didn't have to, but for some reason he didn't hear me and kept wailing over and over again that he didn't want to do this. I finally had to take him to a corner, get down on my knees, and put my face a few inches from his.

Me: Hey, sweetie, look at me! No one is going to make you do karate. If you want to do it, you can. But you don't have to. Okay?
Youngest: (surprise all over his face) Oh. Okay.

We went to the classroom, and I fully expected Youngest to be sitting next to me the whole time. But then the teacher led the kids in a few laps around the room to warm up, and the next thing I knew Youngest was running right there with him. He passed by me, smiling and waving, and kept going. When the teacher lined up the kids to start training, he lined up, too, and went through all the kicks, punches, and blocks just like everyone else.

When class was over, he ran up to me practically yelling "Karate is the best thing in the whole world! Can we do it again right now?"
I just stared at him. I mean, seriously?? We went through that whole tantrum, in public, for this?
The teacher heard him and chuckled, then explained the karate was over for the day but that he could sign up and come back another day. So Youngest turned to me and asked "Can we sign up right now and come back tomorrow?"
He asked me that at least five more times, even though I answered each time with a 'yes, of course we can.' :)

I signed them both up that same day, and it's something they look forward to each week. But it's funny how kids will dig in their heels when they think they're being forced into something, isn't it?

You're All Better, Right?

Last tuesday was my first day of physical therapy. It went well, and, as most everyone knows, it was just the first step in a long road to recovery.

My kids don't know that, though. :)

Earlier this year, they discovered karate. There is an amazing dojo in our neighborhood that also has a kids' program. Well, a friend of mine goes there, and we watched her test for her brown belt in January. She'd gone through some major physical difficulties the year before, so my heart swelled with pride watching her complete her test and recieve her brown belt. I still get all warm and gooey inside just thinking about it--watching her was truely inspiring.

I took the kids with me to watch her test, mostly because I didn't have a sitter, and wild horses weren't going to keep me from supporting my friend. :) As it turned out, though, they were interested. Youngest was watching the white belts and trying to mimic their arm movements, and Oldest was studying everyone with an amazing intensity. One of the teachers from the kids' program noticed their interest and came over to say hello. She invited us to come and watch the kids' class to see if it's something they wanted to do for themselves. So, the following week, that's what we did.

After the kids' class was over, I asked the boys if this was something they wanted to try. Oldest said yes, but that he wasn't going to because he'd have to start as a white belt. He wanted to be a black belt. (!) I bit back a laugh, and told him that everyone has to start as a white belt.

Karate is something I've always wanted to try, ever since I was a kid, but I  never had the money or the opportunity. Then my knee gave out. My body has never given out on me before, so this has been difficult to deal with. I don't like it, at all. But as I watched my friend get her brown belt, a new feeling came over me. What she went through makes my torn meniscus look like a scratch, and look at where she is now! It made me realize that if I never got the chance to study a martial art in my lifetime, I would truly regret it. So, I told Oldest that I was going to sign up for karate, and that I'd have to start as a white belt.

His eyes widened at that. "You're going to be a white belt?" he said.
I nodded. "If this is something you think you want to try, then we can be white belts together as soon as my knee is all better. But, even if you decide not to, I'm going to do this."
He thought for a moment, then decided he wanted to try. But he didn't need to wait around for my knee to get better. :) That was last month.

Last Tuesday when I got home from physical therapy, the first thing Oldest asked me was how physical therapy had gone. I said it went well, and he got all excited. "Does that mean you get to do karate with me?" I laughed and said it would still be a while before I could do karate. "Oh," he said. "Well, can you do a front snap kick? Like this?" He demonstrated, and it was so cute that I couldn't tell him no. I did one to the best of my ability (i.e. not very well) then he took me through all the kicks, punches, and blocks that he knows. When he was done, and could see exactly how much I couldn't do yet, he told me I should keep doing physical therapy and that he hoped I could start karate soon.

I hugged him. What a little sweetheart!

Knee Update

So, two weeks ago, I went in for arthroscopic surgery on my knee. I'm happy to report that I'm recovering extremely well. I have my full flexibility back, and now I'm working on regaining my strength. I start physical therapy today, too, so I'll get a set of exercises that I'm sure I'll have to do every day.

I saw my doctor last week so she could check up on how I'm healing and write me a prescription for physical therapy. She's happy with how quickly I was up and on my feet, and with how few pain pills I needed to take (one. seriously, that's it). She also had color photos from the surgery, so I got to see the actual tear in my meniscus. It was bad!! The torn tissue had flipped under itself, forming a hard ball. She said it was kind of amazing that I'd been walking around for so long on that, because it would feel like I had a little rock stuck inside my knee. And, yeah, that's kind of how it felt. :) So I'm very glad I went ahead and got the surgery before that tissue had a chance to mess up my cartilage.

I'm planning to take it slow and not push myself too hard (which isn't easy for me; I tend to push myself beyond my limits), while trying to maintain a steady improvement. It's nice to be able to sit on the floor with my kids again, and now that it's starting to warm up I'm hoping to be able to play soccer with them once the grass comes up.

One Lovely Blog Award

Look! It's another gorgeous award! This one came from the lovely Kelly Hashway. She's got great stuff on her blog, so if you haven't checked it out, you should.

Here are the rules for this award:

• Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and their blog link.
• Pass the award on to 15 other blogs that you've newly discovered.
• Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

15 blogs!!??!?! Well, I don't get out much in the cyberworld since I have limited computer time, but I'll do my best. Disclaimer: some of these blogs I have rediscovered after not having the time to visit regularly over the past several months. And it was just as enjoyable as the first time I found them. :)

The Quintessentially Questionable Query Experiment (Matthew, I realize this blog award is rather girly, but I figure that if you can post a picture of yourself with pink hair, you've got enough confidence to accept this award) :)
Simply Put
Chocolate for Inspiration
Texas Sweethearts
Logan E. Turner
Eternal Moonshine of a Daydreaming Mind

If you haven't visited these blogs, you shoud. They are fabulous. :)

Beautiful Blogger Award

Isn't this award gorgeous! Sheri from Writer's Alley gave this to me last week, and it's my first award for this blog. Thank you, Sheri!!

When she passed on this award, Sheri included seven random pet peeves, which were fabulous, so I think I'll do the same.

1. Drivers who cannot stop at a stop sign, or can't wait their turn. Maybe it's my mom-gene kicking in here, but come on! Wait your turn already. It's really not that hard.
2. Drivers who use right-hand-turn lanes/parking lanes/teeny tiny spaces between lanes to try to cut in front of a line of traffic, and then get mad at me for not letting them in. Seriously???
3. Blonde jokes, especially when the teller of the joke can see the color of my hair. And that person is saying blondes are dumb???
4. The word irregardless. What master-of-overstating-the-obvious came up with that?
5. People who talk on the phone or text while driving. (can you tell I practically live in my car?) :)
6. The FDA's claim that the rBGH growth hormone is safe and has no side effects. Ummm...based on personal experience, I beg to differ. Thanks to these morons, I can't eat anything unless I pay a small fortune for organic everything. And eating out is a nightmare, because hardly anything is organic. I miss my cheeseburgers... :(
7. Oldest and DH leave their socks all over the house. I'm thinking of recording myself saying "can you PLEASE pick up your socks?" because I swear they don't hear me. Maybe if I play it back on constant repeat, it'll eventually sink in.

Now here's the fun part. I get to pass this award on to some beautiful bloggers. In no particular order, here they are:

Janet from Tuttle Tattle
Danielle from Myth Takes
Marcia from Marcia Hoehne
Sherrie from Write About Now

Big thanks to all of these bloggers for the great stuff they post each week!