Dealing with disappointment… September 24, 2008

Well,  unfortunately, Katie didn’t win her election to the Student Council.  (Even though she did have the most creative posters….)  She was disappointed and figures the girl who won did so because she promised to repeal the ban on gum chewing in school.  (Something the Student Council will have no power to do…)

It’s been a hard month for Katie.  She didn’t get a part in the school musical, lost the election, and, as I found out last night, didn’t get a call back for the civic theater play she auditioned for on Monday.  What makes it a little harder to take is that Soren did get a call back.

Sigh!  It is hard as a parent to watch your child suffer in any way.  Dave and I talked for a long time with her about these disappointments.  I snuggled with her for a while and we talked about how to deal with these “setbacks.”  We looked at them as opportunities to get involved in other things.  She wants to nuture her other artistic talents– pottery, drawing, etc.  I hope we’ll find outlets that will bring her joy.

She’s an amazing kid and got up this morning with a smile…

It’s a Whole New Campaign, Baby! September 10, 2008

Katie is running for Vice President of the Student Council. With a father connected to the political science world, she knew that getting her name out there would be important. Needless to say, the family brainstormed and came up with some great campaign posters… Here are a few…

Who are you going to vote for Napoleon? Whoever I want to... GOSH!

Gotta love those Spartan cheerleaders!

Elf.... need I say more?

She also has one with the creepy Burger King guy saying, “The King says Vote for Katie Campbell for Vice President” (That one was Dave’s idea. The BK guy gives me the willies….)

Getting Back to BASIC September 6, 2008

This week my father-in-law sent Dave a package. Inside was his old VIC 20 computer– complete with the programs he wrote years and years ago. I knew that Dave was a nerd as a kid. (I can’t talk– I remember taking a BASIC programming class one summer after 5th or 6th grade. It was a summer of “If Thens” and “GO TOs”…) It was like he was 11 again. After a quick trip to Radio Shack to get an adapter so that the computer could talk to our “fancy, modern” TV (bought back in the mid-90s) Dave was in heaven. There on the screen were the funky letters and the “cutting edge” graphics of the early 80s. Katie and Soren were just as entranced. They played “Jupiter Landing” and “Bombs Away”–a game Dave actually created himself. These are kids who love playing Star Wars on the Wii and are used to graphics on computer games like Harry Potter where you are in a 3D world. They thought it all was so cool. In fact, I overheard Soren tell his buddy yesterday, “Yeah, the game is so cool. It’s tough, but I’m pretty good at it…”

Needless to say, I anticipate Soren studying the programming manual and creating his own game in the near future. Dave has been online to scrounge for additional parts. Remember, the calculator Katie has for her Algebra class is more sophisticated than the VIC 20! It reminded me of the fascination I felt as my dad showed me the old phonograph he had on a shelf in his office. I guess the old saying that “everything old is new again” still holds true.

Someday I’m sure my kids will show an iPod to their children and the same fascination will be there.

The VIC 20