Great Learning Experience

It took everything in me to not burst out of the stand, run down, and give my child a big hug to console her. Dropping the staff disqualified Taylor from the event. After the tournament one of the judges from Taylor's ring told me that Taylor's staff spinning was beautiful. Had she not dropped the staff she would have taken 1st place.

The Kuk Sool Won Midwest tournament was a great learning experience.

1. Failure builds character.
2. Character building feels really cruddy while it is happening.
3. The definition of "best" is very subjective.
4. Losing gracefully is really, really hard for everyone.
5. It is easy to have good etiquette when you win. It's a much harder exercise when you lose but is something that we must always work at.

Things I had to muster up and say to my child even though all I wanted to do was affirm everything she was feeling about how subjective judging is. I had to take my mom hat off and put my instructor hat on. I know how hard judging is. All of the judges try their best to be as fair as possible. That is all any of us can ask of them. Sometimes judging falls in our favor and sometimes it doesn't. That's competition.

Taylor and I both learned a great deal about ourselves after this tournament. All experiences, regardless of outcome, are good learning experiences. We can't wait take our learnings, apply it to our training the next six months, and compete again in Houston.

BTW, I came home with two golds (forms and technique) and two silvers (staff spinning and sparring). Taylor took home a medal for her 4th place finish in techniques.

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes

Yesterday as Ayden ate her after school snack we chatted about the day. She mentioned to me that her teacher had read Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. I remembered this book from my childhood and how sad the book made me feel so I was very interested to hear her thoughts.

Ayden seemed to be intrigued by Sadako's story. The story led us into a discussion about the death and destruction of war, the atom bomb, radiation and the Fukushima Nuclear Plant. In the middle of our conversation I started crying. It was Ayden's comment about Sadako's belief that if she made 1,000 paper cranes she could make a wish to no longer be ill. Even though I knew this from having read the book myself, there was something about how Ayden said those words that overwhelmed me. Her voice was so sweet and so innocent.

I could not stop thinking about the pain that Sadako's mother must have felt (Not to diminish the physical and emotioanl pain that Sadako endured). The anguish of losing a child. The senseless death that comes with war. My heart broke for every mother who had ever lost a child for any reason. The countless wishes made by mothers who came before Sadao's mother and all those after. I stood silently and cried. Unable to understand my emotions my child put her arms around me and gave me a big, long hug then said to me, "Everything will be okay Mommy."

Videos from Her Ski Weekend

What a great weekend.

Do you want some drugs?

Interesting thing happened this weekend. At Granite Peak there is a super fast chair lift that can take up to six people at a time. With such a large group the bigger kids were at times separated from the adults. On one particular ride Taylor, Asya and Courtney ended up on a chair with two teenage boys. These boys offered the girls ecstasy and other drugs. They also invited the girls to join them at their car for some "cool aid". Courtney, the oldest of the three, declined and instructed Taylor and Asya not to talk with these two hooligans. Immediately after reaching our group the girls reported the incident to their parents. If you know anything about the Her men, the dads instantly went into @as kicking mode and began searching for these boys. These boys have no idea how lucky they were. Had the dads caught up them, they would have encountered a world of hurt. That aside, I was so proud of the girls for handling themselves well and appropriately.

Then later that night when the family was swimming at the hotel there was another incident. Apparently some boys were watching Taylor and Asya from outside of the pool making young boy comments about them. As I went to open the pool door to let Pong (Kong's brother) in, I heard him speaking in serious and firm tone. Apparently he was lecturing these boys on their inappropriate comments and giving them a piece of his mind. When the boys came back later to take another peek, Pong made eye contact with these boys and gestured them to keep on walking. It was clear from the look on Pong's face that lingering meant a serious beating. These boys quickly went on their way and did not return.

The first incident was scary. The second incident, more comical. I love how protective the dad's are of all of the girls. I feel so lucky to have family members that would go to any length to protect the girls in our family from harm.

Cliques???

Julia, Logan, Taylor, Asya and Ayden the day after conquering Mt. La Crosse

So Taylor came home yesterday feeling very sad/confused/mad about something that is happening at their school this year. Cliques have formed and she is stuck in the middle. The popular kids came to her and told her that if she ditched her nerdy friends she could join their group. One of her friends has apparently already defected (even though she said she has not).

As I expected my reasonable 11 year old asked why there is a need for a popular group as they are afforded no extra benefits or privileges. Her questions were met with shhhing and idiotic rambling. Taylor expressed that she did not appreciate others labeling her and that abandoning friendships for status was not her style.

In addition to this, two girls from the popular group are trying to hook her up with a boy. The explanation given by these two girls as to why Taylor and this boy should be together...that Taylor needs a man. They keep trying to force the two of them together. When asked if she would be willing to be this boy's girl friend she said no and that she didn't believe 11 year old were ready to be in relationships. They questioned her maturity because she was not ready for a boy friend. Her responses will surely keep her in the "nerdy" group throughout her k-12 education : )

You want your child to refuse to conform, to stand up for what is right and to speak when no one else will but sometimes it pains me to watch how doing so affects her social status. We had a long talk about doing what is right, being secure in yourself and to always uphold your values. It may be painful to resist peer pressure now but it will only make her a better person in the end. The truth is, throughout your entire life, people will categorize you against your will and ask you to change so that they can fit you into categories that make sense for them. It's good to practice now so that when it really matters you'll make the right choice. Oh, and we also talked about how no woman should ever need a man. If she wants one that's great but to need one is just plain wrong.

And it begins...

Start of a New Year

The garland is down, the tree is put away and the presents stored. It always makes me a little sad but it is a physical sign of the clean start of a new year. The Her family is looking forward to a 2011 filled with new adventures.

To close out 2010, below are some pictures from the Radio Disney New Year's Eve party the girls attended.

Toasting the New Year

Thumbs up to a great party.

Dancing the night away.

Yesterday was the girl's last performance. The girls came home full of tears. What a fun run Joseph was. It was an amazing experience and the girls are excited about what the future holds for them. Last photo with the kids cast.

Opening Night

Opening night was so much fun. This has been such a wonderful experience for the girls. The opportunity to be a part of a large scale production and work with such amazing talent has been truly a blessing. The cast includes Anthony Fedorov, American Idol season four finalist; Jennifer Paz, Broadway performer; James Rocco, Ivey Award winning Director/Choreographer and a whole host of other extremely talented actors and actresses.

(The girls with the lead dancer Bridget Noltimier)

The girls favorite part of the evening was the cast party. What a treat to mingle and talk with everyone. What amazed me was how beautiful and thin the actresses were in person and up close. The stage (and I'm sure this is also true of the camera) is so unforgiving. Don't get me wrong, the actresses were pretty on stage but in person they were stunning. It makes you wonder how an average person would look like.

(Balcony view of the cast party)

Anyway, if you are in town and have a chance to see the show you should absolutely do it. Kong and I were so pleasantly surprised at the funny twist of such a well known story. We laughed throughout the whole show. The music and choreography will make you want to jump to your feet and dance with the cast. The show felt more like a party than a theater production. It was so much fun!

(The girls and Anthony Fedorov)

(Taylor, Ayden and Jennifer Paz)

(Director James Rocco)