Year Six Party

How is it possible I have a child who has completed elementary school? Didn't she just stop sucking her thumb?
Year 6 marks the last year of Junior School. Katie has actually started SENIOR school. Really?!??!

To mark the special occasion the Year 6 parent representatives and the teachers planned and manned a celebratory party in their honor. We'd wanted to host it outside of the school, but cost, time and logistics forced our hand. However, with the help of the school's catering services, a financial boost from the Headmaster, and some dedicated moms, a great party took place in the cafeteria after school.
The kids were allowed to bring a change of clothes and the girls even put on a bit of make-up. The teachers had put together a slide show and a song list that played throughout the party.
I couldn't stay for the entire party as Sarah was at a birthday party at a friend's house and poor Syd was stuck out in the hall waiting for me. There were a few other younger siblings in the same boat so she wasn't

complaining...too often.
Katie said everyone had a great time and she was sad to see the end of the year come. She said it was the best year of her life.
I think I might be inclined to agree with her.

Tiger Hill...Finally!

My desire to visit as many of the Suzhou historic sites and beautiful gardens has not abated since our arrival. Larry and the girls could 'take 'em or leave 'em', but I am determined to come home with enough pictures of gardens, temples, cute Chinese children and pagados to fill up several memory cards.
Tiger Hill has been at the top of my list. Whenever we travel to the old town or go to Larry's office, we pass by it and every time I say, "Let's go!
When I found out the Year 3s were going on a field trip to Tiger Hill I immediately volunteered to chaperone.
I was charged with watching Sarah and three of her classmates. All four Year 3 classes were together most of the time, so I did get to spend some time with Syd.
Tiger Hill is beautiful and definitely worth the wait. I loved exploring the bonzai tree park, which showcased hundreds of different little trees. The rock formations and inscriptions were fascinating. The girls bounded from one part of the park to the other, with barely a moment's breath in between. Their interests laid in the little rivers and searching for 'giant birds' in the forest rather than the thousand year old pagado tower that leans almost as much as the one in Pisa.

After we'd spent a couple of hours at Tiger Hill, we headed over to a small park to have a picnic lunch. The skies were overcast, but the rain held off and we had a wonderful day.

Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat

We all know the Whitfield women love the spotlight. Whether it's nature or nurture, my girls are performers. I can't say I haven't influenced them because that would be a big fat lie. They've grown up with me singing around the house or talking in strange accents. Also, I can't say I wasn't secretly doing a happy dance in my head when they all told me they had decided to audition for the Junior School's production of 'Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat'.

The day they found out what part they'd be playing was tricky. Katie was ecstatic as she'd been cast as Joseph. Sarah was a bit upset because she had auditioned for Joseph as well. Both she and Sydney were cast as brothers of Joseph. I told them not many Year 3s had been cast in speaking roles and they should all be proud of themselves.

Rehearsals ensued, lines were learned and songs were sung. Frankly, I was in seventh heaven. All three of my girls were going to be performing together. Syd was relishing the scenes she and the other 'brothers' were cruel to 'Joseph'. "Art imating life", I told her. She gave me a devilish smile.

After two months of rehearsals, their moment to shine was upon them. And, boy, did they shine. Unfortunately, Larry had to go to Korea and he missed the live version. I, however, arrived super early to ensure a front row seat to film the show and to beam proudly at my three stars.

My face hurt from smiling so much that night. Sarah and Syd hammed it up and sung their little hearts out. I never doubted their characters' dislike of Joseph for a minute. Katie was a star. She didn't look a bit nervous. In fact, she looked at home in the spotlight. Ok, this may be just a proud stage mother talking, but geez, "Wow, Katie...wow!"

And...We're Back

The summer of 2011 will definitely go down in my record books as the quickest and busiest to date. When I last wrote back in June, I mentioned I was going on a writing hiatus. I really thought it would only be for a few weeks, not a couple of months. Where did the time go? Well, let's see if I can recall the events, including the last couple of weeks of school. As many know, I tend to ramble and my mind is churning with everything I need to write before it's lost in the memory abyss. The next few entries will be a bit dated as I try to catch up.

Hiatus

Taking a bit of a break, if you haven't already guessed. And by break, I mean packing and moving to another house here in Suzhou. When we came two years ago, all the packing was done for us. Not this time. the boxes and packing paper were provided. Nope, none of that either. I've been prowling the local stores in search of both. Mr Liu has been instrumental in securing quite a few, but many more are needed before next week. Supposedly, that is when the 'movers' will be here. For 150RMB they'll load and unload said boxes and furniture. I'm a bit worried about this whole arrangement, but several friends have been through the same thing. They and their belongings survived.
Add to this, my seasonal case of stomach...well, you get the picture.
I'll try to get caught up once we touch down in the U.S. of A. mid July.

The Finger Saga Part 2

Syd put on a brave face the morning of the surgery and kept it for the duration. The more the nurses and doctors commended her for her fearlessness, the more fearless she became. The frown in the photo was strictly for dramatic effect. Having been through the exact same pre-op procedures, I prepped her for what she had in store. Her favorite part was being hooked up to all of the wires for the EKG. When the time came for the nurses to take her surgery, my brave little girl had them all laughing as they wheeled her down the hall.

Two surgeons, one steel pin, and one and a half hours later, the bone was realigned. Her hand looked like that of a heavyweight boxer.
Those first few days were tough. The doctor didn't give her any pain medication beyond Childrens' Tylenol. Thankfully, my friend, Anne S. hooked me up with some 'good stuff' from her tumble down the stairs. Don't panic, I broke the pill into thirds and Syd only wanted it for nighttime.

For the next month we had to return to Shanghai to have the incision cleaned and dressing/cast changed once a week. One of the visits, the doctor noticed the pin had worked itself out a bit. He starts to work it back in. For the first time, Syd screamed, but he kept grinding away. Just as I was about to jump over the table and throttle him, he stopped, saying it was back in far enough.
School work was a challenge. She missed over a week in total. Two of those days came during exam week. Most teachers were accommodating enough, but one told her she needed to learn how to write with her left hand. She was bummed as she really wanted to earn her pen license in Handwriting. I told her it wouldn't take her long next year. The little guy was told to keep his distance and her teacher did her best to watch. Syd did tell us of every encounter, but all were positive. I guess the threat of expulsion did the trick. The pin was removed without incident and we are now in the process of rehabilitating the frozen joint, which is no fun at all. The parents, after some prodding from the Junior School headmaster, paid our out-of-pocket expenses, saying they hope that is the end of it. "No more than I do, buddy", was my response.

The Finger Saga Part 1

Who knew one of the smallest bones in the body would be the center of attention for over a month.
It was back on May 3 and I was standing at the arrival gate in Shanghai waiting for Larry when at the same moment he came around the corner, my phone rang. "Melissa, this is Sydney's teacher. There's been an incident and it looks like her finger is broken. Can you come to the school immediately?" "Umm, no. Her father and I are two hours away!" Now what? After a flurry of phone calls back and forth between the school, Kowloon (ugh!) hospital and me it was decided one of the school's nurses would take Sydney and we'd meet them there. From what I initially gathered was a boy in Syd's class had kicked her. We were sure we'd get a more detailed, animated report from Syd.

Mr. Liu correctly assumed we were in a bit of a hurry to get to the hospital and made record time getting there. He normally drives NASCAR fast, but that day it was closer to Formula 1 speeds. Sydney had already been seen, x-rayed, consulted and treated by the time we arrived at the VIP wing of Kowloon. She had a nice popsicle stick jutting crookedly out from her finger, which was wrapped in a sticky ace bandage. We asked to talk to the doctor. He happened to be the same one who told me to stay off my feet for three weeks and my knee would be fine, while hawking giant lugeys into the trashcan by the exam table. He basically said the same thing regarding Syd's finger. "All would be healed in three weeks." The x-ray wasn't very clear, but a very distinct break could be seen. We asked if it needed to be set and the response was that it was such a small bone it wouldn't need to be.

When we got home, Larry immediately unwrapped it and held up her hand. The little finger was curving in a direction it shouldn't have been. "Looks like we'll be going to Shanghai, Syd".

We went to the same doctor who operated on my knee. He took another x-ray of her hand and it showed the top of the bone below the first knuckle to be completed separated and at an angle, causing her finger to curve. Blown up so large it looked gruesome, but he said it was so small that trying to put in a pin may not work. He wanted to try to set it then and there. Syd let him try for a bit, but it was too painful. He then asked if I wanted to try the surgery. I told him I didn't want my daughter to have a crooked finger. Surgery it was, the very next morning. Now, I was really angry.

Syd told us what happened and we were appalled. Evidently, while she was putting her lunchbox away, this boy grabbed her behind. When she turned around he grabbed her off-limits area. She screamed at him and ran out of the classroom. He chased after her and when she tripped, he started kicking her back and stomach in a rage. It was when she put her hand out to protect herself that he kicked her finger.

The Year 3s have been a bit of a handful all year with the kids giving the teachers fits. So, when we learned of this little boy's actions I wasn't all that surprised. It was only a matter of time before someone got hurt. What I was surprised with was the limited punishment he received, which was one day out of school suspension and one day sitting in the Junior School headmaster's office. He also had to write a letter of apology to Sydney. That was it. AND we learned this was the second time he'd groped a girl. We were told if he did anything 'of the sort' again he'd be expelled. Dear my, I sincerely hope that is the case. So, while Sydney was at the hospital having surgery, he was back in class.
(can't seem to load pix today. will continue later)