Archive: The Fine and Right Education of the Young Doctor Benny

Benny won the Tot Trot at the YMCA Waterside Stride event downtown in Norfolk today. By which I mean that of the children who ran, he ran fastest and crossed the finish line first. It was a quarter mile running race. Every child got a gold medal on a ribbon around their necks. Benny, however, actually in fact won. He said he was going to. He accomplished the task very calmly and with a completely matter-of-fact attitude. It was... astonishing. There was a lot of Dan in Benny today, in his quiet assessment of what was necessary and his quiet and steely application of his will to the problem. It was really something to watch -- the competitive streak in this child is completely beyond what I thought before. On some level, the kid is made of steel. I really had no idea. He ran as fast as he needed to run to beat the other kids -- he went out in front in the beginning and stayed out in front the entire time. I think if he'd had to throw himself across the finish line with his eyes bleeding and his limbs hanging off, he would have done it... without vacillating. It was a little crazy! He was very pleased with himself and loved his medal but was extremely calm about the result as if... of course. He is an amazing person, our Benny. Amazing.

I forgot to post about this:

Benny has a new game. After everything I say he says, "Said Mommy." Then he narrates his own actions and speeches in third person. Like he'll say, " "Come here!" called Benny." It is HILARIOUS. I was laughing so hard and Benny kept saying, "She laughed" or "They laughed together!" and it was making me laugh harder and harder -- it was such a scream. I'm not sure where that came from. Crazy boy.

Test.

Sadly our boating season is just about over. It's getting to the point we need sweaters and boots to get out on the water. However, here is a page of pictures from happier times this summer. Note that Benny is in the "tube" and is "tubin'" all by himself without the aid of any sort of parent. Brave boy!

Hey, here are some pictures of the new homeschooling co-op which is fabulous and marvelous! These are pictures of our first couple of meetings. Next Wednesday we're doing a Halloween themed day -- whee!

Remember when Dad and Benny went to see Hilary Hahn at Chrysler Hall?

Here are the pictures of them standing in the front room before they left. Didn't think to send the camera with him or send a shirt for her to sign PEH! But she did sign the program and the very very kind symphony lady sent it to him in the mail.

First day of preschool came and went with much less fanfare than last year, which is to be expected, given that he's an old expert at preschoolin' nowadays. Of course, he went in like an old expert on his first day last year too, so who am I kidding? Here are pictures from after school on his first day. The other little boy is, of course, Gabe!

Last Saturday, Benny played his violin at the Stockley Gardens Arts Festival. You may remember this event from last May. They do it biannually. Or semiannually. Whichever means twice a year. Anyway. We showed up at the Academy of Music at 10:00 as directed and found that there would be ONE HOUR OF REHEARSAL before we even walked over to the festival. Okay. Benny's usually good for about 40 minutes TOPS of attention span before he goes over the moon. So, I was cautiously pessimistic. Dan took Sadie to the mall to run an errand while I waited with Benny and watched the rehearsal.

At 11 we met up with Dad and walked over to the festival. The performance was MARVELOUS. Benny was COMPLETELY INSANE though and tried to play on every song, even songs in book four. The teachers spent plenty of time trying to corral him and eventually just took his bow away when he wasn't supposed to be playing. This eventually made him sad. But his spirits were renewed when he was given the opportunity to play a SOLO. Now at this point, he had been playing the violin and trying to pay attention for almost two hours. His brain was so fried he looked like a zombie. Mrs. Morton asked him what he would like to play and he said, "Twinkle." I breathed a huge sigh of relief, since he knows Twinkle better than anything and it seemed like the safe, wise, choice. Then he launched into a version of Twinkle that NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD BEFORE. I recognized what he was trying to play but couldn't place it. I shot a look at Mrs. Stevens and mouthed, "WHAT IS HE DOING?!?" She had no more idea than I did. It was... hilarious. It was clear it was Twinkle but it was full of these bizarre and complicated embellishments he was trying to play by ear. At the end, he gave a huge grand flourish and a bow like nothing I have ever seen this side of Transylvania. Of course, everyone LOVED his performance. I had about six people from the crowd ask me if they could have him. :) He had a fabulous time.

Here is a page of pictures of the event!

I have a lot to blog.