The Plunge Down Under

Snow Days, and other Joys of Life in Pittsburgh

 

One of our son's biggest fears when we returned to Pittsburgh was that there wouldn't be any snow during our first winter season back in the Northern Hemisphere. His fears seem laughable now.  January has delivered several inches so far, and it continues to snow as I type.  Two hours ago our local school district cancelled classes with the predictable result of joy and rejoicing in our house.  He and his sister wasted no time donning their gear so that they could head outdoors to make the most of their day off from school.

School Report Card Time

Mid-year report cards are due out this week according to our school calendar.  It seems like an appropriate time to issue my own report on how our kids are faring in their first year attending school in the USA.  I have avoided this topic up till now for several reasons.  Number one, I have feared that any post that I write about schooling will be too negative.  Number two, I realize part of the negativity is due to the messy period of transition that we continue to experience.  Number three, I can't help but imagine the reactions from the different sectors in my readership.

What might those reactions be, you ask?  I can't be certain of course, but my guess is that my homeschooling friends will think:  Just pull those kids out of school and teach them at home.  That will solve your problems.  My public school friends might suggest:  Their anxieties and frustrations would be lessened at the local public school (our kids all attend a Christian school).  My Australian friends will say:  You never should have left Melbourne in the first place!  

I have spent too many hours explaining and justifying our choices in an internal conversation that never comes to an end.  Today, finally, I have typed up some of my thoughts into a post that describes the experiences of our kids as they attend school in America for the first time  (a Caveat section comes at the end).  It groups our observations and comparisons into six categories.

Coming Soon to Australia

"Why are we the family that always travels?  I want to stay home for a change."

Our eight-year-old son was grumpy after traveling two consecutive weekends to Canada.  Before I could respond, his older sister chimed in, "My friends can't believe how much we travel."

"You dad is from another country," I reminded them.  "That is one big reason that we travel."

The eight-year-old was unconvinced.  "I'm never getting on another airplane," he claimed as he stomped off to play some basketball.  

It's Cold Out There

My Pittsburgh friends tell me that I have no right to complain about the cold, no right even to call these current frigid temperatures cold.  Even though it was only 1 degree F (-17 degrees C) at 7am, with a wind chill much lower, this is nothing, they say, compared to last winter's reign of terror.  They might be right.  I for one am glad that I was not around last year in order to be able to compare the levels of cold. 

What I do know is that I have shivered my way through much of this day.  I had forgotten just how cold a car can get as it waits out in the parking lot.  Generally speaking, vehicles begin to warm up just about the time they arrive at the next destination.  I find myself remaining in the car after I have parked, looking for any excuse to put off opening the door and launching myself back into the miserable wind.  As for those drive up conveniences that I despised from the relative warmth of Melbourne--those drive through pharmacies, bank tellers and dry cleaners that cater to lazy Americans?  Well, you better believe that I am using all of them whenever and whereever possible.  I only wish that we had a drive through grocery store in our neighborhood.  

Bringing in the New Year

 

A new year prompts most of us to reflect, to plan, and perhaps to resolve.   Unless you are only four years old like my niece, of course, and bringing in the new year means nothing more than joyful fun with permission to blow horns at the dinner table to and to lick the ice cream bowl clean.