Firsts and Lasts

Today I am blogging while waiting for EM to finish his homeschool gym class. This is a new experience for him that I think he's going to really enjoy. He's always been the most athletic of our family but has had few opportunities to take part in those kinds of activities. The class is sponsored by a local church with a sports complex and the best part, a coffee shop with free wi-fi!

Another first this week was the beginning of JT's college classes. He is taking Fundamentals of Chemistry and English Comp 101 at a satellite campus of a  local community college. The first day of chemistry class had a few bits of drama. I dropped him off near the door we had entered for the orientation. As it turns out, that door is usually locked. He yelled after me as I was driving away and we figured out which door he should try instead. When he finally made it to the classroom, a few other students were there, but no instructor was in the room. After a few minutes of waiting, one of the other students went to the office and found out the classroom had been changed. They were all a few minutes late, but at least he wasn't the only one.

Tuesday evening he had his first English Comp class. The instructor had them all write a short essay on something about themselves so she could check on their writing ability. I asked JT what he had written, hoping it would be about homeschooling, or music, or maybe volunteering at the library. But no, what does he write about? His Mech Warrior Online gaming team. He said that was the first thing that came to mind.

This week we had to make a tough decision. For some time, JT has been thinking about dropping his drum lessons. Even though he really enjoys playing, likes his teacher, and is good at it, the time and effort involved are much more than the benefit he is receiving. He plays piano a few hours most days, but only plays drums when required to practice. Part of this comes from the fact that the drums are located in my husband's office, so JT can only practice when his dad is not working. That makes spontaneous playing less likely. Ultimately though, he realizes that he just doesn't have the time to commit to both instruments when piano will have a larger role in his likely career path. So, we said goodbye to our drum teacher. I think it might have been harder for me than it was for JT. We plan to start incorporating a once a week jam session with JT and his dad to keep his drumming skills intact.

I think this week has been a good start to a new chapter of our lives, a little less hands-on for me and lots of new experiences for the boys.