Watching: The second half of Joan of Arc, with one eye, while I work on a set of revises for the Press. I like Leelee Sobieski, although her acting seems a bit forced at times. But she has remarkable presence for someone who is only 16.

And Not to Yield

Yesterday afternoon, for the first time, Daniel was reluctant to go to his swimming class. I think it was because at his last class on Thursday, Kevin stood progressively further away during Daniel's pushoffs, and Daniel was getting scared about traveling so far. Kevin ended up skipping Daniel's turn a few times when Daniel refused to try, and Daniel knew I was a bit disappointed about that.

Walking to the pool from the parking lot yesterday, Daniel said, "My tummy hurts." I knew it was because he was apprehensive, and I reassured him that I would tell his teacher that he was feeling a little nervous. He seemed heartened after our conversation.

His teacher for this eight-lesson session will be Whitney again. I warned her Daniel was still somewhat anxious about pushoffs, and she assured him that she would start him off slowly. And he did great this lesson, attempting everything Whitney asked him to do.

It's difficult, sometimes, to know where to draw the line between encouraging your children and putting too much pressure on them. In this case, however, I feel I did the right thing in letting Daniel know we expected him to try harder. I want all my sons to learn early that anything worth achieving requires their dedication and effort.

Just two more days until my trip to Maine! Yeah! For the past few years, I have flown to Maine to visit my family for a long weekend in May or June. It is my only getaway sans children for the entire year--I refer to it as my mental health weekend--and one I have come to eagerly anticipate every spring.

In preparation for my trip, I'm cooking casseroles for Tab and the boys. Today I made chicken tetrazzini, and tomorrow I'm going to make three-cheese baked pencil points. They'll probably get pizza on Saturday night as we usually do, so between the pizza and the casseroles, Tab won't have to fuss too much with meals.

Tab garners plenty of accolades from his colleagues, who are impressed that he manages the three kids by himself while I am away. It's part of the parenting double standard: fathers are given far more credit for doing the things that mothers are expected to do as a matter of course.

Now the only decision left is which book(s) to bring with me. I'm hooked on Gotham right now, but this book is huge. Tab says I'm nuts for even thinking about carrying it on the plane. He's probably right. I'll have to scan my bookshelves; I'm sure I can find something a little less cumbersome.

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