Blork

Gert and I both picked up the stomach flu. Though she'll argue about who was sicker and for how long (she claims to have been sick for three weeks), it was a really bad one. However, that little weasel never really gets sick. She's down for a few hours and rebounds like a mutant. Me? I could sleep for another 48 hours. I feel like crap on a cracker.

I scraped myself off the floor long enough to go to parent/teacher conferences at school. Gert showed us this thing they play with in Early Childhood that they call a tornado. Essentially it turns a person into a human top.

This morning Gert got really thoughtful. "Dad, I think Ms. Christine really figured out why I was vomiting." Yes, she said vomiting. "It's because I rode the tornado like fifteen times! No wonder my tummy hurt."

Mine hurts just thinking about it.

This week was a big breakthrough week for her. She's been taking a ballet/tap class at the local community center where she has to wear a pink little outfit and dance like a prima ballerina. She's been complaining about not wanting to go because she "wasn't in the mood". I finally figured out why this week. Her teacher is a boy.

In her world, teachers are all women. Only Junie B. Jones has a boy teacher and his name is Mr. Scary. We talked about it for a while and she admitted she felt weird about having a man teacher.

Mr. Jim is the type of teacher who really makes all the little girls feel like they really are princesses. He fawns over their frilly dresses, talks about how fabulous their shoes are, AND teaches them to dance. Flattery and knowledge are dangerous combinations.

We got over the roadblock by letting her know that Mr. Jim will let her bring a CD and they can use that to dance during ballet time. Her face lit up and she decided to bring her Sleeping Beauty CD (the ballet, not Disney). I was surprised that she went all hoity toity on me, but that's okay. She put the CD in her bag with her tap shoes and presented it to Mr. Jim.

When she came out of class she was happier than ever. And, she was chatting and joking with Mr. Jim. Suddenly he was, I don't know, human or something.