Where do I start?

Last week was a whirlwind. A good whirlwind, but a whirlwind nonetheless. I like that word. Nonetheless.

Anyway. Starting last September, I think, I started taking Addie to a music class every other Tuesday. She loved it. At first she was extremely nervous as it was her very first time to be away from Mom without having Daddy, Grandma, or Aunt Ais nearby. The first time I sat in her room with her, but after that? She would creep into her classroom all by herself while glancing over her shoulder every few seconds to see if I was still standing there. After class she would join the crowd in the 'big room', and I would sit back and watch her little eyes dart around trying to find me.

She did great. Of course, she missed about as many classes as she attended due to our rather lengthy trip to Russia but she still made a few new friends and learned a few new songs, and learned a few of the 'do, re, mi' notes. Not all of them as she wasn't there enough, so I guess that's something we'll have to work on at home.

She also learned to appreciate a couple of the boys in her class. I, thinking how not ready I am for that, asked her if she thought those two boys were cute. Her response? "I'm sure some people would think they are cute, but I don't. I just like that they never got in trouble by the teacher." Uh-huh. Guess I should be thankful that the character in the boys was catching her eye rather than the looks!

Anyway. Tuesday afternoon we headed off to music.

Wednesday evening I took off to meet a few of my girlfriends for supper. Addie and Will stayed home with Jason (much to their dismay) and Jack got to go with me. It was a great evening, but the news reports on my way home made me slightly nervous. "Severe thunderstorm with damaging winds just ready to cross the Indiana/Ohio line." We live just a few miles from that line. I plotted my escape all the way home. "Let's see. If the storm hits while I'm here, I'll just dart into their house. If it hits while going through town, I'll just go to Ivan's. If it hits between town and home, I'll knock on whatever door is closest and pray that the folks who live there are decent."

I shouldn't have worried. The storm went north of us. :)

However, the forecast for the night still wasn't too favorable, so we moved our children to the living room floor. We're paranoid like that. For some reason when I know that a thunderstorm is coming I like to know that my children are close by. That way if we have to make a run for the basement we only have to detour through the living room rather than dashing up and back down the stairs. Plus, if they are downstairs they typically sleep right through it. Their bedroom windows are far from windproof and the slightest breeze has them scared stiff due to the constant rattling of the window panes.

The forecast was right. At 2:02 we awoke with a start. The wind was howling. Our power went out. The house was creaking and shaking. We were nervous. But. Did we go to the basement? Nope. We stood by the window and discussed heading down there several times, but never made it down the steps. The floor down there was wet. Where would we put the children? Duh. If you think your house is going to cave in at any moment, probably you shouldn't stand at the window worrying about the wet floor in the basement.

About two hours later, the children having slept soundly through the fierce wind, we headed back to bed. The wind had died down considerably by then, and frankly? We couldn't keep our eyes open any longer.

No damage was done on our property to speak of. A fact that I am ever so thankful for. My heart goes out to those who lost their homes and family members that day down south. I can't even imagine the grief.

Thursday was another music day, but my mom kindly volunteered to take Addie for me. I didn't argue too much. A day to stay at home suited me just fine.

Friday night was Addie's spring program. She was not the slightest bit nervous when we left home at 4:45 and never did get overly nervous. I was shocked.

We tried to explain to her just how many eyes would be watching them sing, and she just shrugged her shoulders and grinned. She marched up front with the rest of her class and just stood there. Sure, she looked minorly terrified, but at least she stood there.

And she sang. Not just the songs she was supposed to sing, but everyone else's songs too. Go Addie. She swayed in time to the music. She picked her fingernails. She streeeetttttcccchhhheeeeedddd after every song. She turned around frequently to peer at her classmates. She kept a pretty close eye on her family. And she sang.

I was amazed and I must admit, a little proud of her. Had you told me two years ago that she would be standing in front of a crowd of 400 people singing, I would have laughed in your face. Addie? Singing in front of people? Never.

Two years ago, we were just finishing up with 'pouch time'. She was spending her days sitting on a blanket, learning how to obey simple commands like "Keep your toy on the blanket". She was learning to trust Jason and I. She was learning that there are consequences for disobedience...."You threw your toy off the blanket so you no longer have a toy to play with". She was trying to learn her colors with absolutely no success. She was finally getting past her mommy hunting phase. The months where she would go up to any random stranger and plop on their lap. The phase where she really didn't want anything to do with me, her mommy and primary caregiver. Anyone and anything would do.

Yes, I was amazed to see her, the shortest little girl up there, just standing there like she was any other little girl. I truly didn't believe that this day would ever come.

Oh me of little faith.