I woke up this morning around 4am with my husband.  He awakes early to "beat" the traffic to get to work at the Pentagon.  I usually sleep in until 6am, but a headache was bothering me. I've been a bit stressed about some issues with my daughter, concerning her Sensory Integration Disorder. Yesterday we had a breakthrough, finally figuring out that many recent concerns are tied to seasonal allergies. I have had major medication changes lately due to laryngitis caused by allergies.  On top of that, I've had a mix of headaches and dizziness while trying out new contact lenes.  As the eye doctor said, because of the astigmatism in one eye, a regular soft contact will not produce crystal clear vision.  She was right. I have been struggling with reading things and seeing anything up close clearly. I am going nuts!  I could live with these contacts, but when I see her today, I will humbly admit that I am ready to try the toric lens.  I have met some people recently who have great success with them with no discomfort.  I think they have improved from when I first wore them nine years ago.  So my headache this morning is likely a culmination of all of the above.

 My son has just found me down here with the laptop and I told him I was waiting for the Exedrin to kick in.  Meanwhile, I happened to be reliving the wonderful time we had at the CW Costume Design Center and I am embarrased by all the typos I have on my blog entry.   I'll correct them as soon as I can. When I mentioned that to my son, he cleared his throat and I thought, "Uh, oh. What else is wrong?" You see, he has my blog saved as one of his homepages and he likes to read it. Additionally, he often finds mistakes and he politely lets me know about it.  =)  That is humbling when your son finds your mistakes. However that is a great tool for teaching. I think he learns more from my mistakes, than from my hopeful perfections. As I willingly allow him to show me my errors, I can turn that into a learning opportunity to model humility and willingness to accept constructive criticism, in order to make something better. As a result, we are building a terrific rapport when working on his papers.

     Right now he is working on a paper on Sgt. York.  He came to me yesterday to ask for source material on Sgt. York. Furthermore, we discussed the plan of attack to organize his paper. I will allow him to own this paper, by choosing his own topics. I merely wanted to remind him to stick to three key points to develop into a well thought out essay.  Also we are looking for a way to add information in a meaningful way to a famous historical figure. 

      In  year's past, my son has not always liked my advice on his papers.  Now that he has been able to help me with some of my writing, he is far more open to receiving suggestions from me.  We have become a writing team. I haven't mentioned my daughter, but she is more compliant and eager to please.  She has always needed lots of guidance, yet she has also been willing to listen. With her I also work to build a bit of esprit de corps. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word esprit de corps is a French word that dates back to 1780.  It means, "the common spirit existing in the members of a group and inspiring enthusiasm, devotion, and strong regard for the honor of this group." It's all teamwork. None of us are perfect. We are all learning. We help and encourage each other. Our relationship grows stronger. Also, it prevents a lot of headaches in the end.