Sorry this is late, I’ve had a busy few days. I wanted to take a proper minute to write about Aubrey versus a rushed one. So let me tell you about this daughter of mine. Aubrey is my first child. She has three younger siblings: Liam, Dylan, and JoElle. She’s a great big sister. Aubrey loves to help with the “parenting” part of maturity, but not the chores part. She is quick to help a crying child or share words of encouragement when one of them is in need of a subtle push. When it comes to routines and responsibilities she needs the same encouragement. She aims to please, and hates to let other’s down. This can bring her to tears at times. So be aware, that Aubrey will get quiet and then shy away when she is ashamed or disappointed in herself or if she feels that from you.
Aubrey loves to read. She will read at the dinner table. She will read all night if we let her. She will even read upside down, hanging from the couch. Her favorite books have been the Babysitters Club series which her Aunt Mary gave her like one-hundred copies or so, in a big ole box. I believe she’s read over half, and she’s only had it since Christmas . Aubrey is a lot like me in the way she enjoys people but finds her energy through quiet times like reading or some other form of entertainment. One of my dreams for her is that she will never lose the love of reading—so far so good! Second to reading, maybe a close tie, would be her passion for nature. Aubrey will spend an entire day watching nature shows. She will sit back and digest it all. She loves to learn about different animals and how they live, and what they eat. This has evolved into a specific interest in aquatic animals. Two summers ago I took her, and the rest of the family to see the Clear Water Aquatic Center in Florida. This is the home of Winter the Dolphin in which the movie Dolphin Tale was based off of. Aubrey has watched that movie, and its sequel probably twenty or so times. She has shown interest in marine biology and will tell you that’s what she would like to study and maybe have a career in one day. There are many years, and many hills to climb if she will ever get to that point but I hope that she continues to dream big about what and who she wants to be when she grows up. So many forget that and just go where life takes them. Aubrey and her best friend Mia created a neighborhood organization called “The Animal club”, which is now called the Science Club or Nature Club—they’ve been going through a bit of a rebranding-. Either way, it’s a club about animals and nature. It’s actually something I’m pretty proud of her about. She works with her friends to plan out each meeting, and set up a schedule. They plan snacks, activities, and a specific animal or experiment that they will be focusing on each meeting. This is all designed by them so it’s pure kids stuff. But pretty neat nevertheless.
Some other passions are cooking and baking. She loves to help with breakfast, or baked goods. Aubrey is very caring and takes care of others out of a tender spot in her heart. When her mom was sick she would make breakfast and take it to her in bed. She will also cook and prepare food for her younger brothers, and one day her baby sister. Aubrey has strange eating habits. She will eat steak, and hamburgers (usually half of one). But she doesn’t like much else in the meat category. Maybe some chicken from time to time. But she loves fruit. She will two to three normal servings and not look back. I’m also pretty sure she likes junk food and candy because it doesn’t last long in the cupboard. Her mom is a bit of a health nut, so we rarely have it. So in the event we do, it won’t be long for this world.Something else to know about her is that she is a borderline hypochondriac (nothing serious) but she will tend to dramatize bumps and bruises as a shift in fate. I don’t know why and it’s not that she is starving for attention or anything. It is common that this type of cataclysmic event occurs right before she has some type of responsibility. So be aware of any hazards or pitfall that she might encounter when an undesirable task is at hand. Then behold the magic of when that task has been completed or the moment has passed—she will be miraculously healed. She does tend to be clumsy at times, and likes to play by flailing her body in different directions as if she is being propelled by some unseen force. Other unpredictable behavior to be aware of, is the need to climb things that shouldn’t be climbed. You will at one moment be talking with her and then your attention is drawn in another direction, but when you turn back she’s gone. Not gone, but up—somewhere. Maybe that’s how Batman does it? The girl is a little goofy is all I’m saying. And also precious and funny. Just beware..
She’s a night owl. Aubrey doesn’t sleep sometimes. We have to check on her before we go to bed. She is good at acting asleep. She might have a future one day as a sleep model. She makes sleep look realistic and doesn’t move a hair. I’ve been convinced many times only to find her sprawled out on the floor with a book on her face or sleeping on the couch downstairs after she binge watched some show on Netflix (not Breaking Bad or anything— just like Barbie Super friends or something). So if she seems sleepy in class (more than other kids) let us know. We have tried to get her on a better sleeping routine. We have even spoken to her pediatrician about this on occasion.
As a student you will find that her flame burns quietly. When she’s engaged in the lesson or topic, she will be focused and driven to learn all she can. In other areas she will become distracted. Last year math gave her a lot of trouble. She tends to get down on herself, or loses interest in what she is doing. This will progress into “I can’t” and “I’ll never” be able to do this right. She tends to wait until I get home late after a long day at work to say “hey, I need help with some math homework”. You can imagine my excitement relearning how to do compound fractions at 9:30 pm on a Wednesday via Youtube… So this is an area where we could use some help. Let us know, let me know if she isn’t focusing here in class. Let us know how we can reinforce or reward improved behavior or focus here. She won’t necessarily ask for help, so you might need to ask her and then clarify with her for understanding. Additionally, if you have some extra-credit type work where she could do some extra math problems over the weekend send those to us and I will work with her over the weekend. This would be a great help. Her mom and I have spoken and even considered a math tutor for her. So we will continue to stay close to this.
Thanks for reading and allowing me to share some thoughts about a truly special girl. My hope for this year is that Aubrey continues to grow confident and strong. She’s a bright, creative, and a
thoughtful kid. She lacks confidence and needs reassurance quite often. I want nothing more then for her to be a strong successful woman one day. No one has let her in on the secret that she’s beautiful , even though we tell her all the time. I can tell you this, if we had stopped with her I would have believed we achieved perfection on the first try. I’m sure all parents feel this way but from my perspective we have achieved it.
Thanks Again,
Ryan (Aubrey’s Dad)
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