Ari for President

Ari is quickly following in the rushed and varied footsteps of her big sister Golda.  Golda never met a sign-up sheet she didn't like.  She even took orchestra for a year in 5th grade to see what the violin was like.  If there is a blank line, Golda will sign her name on it.  Ruby, on the other hand, knows exactly what she is interested in and can't be talked into anything else.  Her reply to sign-up sheets is always, "I want to focus on dance and guitar and grades."  Freestone's reply is just, "No!"  Xanthe will eagerly do everything.

Ari is turning out to be cut from the same cloth as Golda.  She has boundless energy and fierce determination.  Her baseline this year is four dance classes and two cello lessons a week, and she has already added before-school ballroom and school choir to the mix and convinced me to sign her up for city-league basketball.  Thank heavens she didn't make student council!  It was fun to try, though.  Ari had some good ideas and worked hard on her application.  Her class speech says, "I think I might be a good student council member because I'm a good helper at home and school.  I'm creative and, well, the STUCO just might need someone like me.  Oh, and one more...I'm honest.  

My idea is to raise money for Half the Sky Foundation in China where my sister is from, so we can help the kids there.  On Saturday I went shopping with my dad and saw 5 homeless people.  One was a mom with a two or three year old and a girl our age.  So maybe we could help homeless people find a job so they can earn more money and eventually find a place to live. I would really like to help people like that.  That's why I should be in STUCO."

It sounds like some of Ari's ideas might transcend 5th grade, but it's always good to think big.  The only problem with Ari thinking big is that she just goes to bed when she gets tired.  Smart, but the price you pay for signing up for everything is that you have to stay up late getting things done.  There is no better preparation for being a mom, I tell you, than learning to function on no sleep.  So when Ari is finished saving the world while singing, doing the Cha Cha and running for office, she will know just what to do when her baby is up all night and there is no time to rest.

P.S.  Ari, we're NOT in a hurry for the baby part.  Just focus on filling in your reading log.

Ari in her spare time, dragging Scott on a 10-mile bike ride.