Precious and Fragile Things

I don't know why, but I think this song would also be fantastic as acoustic.

Usually by now we've had several inches as early as October, but after a very mild summer and then autumn, the snow stayed at bay until today.



And guess who left Thanksgiving shopping until the last minute and has to go out later today in that? Yep, me, though it's not entirely my fault. I asked about a week ago for the menu so I'd know if it was a traditional meal with all the fixings or if I should make something smaller, but Sam's mom didn't get back to me until yesterday. Yesterday was spent tending to my poor sore tailbone after I slipped down our steps. I'm OK today, just tender.

Anyway, I'm hoping the snow will have thinned out some of the last-minute shopping crowd and I take comfort in knowing the things I need to buy aren't exactly very popular Thanksgiving items so chances are great that I'll find everything without a fuss.

Apple Cider Mage (Twitter) and Tzufit (Twitter) have invited me to discuss mothers and motherhood in Azeroth for Episode 20 of their Justice Points podcast (a fantastic podcast, by the way).

[Pause here while I breathe into a paper bag and tell myself I'll survive.]

It started with some of my (usual) ranting on Twitter about what's become (or not become) of Aggra since she became a mother, and as I did talk about mothers in WoW as part of a blog post on my, sadly, neglected WoW blog, they asked me to join them for an episode. My qualifications? I'm a mother who plays WoW? I worry I'm getting in over my head, but I have been looking over and working on the show notes and already we have tons to talk about. I think there's going to be a huge chunk of time talking about Aggra's seeming absence so far in discussion of the forthcoming Warlords of Draenor expansion, plus Chris Metzen's statement that WoD is going to be a "boy's trip" to explain why Thrall is going without Aggra.

Some of you might know I don't even like Aggra all that much, particularly as some of the way she talks to/treats Thrall in Twilight of the Aspects pegged on me as a bit of emotional manipulation and abuse, but it's been so damn hard to ignore how she's pretty much getting shelved of late. And then add it in with the multitude of unknown and dead mothers, well, I could go on for days. Don't worry, I'll keep it down to about an hour of chatting with two amazing WoW personalities.

(OMG Apple Cider Mage follows me on Twitter and wants me to be in her podcast. OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG.... Um, ahem.)

It's not just going to be an episode about Aggra. So far in the notes I've pointed out the long list of NPCs whose fathers have both a name and a story to go with it, yet we aren't so much as given a name for their mothers (Garrosh, Kael'thas, Jaina Proudmoore, Varian Wrynn, Lorna Crowley). There's also mention of mother's who have died in childbirth (Elena Mograine and Leza Sunwalker), and then the moms we know who are still around, but aren't mentioned much (Moira, who has to let Varian take all the credit in the Blood in the Snow scenario for bringing the dwarves together; Veressa Windrunner, though I only recall seeing her standing by cheering while Jaina purges Dalaran). There's going to be a (tiny so far) section on foster/adoptive/surrogate mothers and using those terms very broadly (Rheastrasza being the strongest example I could think of for this).

The thing is, my lore nerdery only goes so far and I'm struggling to name mothers in Azeroth who have relationships with their children apart from Alexstrasza. I can name father/daughter and father/son interactions (i.e. Darius/Lorna Crowley, Varian/Anduin Wrynn). Also of note is Med'an, Garona's son, but someone told me on Twitter that he might have been ret'conned out of existence? I see no notes on Wowpedia about this.

I also have mentioned types of mothers and how, in most all forms of entertainment, mothers tend to suffer from being portrayed as what type of parent they are versus what sort of person they are. Not sure if that'll have time to get into the show, but it's in the notes.

Anyway, we record the episode on November 23 and I'll be sure to post again when it goes live, that is if I don't succumb to my anxiety.

Yesterday was our annual IEP meeting at the school for the kiddo. I went in anxious because the last couple of years have been us going round and round about them insisting the kiddo is on the autistic spectrum while I (someone who has actually worked with children on the spectrum) plus a couple of doctors have said he's not. Last year they were very pessimistic about his social skills and, well, I was on the verge of pulling him out and homeschooling until we found a suitable private school for him if we had another bad year.

Yesterday it was like I went to a meeting for an entirely different child. In May, they were convinced he was never going to get any better without a lot of intervention and assistance (even hinting at the possibility he might need an aide, or someone to come in every now and then). Yesterday, a mere five months later after he's had a summer break, they remarked that he's now eating lunch and talking with his peers, playing with them at recess, and he's even been giving at least one presentation in class where he's had to stand up in front of everyone and talk. He's, for the first time, spontaneously saying "Hi, Mrs. [Name]," to the teachers and principal when he passes them in the hallway, which catches them off-guard because he's always needed to be spoken to first. He's socially caught up and making friends.

One story his teacher told us was that one student in his class had his snack, but didn't want to finish it because it was too sweet. The kiddo saw and heard him say this and went over with his snack (cheese nips) and said to the kid, "Here, we can share mine if you like." Last year he barely talked to any of his peers and was a loner.

Academically, his math scores are damn near 100s (and have always been high), but it's reading where he's always lacked that he's picking up steam. He's reading consistently at/a little above grade level for the first time plus demonstrating far better reading comprehension (and his teacher says it'll only improve the more he reads). He's gone from reading the bare minimum required by his teachers to having to be told in class to put his book away and complete task. Now, the focus is on getting him to be better organized and to remember to turn in his work. (He even comes home and tells me, "I'm turning off the TV so I won't be distracted while I read." No, I am not making that up. Yes, I do consider myself lucky.)

As of yesterday he has completely exited out of the occupational therapy portion of his in-school therapies, and they are scaling back to one thirty-minute speech session per week. Since he was three years old he's been going twice per week, and for the first time this year his speech therapist mentioned the possibility of him exiting the speech therapy program next year. I nearly fell out of my chair when I heard that as last year had me worried he'd be going to speech therapy through middle school at least.

He still obviously has speech issues, and verbally he doesn't like to speak more than one to three words in response to questions (unless he's the one who started talking first); however, when asked to write a paragraph about something, he will write several sentences that are punctuated correctly with proper grammar and sentence structure (despite still sometimes using improper grammar in his speech, i.e. "She seen a bird."). His occupational therapist read one paragraph he wrote about his field trip and said, "I know children in middle school who couldn't do that well." His handwriting is improving and letter spacing is damn near perfect, and he's catching up a bit to his peers by practicing cursive.

At home we're going to start working on his reading aloud. He still has a tendency to want to rush through words and trying to speak while inhaling. So every now and then I'll ask him to read a paragraph of what he's reading to me and I'll be helping him with projection and pacing (as well as occasionally reminding him about his "L" blends/sounds, one of his weaknesses).

As for the transformation, I credit the teacher he has this year. Technically she's a substitute for the fourth grade teacher who had a serious accident or medical injury before school started. This substitute took over for his teacher last year when she was out on maternity leave and is there at least through the holidays. She knew about the kiddo and his limitations, and he really connected with her last year and this year. She has let him sit with her on school trips and at lunch, and has encouraged him to be social. She loves him so much that I think she'd kidnap him and take him home if she could. I'm going to be keeping an eye out for a holiday present for her, something nice she can use along with a letter explaining to her how much this means to us. (There's no idea if the "real" teacher will be able to return this year, and the consensus seems to be there's now a possibility she will not return for the school year at this point.)

When we were walking to the parking lot after the meeting Sam said, "It took everything I had not to tell them, 'We told you so!'" Me, I've been too ecstatic and overjoyed to gloat about how we always believed in the kiddo and knew with the right amount of patience and understanding, he'd pull through. He's always blown away everyone's expectations of him, always surprising everyone (including me) with what he can do.

I worried yesterday was a dream so I've been telling everyone I could about it. Sam's mom gave me a hug and said, "You knew it all along," and she'd been someone to always back me up in my belief the kiddo was capable of far more than the school seemed ready to believe.

So my son has a bright future ahead of him, and he's really coming out of his shell socially and academically. It's been a long, very bumpy road, but now I see an end to it and I slept better last night than I have in months. To celebrate yesterday's news, we're going out after school to the mall, maybe a movie, and then some clothes shopping (which he won't be as happy about, but he needs new jeans since he's managed to put a hole in nearly every pair he owns). He's earned a huge treat.

First of all, sorry for the quiet. Lots of things have been happening, which I'll get into later. I just haven't been in a mood to share some stuff as of late, mostly because I fear people getting sick of my whining. I'm still here, still reading everyday, just never sure what to say or do. Everyone here is all right for the most part; the only big thing is that I need to see a doctor soon about some physical matters, but so far there's been other matters standing in the way such as the kiddo needing glasses now (we knew it was likely to happen--he made it to fourth grade whereas I had to get them in the third grade) and other assorted real life stuff. The good news on that front is that he got some awesome and stylish frames that only enhance his cuteness. I keep telling him how lucky he is to have the option of wire frames instead of the ugly plastic monstrosities I had to choose from.

Anyway, let's move onto WoW stuff. I have some thoughts regarding Lor'themar and Sylvanas and 5.4 (it'll all be put under a cut, don't worry). I'm still raiding and Tuesday we hit the new Siege of Orgrimmar raid and we've managed to get down the first four bosses (the first wing) on normal mode. It's pretty great, except for the part where I'm still side-eyeing how the hell [spoiler] is still fucking alive at this point, but that's a different rant and has nothing to do with this.

( Lor'themar you canny bastard you. [Here there be spoilers.] )

It's been a while since I've talked about WoW, mostly because I've been busy in WoW and doing different other things, like mentally preparing for Sam's little sister's wedding next month as well as fending off his mother's insistence that we get married as well.

First and foremost, I'm raiding again! I'm raiding and doing awesome! After casually looking for a new home for raiding, both Horde and Alliance side, I found a new home in Enigma. This was the guild that resulted after I tried out for a raid team that fell apart the weekend after my audition. They moved to Wyrmrest Accord and asked me to join them there since I was already on the server. Even better, I'm raiding on Folami, so hooray for Warlock butt-kicking.

Anyway, it took us some time to form our team, but man, what a team. Last week we cleared (10-man Normal) Mogu'shan Vaults, Heart of Fear, and then went 3/4 on Terrace in two nights. Yep, we raid only on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and still managed to clear more content than I ever did in my old guild. Our raid leaders are awesome, picking only people who know their class, are respectful, and who are willing to put in the effort to learn the mechanics of the fights.

The team meshes well together, and we joke over Mumble while downing bosses. We know when it's time to be silly and when we need to be serious. Outside of raid, the guild itself is fairly active. We do a lot of PvE, and now a few players are starting to RP a little, so that looks promising.

As far as individual stuff, I'm RPing a little on the side, hoping to work my way back to group activities at some point. However, I'm not in a big rush as I'm having a blast just settling in to raiding again. As far as the whole warlock Green Fire thing goes, I'm on the last boss like a lot of warlocks and will be throwing myself at him again when I feel a little better. (I've got a really bad cold.) Also, I've had a couple of gear upgrades since I last attempted it, so here's hoping the added boost will help.

Apart from that, I've been learning how to play a Retribution Paladin, and I'm actually topping damage charts in LFRs with him. I've also got a Hunter I'm doing pretty decently on, would be better if I could ever get his blasted weapon upgrade, but the loot gods love to laugh at me. Blue-side I've got a mage and shaman, but I haven't really played with either of them since joining Enigma. Besides, Horde has always been my home.

So things are better now, in-game speaking, and I'm fitting in fairly well. I mean, I'm still the weirdo, but I'm the weirdo who brings cookies and immolations to raid, so that helps.

Anyway, just an update.

Just haven't had much to say that's interesting, or I've been rather down on myself and figure everyone is sick of my whining.

Anyway, have a photo of early Spring in the mountains as seen from my back porch just a few minutes ago:



Someone set our calendars back to the snow we should have had in December. Kiddo had no school yesterday or today, and as a result they've tacked on a day to the end of the year to make up for it, but the good news is he'll still get his Spring break next week.

( And two pictures of Sasha just to be silly. )

Dear Authors Everywhere,

If you want me to have sympathy for your protagonist and/or narrator, DON'T HAVE THEM RAPE SOMEONE!

If you do this anyway, don't spend the rest of the book trying to make me feel sympathetic toward them because his victim doesn't love him and would never love him (and likely would never have loved them even without the rape because--OH TRAGEDY OF TRAGEDIES--she's gay and prefers women over men). And don't even get me started on the fact both the narrator and victim go on to have sexual relations with the same woman despite the fact both narrator and victim have JUST ENTERED PUBERTY (ergo, they are BELOW THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN) and never address how fucked up this is.

Seriously, every time after that you bring up how, woe is he, the woman he raped will never forgive him or love him like he wants, I just want to hurl your book across the room, but I can't because it's on my Kindle Fire and I don't think that's covered under my warranty.

If your protagonist rapes someone and their only punishment is navel gazing and "Woe, but I love her!" THEY ARE NOT A HERO OR EVEN A REMOTELY NICE PERSON! I don't care if they save the world, they're still and will always be a rapist.

Signed,

A Very Disappointed Reader

(Brought to you by me reading a book I saw advertised on John Scalzi's blog, falling in love with the world and the premise only to, roughly halfway through the book, encounter the above bullshit.)

( And one more letter. )

Skolnick of the podcast Warcraft Less Traveled has organized (with help) a book club for 2013 called Warcraft Well Read. The first book will be Christie Golden's Rise of the Horde beginning January 6, currently $8 for the Kindle edition. From what I can tell, the idea is to read one book per month.

I figure I'll do it. If nothing else, I won't suffer through terrible writing alone. There's also apparently a Good Reads group, but I need to dig up the link for that.

Oh my.



(Best part is when he reads the word clitoris.)