First year report card

It's been too long since I braved another blog posting.  And I use the word "braved" because it was not so much a bit of writer's block that was afoot but a bumping up against the point at which I probably should shift to the realities of my life in the "single again" zone rather just  muse on the state of my on-line dating attempts.

In other words...it has become increasingly apparent that if I was going to keep this thing alive and interesting, I would probably need to discuss what has actually been going on in practice as opposed to mere theory.

A daunting prospect given that my daughter, spouse emeritus, various friends and family members and a number of women I dated this year or would like to date sometime in the future do read this blog. 

Which is when I came upon the notion of a report card.  After all, it is that season as far as elementary school goes and at this one year mark of my second act of singularity?  I just finished first grade.

So here goes....and to best honour the spirit of this thing, I will adopt the voice of Miss Hill, my first grade teacher way back when. 

She was an unclaimed treasure of indeterminate age who still occasionally haunts my dreams as the first voice of unfiltered and unyielding adult disapproval that I encountered as a kid.  I do not say this with any personal feelings of unfairness or ill will by the way...I suspect she had already judged life disappointing and was quite unbiased as to who or what she deemed yet another let down. 

In fact, I  think she may have literally needed to point out and correct the evidence we (and particularly me) provided as to the sorry state of the next generation and world in general, much in the way my young peers and I needed lunch, recess and an afternoon nap to perform as expected.  She clearly found purpose, solace and energy in conducting her adopted roles as arbiter of what was right and chief prosecutor of all that was wrong.  And six year olds provided plenty of both.

It was something of a perfect eco-system when you think about it.

But I digress....so I will hand this column off to her for comments and grading of my year of living in singularity.

Billy started this year happy and enthusiastic about the tasks and learning required of him in this first year of a new world of different expectations.

A happy demeanour and advanced ability to express himself found him making friends easily.

As the year progressed though, he lost focus since his social skills proved not enough to keep him on track as far as the work required of him.  

His mind wandered and he would often become bogged down by expending effort on things that had nothing to do with what was on the curriculum.  It became increasingly apparent that his desire for fun overshadowed the need to buckle down on the tasks at hand.  And rather than taking heed of my many reminders that  life was not all fun and games, he became all the more determined to follow his own agenda, something that appeared to frustrate him even more when things did not go his way.

As the year wound to a close, Billy seemed to realize that unless something changed, nothing would change.  And despite this late realization on his part, his first year can best be described as satisfactory given an effort that barely meets required standards.

Perhaps the summer will see Billy gather his wits about him and return with a more positive attitude towards the tasks ahead.  I would recommend particular attention to his diet and levels of both rest and exercise.  You will also want to pay particular attention to his choice of playmates as they are often wildly inappropriate and he is easily mislead towards mischief, although I sometimes wonder if he isn't actually the ringleader himself.

Final Grade C-
Promoted to next level with reservations.