Someplace Warm

So, yesterday, the hottest day in 10 years, I took Annika to visit Wheaton College in Norton Massachusetts.  Wheaton is one of those small liberal arts colleges that are so common throughout New England, and is also a former women's college.  (Frankly, I think women's colleges are a good thing, in general, but there are few left, and most colleges do offer some housing options for women only.)  Despite its origins as a women's seminary (like Mount Holyoke), Wheaton is quite secular.  But we were charmed, nonetheless.  Everyone smiles, and the presentations from current students, career services (they gave Annika a fun t-shirt), and a professor of art history (one of Annika's interests) were all excellent and informative.  I believe she will be applying.

Well, probably.  She really wants to go "someplace warm."  But, honestly, Dear, this was the hottest school I have visited since the University of Kansas in the summer of 1980.  "Haha" was pretty much the response I got from her.

"Twisted Sisters"--large art on campus

But still, she did like it.  On the way up and back, we listened to a lecture series by their resident medieval and Tolkien scholar Prof. Drout, which was really wonderful.  And the art history lab demo during the tour was fun and informative, guided by the affable and lively Prof. Staudinger who demonstrated infectious enthusiasm for her work on French medieval cathedrals.  Plus, they offer ancient Greek to satisfy their language requirement.

The campus is beautiful, if rather typical of the NE LA colleges--a mixture of Georgian and modern architecture, a small pond (featuring a great blue heron), a central college green, a multi-purpose chapel--and is surrounded by a quaint New England village, including the cliched former Congregationalist churches which are now Unitarian and probably mostly empty.  The Catholic church in town is a nearly 2 mile walk along the same street as the college, and is, of course, the ugliest building in town, but Mass is offered in the chapel on Sundays.  I did not see any evidence of a Newman club, or any Catholic outreach.  But with relatives less than an hour away, I guess it'd be fine.

Afterwards we went up to Auntie Rose's house and had a swim in the pool.  The pool was 85 degrees, and hardly refreshing, but it was better than nothing.  And the company was wonderful (my mom was visiting my aunt!).  Back home by 11pm...and it was still hot.

Risk: The Combox Follow-up

The feedback on the Risk post has been fun to read here and on Facebook, and the "in person" discussions have been fruitful. Finding out that I am not alone, and that many of my friends also have husbands who are more reluctant to let the children go off on adventures, was eye opening. So I figured that rather comment in the com boxes, I'd bring the discussion up front on the blog here itself.

Heather, thanks for reminding us that children do grow up. Yes, they do. And that's a good thing.

Stef, Funny you should mention Do Hard Things. When I began reading it, I thought it might included stories like Abby's. Instead, the whole book seemed like an introduction to a book about teens actually doing hard things. The eponymous hard things turned out to be public speaking, working on a campaign, and things of that sort--the sort of things that are, frankly, commonplace in our homeschooling circle--rather than things that really challenge the teens. I see some value in the book for teens who are stuck in a rut of schoolwork and chores, but I was looking for something more. Perhaps listening to John Taylor Gatto's classic talk "Bianca, you Animal, Shut up" (the link is cashed...who knows how long it will be available?) raised my expectations. Check it out.

Melanie, Kris and others with husbands who are reluctant to allow teens to take risks, I wish I knew the answers. It often takes a good deal of discussion, reasoning, and the teen in question must demonstrate worthiness. Ha! It helps if the teen asks that reluctant dad for help planning the journey. If I come up with anything better than that feeble thought, I'll let you know.

Kathleen, I thought about pirates, and recalled the wonderful book, Dove, about a boy who sailed around the world alone over 5 years (published in 1965). He talks with the natives about historical pirates, and one gets the impression that they were still quite common. Pirates are no laughing matter, but they tend to be interested in something worth selling. I suppose they could kidnap a lone sailor, but I suspect they would be more interested in cargo, and Abby had none. But, yes...pirates! Ugh.

Carole...there are times when I just can't watch, especially if the risk involves heights.

Colleen (concerning the family asking for donations to tow Wild Eyes to port), I had not heard that until you mentioned it, but Don and I had discussed the insurance (he is an insurance guy) risks and the money involved. Scuttling the boat, while it seems to make perfect sense, especially when considering the cost and trouble of towing, might not be the most economic move, depending on the policy. And then there is the emotional cost: We saw a shipwreck on our beach a few years ago. The woman who owned the boat (as I recall, a 108 ft sloop) had just refurbished her and was taking her to a new port when the rudder dropped off, and she washed ashore. No one was hurt, but the boat was a total loss, except for salvage. The woman was a total mess (I don't blame her). Abby may not be ready to give up on Wild Eyes, which was her home for a voyage half way around the world. But donations? Seems a bit crass.

Teresa, as a mom of a young man who has flirted with the idea of a Marine career, I often wonder how parents of young soldiers, sailors and pilots deal with the worry and inherent risk. Funny, though. My husband who thought it was too dangerous for Trip to bike through NYC has no problem with him joining the USMC! Is there something he knows about the Marines that I don't? ;)

Janet, thanks for thinking of us. Yeah. It's just an adventure every day around here.

Alice and Allie, coming from you two wonderful raconteurs, your compliments are delightful!

Annette, I, too, have a few more reluctant adventurers. They marvel and dream, so I expect great things later.

Joann Estis...I know exactly what you mean!

I love you all!

Risk

Is there any parent who has heard of Abby Sunderland who is not thinking about risk right now? I know many parents are probably thinking that Abby's parents should never have let a 16 year old embark on a journey like this--solo, around the world, in a sailboat. But I must admit that I am not one of them. If she were my child, and she had been a life-long sailor, and had done the research, gotten sponsors, and was physically up for it, I would have been her number one fan. My husband, however, would never consent to such a risky voyage. That's why God gives kids two parents.

I do have a risk-taker in the house. T, my 18 year old son, has always slid down the highest banister, climbed to the top of the highest tree, driven an ATV faster than he should have (and tipped it, burning his leg on the engine block--nice scar!), and last spring, when school was out, he took himself on a three-day solo bike ride up the Hudson River Valley without telling us where he was going or when he would be back. To get off Long Island, he biked through Manhattan and the Bronx--all new territory for the suburban boy. Oh, and he slept outside, without a tent, in the rain. Later in the summer, while participating in the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado, he regularly climbed Aspen Mountain alone, planting a flag on the peak, and recorded videos of his exploits that terrify me to this day.

When he was very young and assured me that he could climb the stairs on the wrong side (by clinging to the balusters), I was convinced by a friend to consult a child expert of some sort. For $100 this expert told me that my son was not taking my warnings ("be careful!") seriously because I was not taking them seriously. I decided she was right, and I also realized that people who make their livings by making the painfully obvious clear to parents for money would surely one day rule the world. But I also realized that I was not really worried about the boy; I am simply not a worrier.

In my mind, I am also a risk taker. Mom, if you are reading, I now confess to you that I regularly cut through all the places you suggested that I avoid on my way to school in 5th and 7th grade. Yes, I took the shortcut through the city housing project, and the one through the park before it was daylight. And I very badly wanted to take off on my own adventure to anywhere, live off the land and possibly become ruler of my own island.

So if my children actually hit the road and do the things I only dreamed of, how can I tell them "no"? And as if my own adventuresome tendency were not enough, I have made sure to feed the kids a steady diet of adventure novels, from Arthur Ransome's real-life sailing novels, to Tolkien's adventures in Middle Earth, to Heinlein's juvenile novels (careful to stick with the titles for teens) of off-world technology and politics. Can a child raised on Kipling or Twain be long kept from real-life adventure?

I read Erin Manning's take on this with some interest. Like so many of us, she recalls the tragic death of 7 year old Jessica Dubroff who tried to be the youngest to fly across the US. But I think there is a huge difference between a 7 year old and a 16 year old. A 7 year old, just reaching the "age of reason" still requires parents to make solid decisions without, frankly, discussing the matter with her in any great detail. The parents of a 7 year old can be faulted for saying that flying a plane is her greatest wish, or that she died joyfully doing what she wanted most to do. Rather, I imagine she died in either terror or ignorance, not in a blaze of happy glory. I had my young children follow Jessica's story, but promptly turned the TV off when she died. It was just too horrible.

Abby's story is quite different, and fortunately, has a rather better ending. Abby is a life-long sailor. As a sailing enthusiast myself, I know that feeling of being on the water, alone. I learned to sail at 13, my brother at 11, and my cousin at 10, all during the same summer at Boston's Community Boating facility. Sailing is a skill that a 10 year old can easily acquire ("...if not duffers, won't drown..."), and it is common to find accomplished teen sailors with many hours of varied experiences--calm seas and rough seas, with equipment failures and leaks, gales and doldums--and strong survival skills. And, yes, when a 16 year old has the urge to sail around the world solo, that urge is more likely to be a legitimate personal goal than any dream of a 7 year old. Therein lies the difference between these two stories.

A parent certainly does have the obligation to make sure the child is prepared and well-equipped for an adventure. When we first heard about Abby, the conversation in the house was mixed. I immediately thought that the southern Indian Ocean in winter was a very bad idea--had I been Abby's mom's position, that route would have been off the list of possibilities, even if it meant that she would miss the window of opportunity to become the "youngest" solo circumnavigator. And the fact that T's godmother's niece, a life-long sailor, was lost at sea at age 19 (and she was not sailing alone--all hands were lost) didn't make me any more comfortable with the idea. But the added risk was offset by the safety protocols, all of which worked as planned. My husband just shook his head and said no way, period, would he allow a 16 year old to sail around the world. T had his own take...

T, no doubt as a result of years of adventure stories, thought Abby's whole plan was a cheat and a fraud. He referred to Wild Eyes as a "robot ship" (which made me think of the boat from H. R. Pufnstuf) and rolled his eyes when she had problems with her auto-pilot. When he discovered that she was blogging and on Facebook, he howled. To him, this seemed like a false adventure, an adventure with too many precautions was not worthy of being called "adventure" at all. The irony is that T will be heading to the Webb Institute for college (one wag called it "MIT meets Lord of the Flies," but I like to think of it as Real Genius meets Swallows and Amazons), learning the art and engineering required for designing and building pleasure yachts, container ships, cruise ships, military vessels, "robot ships" and more. He will be interning, possibly on a container ship, most likely in the Pacific, during the winter. There will be serious rules that must be obeyed for the safety of all on board. Safety is one of those little details that ship designers must consider during their work...how will T respond? As a parent, I hope he stays safe, and manages to obey the rules. But as a parent, I also know that sometimes teens have to strike out on their own and learn for themselves that our warnings and suggestions are not just a matter of us trying to ruin their fun.

This parenting thing is hard.

4 Years Ago

Just found an old photo of Libby (right) and friends from her freshman year of pre-college conservatory...and now, her freshman year of college is over.


These girls look so young. Because they are.

Wesley Smith on Bioethics

The placement "test" for writing during Libby's orientation this past semester included a response to Peter Singer's thoughts on animal liberation. As absurd as it is, this is probably one of Singer's least controversial ideas. Singer is a fan of infanticide. Wesley Smith has just posted a video of a talk he (Smith) gave at Princeton a few years ago in response to that university's decision to tenure Singer. I have been a fan of Smith's blog, Second Hand Smoke, for a while, but didn't know too much about him. After watching the video, I will heartily recommend his blog to everyone. Here's the video (not for kids):



More folks like this, please.

Overparenting

Yikes:

"Because the test results are rendered in numbers—and can thus be compared with the norm, the ideal, and the neighbor’s kid—ambitious parents may, at this point, begin hiring tutors. According to Marano, there is now a four-billion-dollar tutoring industry in the United States, much of it serving elementary-school children. (Some of the coaches sent out by Princeton Review, a leading tutor-provider, charge close to four hundred dollars an hour.) If tutoring doesn’t do the trick, enterprising parents can argue with the school that their children, because of special needs, should not be held to a time limit in taking standardized tests. In 2005, according to Slate, seven to nine per cent of students in Washington, D.C., were given extra time on their [tests]. Their scores—which were sent out to colleges, with no notice of the dispensation, alongside the scores of students working against the clock—were, on average, well above those of others."

From book reviews on the subject at the New Yorker. Read it all. You'll laugh before you quake in your boots.

Clearly, I'm not doing enough for my kids. Or maybe, just enough. Or maybe too much? Who's to know until it's too late??

Seriously, though. We know a student who "founded" a charity at age 7, plays an instrument, does research on brain surgery over the summers, has written two books, etc. How can one compete with that when it comes to college admissions? Or do colleges have a clue, and catch on to these things? I mean, I am raising renaissance kids, but I like to believe that their interests in many subjects are real, and that if I do facilitate their research and help them find summer programs and all that, I'm just doing what they need me to do, and no more.

How much parenting is too much parenting? I think that as homeschoolers, we can overparent in a more subtle way sometimes, or, as T says, we can benignly neglect our children and call it unschooling. Of course, his tongue is firmly in his cheek when he says that. So where is the balance? When does facilitating become intrusive?

18 Years of Dreams, Part II

Instead of all that, she had one thing in mind...music.

She played violin...

And cello...



and piano.


First conducting class was fun!

She got to lead small groups,

and orchestras...



and bigger orchestras...

and she played in famous places as a soloist...

and in a duet.

When she wasn't playing music, she hula-hooped with friends at 12,000 feet.

Today, as she turns 18, the stars are falling, so she'll stay up late and watch them.

Happy Birthday Libby!!!
We love you!!

18 Years of Dreams, Part I

If she wanted to be a paleontologist, we'd help her find dinosaurs to dig.

If she wanted to be an ornithologist, we'd get her some birds to observe.

Maybe she'd be a biker babe!

Or a goat herd!

Or a professional softball player...

Maybe she'd be an entomologist...

Or a Jedi!

There was even a time when we thought she might be a luger!

But her dreams were different...(see next post).

History, Geography, and Politics?

Gosh, I love Google Reader. Just when I need to find a binding force for my "social studies" course this year, I stumble across today's post (a thoughtful rant) on Mere Comments by Anthony Esolan, author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization (released on my birthday, so it has to be good). I see it is also available from Audible. We have enjoyed other PIGs, including English and American Literature and American History. These are typically full of book recommendations themselves, and the funny thing is, most of the recommendations are already on my shelves.

The Truth About (my) Curriculum Choices (9th Grade)

While I was joking about the "everything" books in this post, I am easily choosing books from my bookshelves this year. And because Cay has always wondered (hi Cay!), I'll fess up to our plan publicly.

First, I will use the 9th grade literature course I designed a few years ago for Libby. It was fun and educational then, and I am looking forward to revisiting it.

For math, we will use several algebra books, including Jacobs' , Algebra Unplugged, and a few other interesting math books that are kicking around the house (most are on my math page).

Biology is always fun here. I have so many resources that I could not possibly list them all, but a few worth mentioning are What is Life?, Darwin's Black Box, The Amateur Biologist, and assorted books on individual life histories, like The Earth Moved, which is the natural history of earthworms, and Red-Tails in Love, concerning a certain pair of hawks in NYC. Of course, I'll add other books as needed, or as interests turn to certain specific areas of biology. And field work...did I mention field work?

Social Studies is always a problem...not that there are not enough books here, it's just that it's my husband's area of expertise. We'll probably use a combination of biographies, documentaries, dad's brain, and field trips to bring history alive. Also, we will all be working on a congressional campaign, and that's more than enough to satisfy the requirements of "government" during an election year. I'll post a separate social studies plan once it's ready.

German-American School will take care of German language and culture, and The Suzuki Program, plus lots and lots of concerts, will take care of music. In the spring there will be a Shakespeare production, and there may be other plays in the fall. We will continue our study of ecclesiastical Latin. My highschoolers volunteer with my CCD class, and our religion reading includes the New Testament and the early church fathers, plus we will be reading through B16's Jesus of Nazareth.

I guess that wraps things up. All selections are subject to change, and change again.

Ave Maria! (The Town)

We dropped Trip off at Ave Maria University for two weeks of college fun geared towards high school students. It was sunny and hot--typical summer in Florida! The town is lovely, and though it is only partially built, we could see that it has potential to grow into a lovely community.

We were anxious to get out of the car after a 21 hour drive.

We arrived just in time for Mass (in the Extraordinary Form) at the Oratory.



We helped T to move into his dorm room.



Then, the skies changed...(this is the view from his room--looks a bit like a low security prison).

It poured and flooded the streets. The good folks at Ave Maria town assured us that this was an unusually hard, long rain. The Oratory disappeared in the heavy downpour. Can you still see it?



Making the best of it, we drove around and looked at houses and building sites. We saw notices warning us about the local wildlife...

and other signs assuring us that some land was reserved for endangered species.

As we drove in to the town, a falcon dove right in front of our car and grabbed something out of the run-off ditch. It was great! And the birds there were amazing. We saw so many different types--grackles, mockingbirds, cattle egrets, herons, vultures, ibis, cormorants, terns, osprey, and more.

After that, we drove up to my dad's house, and had a visit. I had not seen my dad in about 5 years, so it was a real treat, especially the dinner at a restaurant. His cats and dogs and cars and tv/stereo systems are still his hobbies. He sent us home with massive speakers and a receiver that weighs about 70 lbs. It could be worse...he could have tossed in a cat (as he has done before). Thanks, dad! ;)

Cue Hall & Oats

She's Gone.

(No, don't. It's a dreadful song.) ;)

Ack!

An early drive to the airport for a flight this morning, a quick "goodbye" in the car, and that's it. She should be nearing her destination 'bout now.

Sometimes motherhood is so bittersweet. This is her third year going to the music festival, but this time, when she comes home, she'll be coming home to her college dorm room, not her bedroom at home. I think that's the difference this year. Also, she turns 18 while she is away.

So we sit here, considering the price of gas vs. seeing her sometime over the summer.

I think I'll go clean her room.

Graduation!

See the rest of the photos here.

ETA: You know, it looks like a regular high school graduation, but Libby has always been homeschooled. This is the graduation ceremony for the pre-college students at the conservatory she attended on Saturdays during her high school years. Just wanted to clear that up!

And for the record, I almost held it together. The plan was simple: I was NOT going to cry! I knew she was graduating with Honors (she had been nominated for the junior/senior honors seminar in her sophomore year, and had enjoyed the college-level class), but when they called her name for one of nine surprise awards for Outstanding Achievement as well (one of only three students out of the 90 members of the class to get both), I totally cried. A lot. It was embarrassing.

Libby didn't cry; she was too nervous about tripping over the gown.

Afterwards, the final orchestra concert was received well--a rare standing ovation. Congratulations to all the graduates!!!

Recital Invitation

A Juilliard School Pre-College Senior Recital

Photo by Mr. Peise

ELIZABETH DERHAM, VIOLIN

Evan Solomon, Piano

Music of

BIBER, MESSIAEN, SCHUBERT & STRAVINSKY

Saturday, May 17^th at 5 pm

The Juilliard School’s Morse Recital Hall

West 66^th Street (Broadway)

Libby's Last Concert with Molloy College Community Orchestra

Tuning the tympani...

Tuning the Orchestra...

Finishing with Brahms
(note the exit sign)

Special thanks go to Dr. Yarrow for giving Libby plenty of performance experience. And thanks to all the orchestra members for hard work and support over the past 6 years.

Back in Time...a Retrospective on Narration

Hi folks...thanks to a CCM member, this 10 year old post (!!!) of mine has been resurrected! I really am laughing about this, as the info and opinion remain true. I hope you enjoy these thoughts!

>> I have a few thoughts on reading and narration. My oldest (8) has
always loved reading. She reads everything, and just pointed out the fact
that, for her, reading is very automatic...when she sees a sign or
billboard she says she cannot help but read it . When I started the CM
education thing, asking her to tell me about what she had read, it was
torture for us. I knew she understood what she was reading (or, at lest I figured
she must...why would anyone read the rich writings of Lewis, Nesbit,
etc. if she didn't understand what she was reading?), but she didn't seem to be
interested in spewing the info back at me. Reading is far too personal, and
I believe that she felt I was invading. Moreover, she felt that I really didn't want to know what was in the story, but wanted to test her knowledge as though I did not trust in her ability to read.

Narration, as I read about it in CM's books, has always seemed a bit stiff and unnatural. Karen Andreola told me that one of her children dislikes narration, and that narration has to be drawn out of this child with a series of questions from "Mom." Uggh! This is exactly what I don't want.
Rather, I prefer a natural, one-to-one conversation about a book(or anything). We have no set time, no schedule for this, it just comes naturally in the course of a day. My second oldest (6) lives to tell me what he has just read, while my oldest is just beginning to see the pleasure
of literary discussions. Our narrations now resemble a book club meeting (sans Oprah!!).

Sometimes, I catch them "narrating" to other children. At music lessons one day, the kids were talking about the book The Five Chinese Brothers . The children (waiting for various lessons in the hallway) ranged in age from 4-8, and all of them had read the book. They talked through the story, making sure they got the whole thing straight, then they started making up more "Chinese brothers," each with his own life-saving attribute. This is one of those moments when I see the fruits of the CM method, and sigh.

Relationships abound in our home, and one of the greatest links is our style of narration. In nature study, we compare notebooks for ideas, not to determine who is the better artist (a relief to my artistically impaired ego). We draw what we see, and often get ideas from one another. "What a great shade of green," says one child. "That is exactly the color of the beetle's shell!" or "Hey, I didn't notice that antenna on the slug. Let me look again."

Sound Idyllic? It doesn't always happen this way, but this is our goal. No quizzing. No contrived questions. They talk, I listen; we all learn.<<

Of course, the children are quite a bit bigger now. That 8 year old will start college in the fall, and the 6 year old is a sophomore in a rigorous college preparatory Catholic high school. (Where does the time go?) We consistently used the above method throughout their time at home, and the younger kids (14 and 12) still narrate in a very conversational way. Fun and painless, our narration modifications have served everyone well!

More Good News

This is great...

A lovely girl, who knows Libby from a summer music program, who is also a Catholic homeschooler, has asked to be Libby's roommate at college! Libby agreed immediately. They don't know each other well, but they both share the same values, as we saw when they both decided on the girls' only floor (there is only one residence hall).

She's IN!

When Libby was three, she came into my room at 6 am and woke me up by playing "Go Tell Aunt Rhody" on her violin. She had just made the critical discovery that she could play many of her Suzuki tape pieces with the notes she had already learned. That was the morning that I first thought, "She will never have any trouble making a living."

Soon after that, we decided to unschool her. Fast-forward 14 years. This is her "senior" year at home...not that she's ever home. ;)

Monday, she got THE CALL from The Juilliard School. She's in the class of 2012.

At least she'll be nearby!

College Tally So Far

Applied: 8
Accepted: 4 0r 5, depending on a professional courtesy discussion going on now.
Rejected: 1 (hey, they only had 9 openings)
Waitlisted: 1
Still waiting to hear from: 1

And it looks like she has a very hard decision...that must be made by May 1st.

Come Holy Spirit...

ETA: Final tally...
Accepted: 5
Waitlisted: 2 (as a result of the courtesy call; the perfect result in the end because the decision would have been impossible to make)
Rejected: 1.

FWIW, this is the same or better result than her schooled friends. Unschooling works!

How to have a Great Audition Day in NYC

Wake up to news of a bomb in Times Square. This news prevents you from rolling over and going back to sleep.

Beg a ride into the city since the trains may or may not be running.

Arrive at audition site three hours early and rehearse with accompanist.

Go to ATM and get money for accompanist's fee.

Notice GAP across the street. Run in and browse. See a dress you love. Try it on. Buy it with accompanist's fee.

Go to grocery shop next door and buy a banana and "B-Relaxed" vitamin water. You have heard these will help you remain calm for auditions.

Go to ATM and get money for accompanist's fee.

Go back to audition site. Do a quick run-through with accompanist again. Pay accompanist before you buy something else.

Sit with mom in special parents' waiting room and gather thoughts. Be encouraged when a complete stranger recognizes you from a performance two weeks ago, and tells you that you are wonderful.

(Hint for mom: Read all info provided by conservatory, and drink coffee/eat muffin. Act calm.)

Go to audition room at the 1 hour early mark, as instructed, to check in. They tell you to come back after lunch. The monitors are hungry.

Meet a friend from California who is auditioning, too. Rejoice in your reunion.

Go back to mom and sip vitamin water. Totally forget about the banana.

Go to audition room and audition for panel of judges. Play your best, ever. The panel are very nice; they smile and clap at the end of your audition.

Go back to parents' waiting area. Attend PowerPoint presentation on student life.

Look at watch. Realize you have to get to work soon. Rush for train, now running on time. Make train, just as doors close. Get to your stop and decide to walk 5 blocks instead of taking the bus. It's a beautiful day!!

Arrive at work, and get yelled at by a mother for your inadequate preparation of her child for a music test. Cry. Director of the music school tells you not to worry about it. Worry anyway.

On your way home from work, get a call from your studio teacher (who was on the panel); she tells you you did well. Laugh. Smile. Sleep well or the first time in weeks.