Olympus Still Producing Heroes: the Percy Jackson Series Gives Hope to Sufferers from ADHD and Dyslexia

Percy Jackson isn't your typical teen.  He has ADHD and dyslexia and has been kicked out of more schools that you can imagine.  He often blurts things out, though he doesn't mean to.  To top it off, his mom lives with a real jerk, "smelly" Gabe, while Percy pines for the dad he never knew.  In spite of all this, one of his teachers, Mr. Brunner, still believes that Percy has real potential, though Percy can't figure out why.  When was the last time "D's" showed that someone had potential?  It isn't until Percy's math teacher, Mrs. Dodds, turns into a fanged, leathery black winged creature and tries to kill him on a school field trip that he finds out he isn't normal.  Percy makes it to Camp Halfblood with his friend Grover, an awkward, limping teen who happens to be a satyr sent to protect him.  There he finds the world of Greek myths he'd learned in school were no myth--  instead very real and dangerous, especially for all halfbloods, many of whom make the camp home for all or part of each year.  The Gods and monsters of legend are very much alive, many of them living in New York.   The kids at camp are in "hero" training, all of them demigods, children of mortal parents and one godly parent.  Most of them are children of lesser gods, since the big three-- Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades-- made a pact after World War II that they wouldn't sire any more children with mortal women.

At Camp Halfblood, Percy discovers that he has many hidden powers as a rare son of the sea God, Poseidon.  There he trains to fight monsters, meets new and unusual friends, consults a withered mummy-like oracle, and discovers that he possesses a destiny that will mean the destruction or salvation of the gods, gods whose fate is closely intertwined with that of Western Civilization.  He must go on a dangerous quest, his first of many, to restore the stolen lightening bolt of Zeus himself.  Percy proves himself a true hero, showing that he will stop at nothing to thwart evil and protect his friends.  His dyslexia is really a manifestation that he was hardwired to read ancient Greek.  And it is his ADHD that gives him his incredible battle reflexes, traits he shares with the other demigods, most of whom are dyslexic and ADHD themselves.

His friend, Annabeth, daughter of Athena, and the main female protagonist in the series, explains to him: "The letters float off the page when you read, right? That's because your mind is hard-wired for ancient Greek....And the A.D.H.D. - you're impulsive, can't sit still in the classroom. That's your battlefield reflexes. In a real fight, they'd keep you alive. As for the attention problems, that's because you see too much, Percy, not too little. Your senses are better than a regular mortal's."

This is an easy-to read series written for tweens, with likable protagonists and despicable villains.  The action is exciting and "perfectly paced," as described in a New York Times review by Polly Shulman (here): "with electrifying moments chasing each other like heartbeats." It is sprinkled with generous loads of humor, woven throughout with Greek stories and myths, along with some mild cursing on the River Styx.  Riordan weaves the worlds of old and new in a fun and believable style-- in which one can say the words ADHD and Manhattan and Minotaur without breaking a sweat.  (The war god Ares wears black leather and rides a Harley, for example, while Poseidon often appears wearing Bermuda shorts)  These books may even may make you want to break out your old Greek mythology books; both of my Percy readers showed an increased interest in mythology after reading the series.

My oldest two children have read all of Riordan's books, and for months they begged me to give The Lightning Thief a try.  The catalyst, for me, was driving in the car one day with the kids.  I was agonizing over how to test the waters in regards to the possibility that one or more of my five children may have ADHD (two have since been diagnosed).  When I finally broached the subject, my ten year-old surprised me by getting an excited gleam in her eye.  It was obvious that she was flattered by the idea that she might have ADHD, which left me feeling a bit baffled.  A few days later, when she casually mentioned Percy Jackson's ADD, a light bulb went off in my head.   The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series had made her feel that ADHD was "cool."  Whew!  I wanted to go out and give Rick Riordan a big bear hug right then and there.

Riordan treats the pros and cons of ADHD like a pro himself-- ultimately giving the reader a respect for the untapped powers and hidden hero within each ADD child, as well as giving an accurate and compassionate glimpse into his or her struggles.

***

Fun Fact:  Riordan invented the Percy Jackson stories in an effort to help his son, who suffered from ADHD and dyslexia, get into reading.  You can read more about that here, including Riordan's suggestions for inspiring kids with ADHD challenges to become avid readers.  My own daughter, mentioned above, was so inspired by heroes like Percy Jackson and Harry Potter (or Hermoine and Annabeth, really) and meeting author Shannon Hale, that she started writing her own book.  So far, I think it is one of her own hidden gifts.  Sounds like Riordan's son just completed a 600 page manuscript of his own.  I think I have some new heroes, and they don't live over the Empire State Building, erm, Olympus.

For fans, Rick Riordan's blog is here.  And his newest book in the Heroes of Olympus series, House of Hades, will be available on October 8 of this year.

Long and Lost

I have been away so long, dearest ones!  Way longer than I meant to.  I started writing a novel during nap time, which is normally my blogging time, and I didn't have time for both because I didn't want to take time away from my kids!   I found writing to be really thrilling and fun, as the writing took me in directions all on its own, time melting by way too quickly!  Maybe the novel is truly terrible, but it was very fun to write, and a first draft is done.  As per my normal, I always talk too much, so it is a little long.

Here are a few other things I was able to do.

A local college rivalry football game with my husband and my oldest son. We lost, but we got to spend some fun time together cheering at the game, as well as enjoying memories of my beloved alma mater, including dinner at the track where I used to spend many hours running with the track team (kind of ironic, eating there, because I think I lost my lunch there a few times).

I went to a Gordon Lightfoot concert with my dad.  Amazing.  The man's voice was a little shaky but it transported me back to my old river guiding days, his voice is so organic sounding and beautiful.  And his prose is so beautiful.  I found out that he has been named by some as Canada's greatest songwriter of all time, a title I think he deserves.  And I so enjoyed being with my dad!  Speaking of music goals (remember when I made the goal to introduce my kids to good music?)-- I realized that my taste in music, which leans toward folksy-guitar music of the type played by the likes of James Taylor, John Denver, and Jim Croce was probably inspired by my dad, who used to listen to them on an 8 track player in a little work room of our old house when I was a little girl.  I loved to visit him there and look at the little intricate carvings he did as a hobby.

  (to listen to the gorgeous lyrics he wrote about Canada in his Canadian Railroad Trilogy see here....He was quite entertaining, putting a lot of energy into his songs even though his voice was weak with age at times...and he wore a velvet jacket, what's not to love about that?)

I went to a scrapbook retreat with friends from Colorado.  I have gone once before, but it has been five years!  I have missed them so much, they have been such kind and caring friends over the years, even when we have lived away.  We ate junk food and deliciously prepared meals, watched TV in our pajamas, and our church's annual conference.  We chatted, cried, and laughed and generally had a great time!  I missed my kids nearly the whole time, worrying a bit about the littlest, who I've never left, even though I had such a great time.  But I do think it is important enough to maintain those friendships and get a little time-- and I enjoyed seeing the kids so much when I got back.

So, it was a lazy-ish month, I guess, and I will be back to posting at least twice a week around here from now on.  I need you to keep me honest as I try to get back on track with my goals!

This month I'm going to work on some goals we set as a family at the start of the school year.  We decided to continue making home lunches throughout the year and decided to make sure all electronics are turned off on school nights, replacing some of that time with more consistent reading.

Clear as mud!  I sure missed you and hope you are well, and sorry to be gone for so long!

Rogue Girl Boy Scouts

When my husband and son tromped off to scout camp last week, we girls + the littlest boy tromped off on an adventure of our own.  It was a fairly easy hike with a big pay-off.  The kids really loved it.  And I gave my inner scout some "time." (when I was a little girl, I wanted to be a scout so badly!  my dad was a scoutmaster)

 Daughter number three is entirely self dressed in any photos you have seen over the last year.  It is quite fun to see what she will come up with, though sometimes her outfits don't work quite as well for a particular occasion.

Happy Wednesday!  Sorry, I thought I'd blog more this week, but it's been crazy (when I don't plan ahead, and find that certain towns we're planning on staying in have been booked for six months, oops!)!  We're going on vacation next week, so I won't be around.  But I hope I'll have some fun photos when we get back, on July 10th-ish.

I will see you here Friday, if you dare! :)

Not Much of Anything?

I was about to write that last week was a whole bunch of nothin'.  But then I looked at the photos and realized that by nothin', I was remembering how I hadn't combed anyone's hair or even insisted that people wear pants or use utensils.  Sometimes it's nice to have a break from things like that.  Enjoying having my kids home!  Here goes our scraggly week in photos. :)

Some gardening and weeding action (desperately needed!) and some strawberry picking and spontaneous jam making (SO good!).

 Lots of sleeping in and snuggling.

 My girls made cupcakes on their own.  I found this little boy cleaning up the leftovers (oops)-- he told me, "Mom, I'm just wickin' it!"

 So much bike riding that this little girl has been wearing her bike helmet to dinner.  And the aforementioned no utensils.

 Some band camp (a sibling shot).  Maybe jr. high isn't going to be as bad as I thought-- it's been fun getting him ready.

 Someone doesn't want to feel left out on the band action.

 This one still adjusting to having sibs home all day.  Mostly good, but sometimes frustrating.

 Not happy that I wanted to take another picture.  I just had to get the snow boots/swimsuit/underwear combo.

 No utensils or hair combed or pants.  Again.

 Sleeping out in the back yard in the tent we gave to my hubby four years ago for Father's Day-- just using it for the first time.

Father's Day dinner-- since we hadn't used utensils all week and since I don't cook roasts hardly ever anymore, I was proud of myself and had to take a photo.  We had a great Father's Day-- pampered my husband (I think he enjoyed himself) and visited my dad, too!  So nice to go five minutes away and then come home and put the kids to bed!

Sorry I've been so neglectful.  So busy for some reason!   I hope you are having a wonderful summer so far!

A Lasting Gift for Moms Everywhere

Mothers Day is fast approaching, and un-true to form, I already have a gift for my mother!

Today we ran a few random errands, seeing as yesterday I was puking my guts out, and today I have a couple of sickies, but they seemed to be feeling better and were up for getting out of the house.  The mountains have been a beautiful hazy gray with black snow pines and just enough shiny blue peeking out of neon green and white budded popcorn branches to make for a breathless day.  And the smells-- it has been too long since we have been able to really smell the outdoors around here!  Lightly floating blossom fragrance, the deep and drunk smell of after-rain, and the tart scent of grass and green things growing everywhere.  We rolled down our windows off and on to enjoy the warm breeze and fresh air, as the air in our car does not smell good, not at all.  We stopped to see my dad and sister at work, gave hugs and smiles and an "I love bampa!" as my little boy flick-sloshed his tongue in and out of his mouth, soon to explain to grandpa,"I'm a titty!" (kitty)  Then it was time to re-buckle little ones who are a little trigger happy when it comes to those seatbelts.  Enjoying my oldest daughter even though she is sick, sitting in the front seat laughing and conversing man to man (in the front just for today so we don't make her sicker).

On the way home, the baby fell asleep with his red cheeks and those adorable baby-chub arms draped on his lap and his little head slipping down on to his chest.  The conversation drifted into a happy silence and I started thinking about the approach of mommy day and maybe sneaking in a post-sick day nap.

I thought about how commercialized these holidays have become.  I saw a cute blog post yesterday of things the author thought would make good gifts for Mother's Day.  No offense, no way, but one of the rings (so cute, by the way) she had posted was a whopping $400 and something dollars.  Sorry, not so cute anymore.   And it got me thinking about the kinds of gifts that don't cost any money, the ones that mothers will appreciate the most.

A few years ago, before we moved close(r) to my parents, my mother sent out a proud email with a Halloween photo of her then grandkids.  She relayed back to me that one of her friends had told her my children looked "very well cared for."  Now, I don't know if the compliment was deserved, and I can think of am millions points of refutation, but I have never forgotten it.  This is one of those compliments that I have cherished; after all, what mother would not want to hear that her children seem well cared-for?  It was very simple, nothing fancy, maybe nothing to get too puffed up over, but it made enough difference to me that I still pull it out when I'm having a bad day.

So, here is where I'm going with this, paragraphs on (sorry!).  What if we, as our gift to other mothers, give them a kind compliment this week leading up to Mother's Day?  I think about all of the qualities I admire in other mothers often but I often forget that I shouldn't keep them to myself!  It is so easy to think they already know what they are good at, or to feel a little embarrassed or intimidated, but we can all use a little shoring up some days, right?  I think this could make a big difference for all of us, as we all struggle with self doubt sometimes and forget to notice what we are doing that is good.

Even just a little unassuming compliment can go a long way, remembered by its recipient long after you've forgotten sending it.


Okay, on that thought, when I looked for the photos in question, I found some irresistible baby photos.  Sorry, I can't help myself.  Aw.

I promise this isn't a real cobra.  Ha.  It did scare me often when we still had it, as I'd mistake it for a real one!

Thanks for indulging me on my unexpected trip down memory lane.  Just love these guys.  Happy memories.

Weekend

(photo cred belongs to my dear mother)

We had an eventful weekend around here.  On Saturday I helped my parents remove some wallpaper in a home they are buying (five minutes from my house!  how exciting is that?), went to my oldest son's soccer game (he is a great little goalie, only he is not so little anymore!) while I kept an eye several places (my girls were taking very good care of E., mother-henning him all over the place, but when he got tired of that, he enjoyed splashing through a long puddle several times in a row.  After a busy work day we got cleaned up just in time to help at my cousin's wedding.  The wedding was the perfect Pinterest wedding, if I may say so (but I didn't have my camera!).  It was in a barn strung with white globe lights and two beautiful white chandeliers.  The tables were decorated with vintage eclectic flower vases filled with Redbud branches in full bloom and other assorted spring flowers (and a light farm animal scent for ambiance, too).  Gorgeous photos and little chalkboard sayings hung around the room; the bride and groom stood in front of a large chalkboard with their names artistically rendered in beautiful clean white chalk across the top.  I got the best of all the worlds, because I got to serve milk and cookies in a cute apron with my sister while my husband chased the baby outside on the grass (by the time we left he was convinced we should buy the place, and it was cute but...) and my other girls helped (sometimes a little over-enthusiastically) pick up after people who were finished with their milk and cookies.  And we got to sneak some treats for ourselves here and there.  I thought it was funny how many sheepish older men felt they needed to apologize for or explain to me why they were taking chocolate milk (huh?  is chocolate milk unmanly or something?).  It was dreamy, I kept kicking myself for not bringing along my camera.  When we were all finished, they let us take an antique vase home.  Trust me, I got to listen all weekend to a little girl who somehow felt cheated that her sister had gotten the cutest vase and why oh why couldn't she just giiiiiive it to her?  (there were many tears over this)

Saturday night we were awakened in the middle of the night to some eerie sounds (not the wind, it was doing a number outside), only to discover that Maia was puking her guts out in the middle of the hallway.  Of course the ruckus woke up the baby, so I sat with him for a few minutes (praying that he would go to sleep?  or praying that he wouldn't?  so I wouldn't have to face the...) while my husband dealt with the throw up and the thrower upper.  Pretty soon, though, my baby duties didn't exempt me from throw up duty.  (thank heavens he got the worst of it! I  have the worst possible constitution as they say, for vomit.  I can clean up pretty much anything else, but trust me, I contribute to the mess when I have to clean that stuff up)  So we spent the next hour or so cleaning spots from her bed to the bathroom, no small trek if you ask me.  The baby got up again (I guess I have to stop calling him "the baby" now?  He is two after all, ha.), and started hanging on me and begging to watch Mater, so I set him up watching Mater's Tall Tales in the middle of the night, it was actually pretty cute, he wanted to watch it on the tablet while he laid on his tummy, elbows propped, on a single stair leading to my bedroom closet, with the glow lighting up his little face in the darkness.  (and I tell you what, Dad Gum, that show cracks me up, Mater and Mator)

By the time we got it all cleaned up and I started to get him back to bed it was 5am, after he fell asleep I figured I may as well get up for the day, since I had things to do.

I got to go to church with just one little girl, since everyone else was still sleeping when it was time to go (I couldn't bring myself to wake them up, since we had lights and noise going on in the middle of the night, in one of their rooms), so we had a good little date.  She brought her little vase of orange flowers from the wedding and I was too tired to care.  We had a few touch-and-go moments in church, as she wanted to hold the flowers up above her head (several times?  you'd think since she was unhappy with her vase she wouldn't be wanting to show it off to a whole congregation of people?) She spilled the water a few times but she always ran to the bathroom right away to get some paper towels to clean it up.  :)

Sunday afternoon I took a delicious nap, only interrupted a couple of times.  After a loud and laughing mashed potato dinner (I can't remember what was so funny?  But I do remember looking around and feeling so happy that everyone was so breathlessly amused and talkative all at once), we went outside and played soccer, the oldest two and I.  I just love how pleasant my oldest son always is.  He laughed every time I scored on him (what is so funny about that?).  And my oldest daughter, she was a good sport too.  Maia came walking out in her pj's with her throw up bucket, which was soon to blow away, unattended.  The baby kept wandering in and out of the field of play and so did the cats.  He spent a few minutes crouched next to the porch, where they fled from him, watching curiously and wondering how he could get to those cats (loves them!).  Pretty soon the littest three were bouncing on the neighbors trampoline (sorry!) while we next tried a creative game of baseball. Creative, when you only have 1-2 players on a team, and both members of your team are on base.  Who is supposed to bat?  My husband came out and joined us and we enjoyed some mutually competitive taunting.  Then we trailed in our balls and bats and throw up buckets and made our way upstairs for a twilit story or two, and I finished the day with a little knocked out nursing baby (love him!  there is something so magical about a sleeping baby, too) and we finished the movie Lincoln that we had started the night before.

How was your weekend?  I really enjoy getting a break from the daily tasks, but Mondays are extra work because of it (we let everything go south on Sunday). 

I am really happy about this month's goals.  So glad to get a break from trying to be good at something I'm not (the discipline and the schedules, which I will get back to, just not quite yet), and just focus on showing love to them through spending time together (my favorite).  

A Few Lost Memories

Thanks for indulging me yesterday.  I got a lot off my chest.  I have had some high and low moments since then, as I'm sure I will continue to do until I find a new way of coping with my new reality.

Here are a few discarded memories I found on my husband's phone.  Enjoy!

 Aw, who can resist a puppy and a baby?  Where has my baby gone?

 At my b-day dinner.

 On our Chuck-E-Cheese's Date with this little four year-old birthday girl and dad.

 (Remember our date night? Lol)

 More birthday date.

A rare hubby and me photo taken by the said 4 year-old birthday girl!

I have some funny sayings for tomorrow.  Until then, dear ones!