Week nine, part II: Family Meeting with Money

Big accomplishment: We remembered! I actually got up from a nap because I remembered we hadn't had our family meeting yet, and we wouldn't be able to do it later, and it needed to happen!

Confession: we kindof chased Fiora down. I mean, she's only two. We didn't actually carry her to the table, just invited her over and over again and found her in the yard, etc. At any rate, she did eventually join us.

Smaller accomplishment: it was at the table this time. :) Definitely a better place for it. Fiora was not doing anything else the whole (short) time.

"Timekeeper": Fiora announced the beginning and end by blowing on one of my harmonicas. She did get a big kick out of being asked to do that, and then being able to do it!

Appreciations: We made eye contact, and we made appreciations. It seems awfully easy to find things to appreciate in my family.... On the other hand, showing that appreciation through my eyes is going to be a process -- I realized my gaze is a little standoffish even when showing appreciations to the people I love the most! (Thank you, dogs, for letting me start to recognize the importance of how I connect to others with my gaze.) Fiora's appreciations were just "Thank you, baba. Thank you, mama." But it's a start!

Funny money! WE did it. We gave Fiora her first allowance: $2. And man, she DID manage to surprise me! At first, by deciding to eagerly stay at the table when we told her we'd be giving her money (I didn't think she knew what it was! Well, perhaps she didn't, but did want to get something?). When we gave it to her, I told her that if the money was left on the floor or table, we would take it back (she's in a very possessive, black&white mindset about "mine" right now, and would've been really upset if we took something of hers, so I thought it best to be proactive about that). And what did she do? She took her two dollar, checked them out, and then gave them back to us! (Too much responsible? Not yummy enough? What is this stuff anyways?) Brian thought this was a great precedent. Into the vacation funds it went! Perhaps we're raising a little buddha..... ;)