Monday Morning Quarterback

Winning is important to me, but what brings me real joy is the experience of being fully engaged in whatever I'm doing.

Phil Jackson

Well, we had our first sewing lesson yesterday, and I think it went amazingly well! I spent about 2 hours with Ana and her friend Juana. (I think this combination of names is a bit unfair to a gringa, but I have to admit that I don't make things easy for them with "Gwen" either...) ;)

• We worked through the set of vocabulary cards that I had made.
• I taught them how to fill a bobbin and thread the machine.
• They practiced doing straight rows of stitches of different lengths on scraps of fabric.
• We took measurements and drafted a simple A-line skirt pattern (designed for an elastic waistband) for each of them.

They both wanted a ruffle along the bottom and they both wanted relatively long skirts. (I forgot to ask about pockets.)

My pre-prepared sentences went quite far. There were certainly times when I was scrambling with the Spanish-English dictionary and there were times when I just gave up and let it go. But, it's pretty amazing how many things you'd LIKE to say that, it turns out, you don't really NEED to say.

I'm pretty sure they understand our plans for next week - I'm going to pick them up and take them to Joann's to buy fabric for their skirts. (Fingers crossed!)

Possibly my biggest surprise (stupid, in hindsight) is that they don't have air conditioning. In Florida - yikes! Lessons this summer are going to be hot...

Ana made me some homemade flan as a thank-you - it was delicious! And she gave me a hug for Mother's Day. It was a pretty wonderful day! :)

I'll try to get pictures of them fabric shopping next weekend. Thanks again to everyone who has been taking the time to give me encouragement and/or advice! It is greatly appreciated! :)