Cambria

Yesterday I was able to be Cambria's teacher for a 1/2 a day. She has one teacher in the morning that teaches Language Arts and Science, and then one in the afternoon that teaches Math and Social Studies. I was the Math and Social Studies teacher. When I received the call asking me to sub for that teacher, I wondered how Cambria would feel about it. Declan does not mind at all if I am his sub or a sub in a class near him. He loves it when all of his school friends tell him that I was their sub and that they liked me. Decota likes it when I am subbing near her- but has no desire for me to be her actual teacher. Cambria had me as a sub once in 3rd grade. Her teacher then was a very quite, soft spoken woman. She could get the class' attention by simply standing there real still and staring at them. I came in to sub and her class was so loud they could not hear me when I dinged the bell- so I had to shout out the count down for them to be quite. Cambria was humiliated. After school she told me I was mean and that she couldn't believe I yelled at her class. All I said was "5-4-3-2-1" in a loud voice. She swore she never wanted me for a sub again. After I accepted the job for yesterday, I went and told Cambria about it and asked her how she felt. I guess she forgot the humiliation after a year and a half, because she was so excited. She then went right on to tell me who to be mean to, because they were mean to her (she actually had a vengeance list). I explained that I would be nice to everyone, and that they would only get in trouble if they deserved it. All day Cambria was so excited to see me. She ran up and hugged me every chance she got. When it came time for her to come to my class, she had the biggest smile on her face. Her class was WONDERFUL! It is so awesome when your child gets to be in a class with such good kids. When I would give them an assignment they would get right to work on it without a peep. They were so good. I had been told all day by other teachers what a great class she had, but I had no idea it would be that wonderful. I am so excited that she is surrounded by such wonderful students. I was also informed by some teachers at the school that she is coming out of her shell. I am so happy to hear that. I warned them to be on the lookout though, because when she comes out a tornado is sure to follow- she is a wild woman!

Cambria has a very different personality. One time my mother-in-law made a comment about her that I have thought a lot about and feel is very true. She said that it is really easy to forget about Cambria sometimes because it is so hard to get to know her. As I have contemplated on that statement I have realized how true it is. Cambria is a very independent soul. She does not mind being on her own and doing her own thing at times. She can be very shy when you first get to know her, and does not like to draw attention to herself if she is uncertain about anything. She is not one that will sit down and just easily chat with you, she would rather run off and watch TV or play outside than sit and chat. On the other hand, once Cambria is feeling confident about something she wants everyone to recognize it (to the point of being boastful). She loves positive feedback and acknowledgment. She longs to be showered in praise and attention. She is quite the ham and can get quite goofy- to the point of annoying everyone (although her friends seem to follow along and mimic whatever she is doing). She lives like she runs- just kind of trotting along, and then a HUGE burst of energy (like 0-90) that blows you away; before you know it she is trotting along again.

Cambria is a leader. She is not automatically outgoing enough to be the same kind of leader as Decota- yet I watch her sneak up and take the reigns from behind, and then watch others mimicking what she does. She really only ever has contention with the girls who seem to be overbearing- probably because Cambria comes off so soft spoken at first, yet she WILL NOT do anything she doesn't want to (inevitably leading others away with her).

Cambria is also the most TENATIOUS child I have ever met (she reminds me so much of J-D, and sometimes I just wanted to shoot him). She gets something in her mind and she can just not drop it- ever, until it is fulfilled. She can hound you and hound you until you are about to break. Rodney loves the expression "ride you like a broken down horse". This is what I feel she does to me at times. This characteristic is also so positive in so many ways. Cambria never has to have any extra motivation for what she wants. I never have to remind her to work on things like homework or chores. When she does them go does them all the way. She likes to drive herself to near perfection.

Cambria LOVES soccer! She will practice soccer, go to extra soccer practices, and come home and practice some more. She is totally happy to be outside alone juggling her ball or working on kicking the ball over the mailbox from the other side of the cul-de-sac. She wants to be a famous soccer player and trains like she will be one someday. It took us a long time to get her to put away her fears about hurting the other teams feelings by beating them, and get her to be competitive, but once she tasted victory she decided she loved the flavor. If her team starts losing she gets fired-up. She starts making moves that you did not even fathom she could make, and is quite impressive (now if we could get her to do that all of the time).

I think the best thing about Cambria is her compassion. She is kind of stand-offish in a situation where she is uncomfortable, and maybe doesn't seem so openly compassionate; but I think she is the one that, in the end, is touched the deepest. She has been praying for some people daily, well over a year after their troubles began. When others have moved on to worry about another problem, she is just adding then new one to her list. She amazes me when she continually asks for updates on people that, I am sorry to say, have slipped my mind for awhile. She genuinely worries about people, and does not stop until the situation is resolved. She worries about Decota most of all. She hates it when Decota is upset. She fervently prays for her to get better. -Yet she is Cambria!

My favorite Cambria story is when Decota had just been diagnosed with her eye disease. Everyone was so worried about her. There were SO many threats to her losing her vision, and her disease was progressing so rapidly, that everyone was very worried. It was a very scary time for our family. Decota was showered with love, gifts and attention from people all over. Everyone had her on their mind. One afternoon Cambria came to me very quietly and asked me if people ever died of arthritis. I always want to be truthful with my children, so I told her that there is a very small percentage of children that actually do die from it when it takes over their organs; but then went on to reassure her that this would not happen to Decota because her arthritis had been limited to her legs and eyes. It really pulled on my heart strings as she walked out of the room, and I thought to myself "what a horrible thing for a child to have to worry about". A couple seconds later I hear Cambria in the other room talking to Decota and Declan, in a very nonchalant voice, saying "I don't see what the big deal is- your not going to die from arthritis. I could die from an asthma attack any day an no one is sending me presents!" Needless to say, I went from teary eyed to flat out cracking up in a matter of seconds. I have really tried to give her a bit of extra attention since then, and others have also been so sweet to pitch in with extra attention for her so that she doesn't feel resentful about living with a sick sister. What can I say though, Cambria always keep you on your toes!!!