My daughter’s team is at the Odyssey of the Mind World’s competition in East Lansing, Michigan. I am with her! Since I can work from anywhere, I’ve been working from my dorm room (lol), and joining the team for things like the opening ceremony and some meals. Their long-term problem presentation is in about 40 minutes, and I’m going to go watch. I can’t wait! They had their spontaneous problem already this morning, and I am looking forward to hearing how they think they did.

This team is very special, because while most teams are formed in October and work together through the fall and winter, this team only formed in January. So they’ve had less time together to develop a strong creative bond, and to create their skit and their props. And they are at World’s! I’m proud of Eleanor, and I’m proud of the whole team.

There are rituals at OM that emphasize kindness and collaboration. For example, at Regionals, Eleanor’s team won an OMer award for kindness, because people noticed that their team said “good luck” and “you’ve got this” (etc) to all their competitors all day, and nominated them. Here at World’s, it’s normal to bring decorated clothespins with inspirational messages (Eleanor said all hers say “don’t let the stress get to you” and “have fun, you’re here!”) and you’re supposed to clip them onto strangers’ clothing so they don’t notice, and later they find them and have these lovely messages. The team also has a buddy team – their buddy team is from Hong Kong, and I could hear them down the hall in the common room on this floor until late into the night, screaming with laughter. They went to watch their buddy team perform, and they also went to see all the other teams from our region perform. Now that we’re all at World’s it’s like we’re all on the same team. I was describing some of this to Bob and he said, “Wow, Eleanor really found your people, huh?” Which made me laugh, but is also true! He also called this Nerds Worlds, which I take great pride in.

Win or lose, rain or shine (it’s mostly been rainy), I am thrilled with this team and with Eleanor. It’s been a gift to see her with her friends and see how these girls (and boy) are moving through their early teens and engaging with the world with such confidence and heart.