It was the third time she'd called him. She took deep breaths, taking in essential oxygen in hopes it would calm her. Seems that deep breath stuff is crap. It didn't work, only making her slightly light-headed along with the irritation that bordered ominously on the irate.
His voice mail message was flippant. By now, she had it memorized.
Hey! I'm me and you're you! I'm sure you know what to do!
A shriek that sort of resembled a bark escaped from her throat. Was it possible to move from love to hate so quickly? His voice used to feel velvet on her ears. Now, it felt like cat's claws.
It was obvious she needed to formulate a new plan.
Her eyes traveled to the portrait of him, still on the side table in her sparse apartment. The 8x10 size of the portrait had always seemed a little obsessive in the little space. She laughed then. The popped collar and the spiked hair was a bit too 80s for a boy of their time. He'd given her the frame with the print inside for Valentine's day. She tried to remember the year. Too long ago, whenever it was. The frame was ridiculous, though at the time she'd thought it was endearing. Thinking about it now, it seemed kind of disgusting. He'd stuck chewed gum of various colors then covered them all with sealant. The sealant seemed an extra sweet touch that, at the very least, removed the stickiness from the gum.
Her smile turned to a sneer. His idiocy seemed to ignite her anger.
She left one final voice mail.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
When You Get One Of THOSE Phone Calls
it pretty much stinks.
We were having a normal evening last Saturday. Both Craig and I were tired. He'd spent most of the day at a Cub Scout day camp with K Man and I spent several hours at the Bigs' school carnival with the girls (tiring in it's own right). Weariness leads to lazy suppers so I picked up chicken strips and fries for supper. The kids were pretty full of goodies from the carnival anyway (we brought some home for K) and Craig and I were just filling the void.
The phone rang at 6:13. I looked at the caller ID later. Funny, the 13. If there was a thirteen o'clock it would have rang then. I handed the phone over to my husband without answering it. It was his parents calling and I knew they'd want to talk to him anyway. Craig answered it and said "Dad... Dad..." over and over and I thought that his dad had butt-dialed us again like he did a couple of times last week.
Craig's brother died, alone, in his house, a few days before his son found him. It's awful in so many ways.
"They" call it an unattended death. I call it crappy.
My in-laws are devastated. The rest of us are shocked, numb, whatever it is we are I'm not sure.
Send us positive thoughts.
We were having a normal evening last Saturday. Both Craig and I were tired. He'd spent most of the day at a Cub Scout day camp with K Man and I spent several hours at the Bigs' school carnival with the girls (tiring in it's own right). Weariness leads to lazy suppers so I picked up chicken strips and fries for supper. The kids were pretty full of goodies from the carnival anyway (we brought some home for K) and Craig and I were just filling the void.
The phone rang at 6:13. I looked at the caller ID later. Funny, the 13. If there was a thirteen o'clock it would have rang then. I handed the phone over to my husband without answering it. It was his parents calling and I knew they'd want to talk to him anyway. Craig answered it and said "Dad... Dad..." over and over and I thought that his dad had butt-dialed us again like he did a couple of times last week.
Craig's brother died, alone, in his house, a few days before his son found him. It's awful in so many ways.
"They" call it an unattended death. I call it crappy.
My in-laws are devastated. The rest of us are shocked, numb, whatever it is we are I'm not sure.
Send us positive thoughts.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Preschool Haiku
It is never dull
when you have five 3-year-olds
to teach in one room.
Writing our letters,
practicing recycling,
tracing all our names.
Home schooling preschool
is a great experience
I happened upon.
Just don't forget your
energy and stamina.
You will need a nap.
when you have five 3-year-olds
to teach in one room.
Writing our letters,
practicing recycling,
tracing all our names.
Home schooling preschool
is a great experience
I happened upon.
Just don't forget your
energy and stamina.
You will need a nap.
Monday, January 30, 2012
And The Boy Struggles On
My son is a remarkable person. I'd guess that most people who meet him will remember him for a long time. My evidence of this is when we visited Amish country one year later and one of the Amish ladies asked us if we'd been there before. We said yes but there was no spark to her memory until K Man came around the corner and started chatting with her. "Oh yes!" she said, recognition breaking through. "I remember him!" He makes an impression.
When we finally had him tested for ADHD and learning disabilities, it was a hard decision to make. I worried that he would be diagnosed with ADHD and we'd have to put him on medication. I worried he'd be a different kid. It turned out that he was "borderline" ADHD which led us to test him for learning disabilities.
Short story, for those who haven't read about it, is that he has "a disorder of written expression" which is a round-about way of saying he has dyslexia. (Or a more specific way of describing the area of his particular disability.)
We met with the principal of his school who then met with K's teacher and other staff to make a plan for him. The plan was implemented last quarter. Or at least we thought it was.
My son's self-esteem has dropped. Kids at school are teasing him because he "won't get enough points to pass" second grade. His teacher told me she didn't have time to do some of the things in the plan. He started refusing to do even math problems that he knows how to do (saying he didn't know how to do them). That was a big signal to me that he is feeling badly.
I take some of the blame in that I didn't speak up immediately. So now we've lost an entire quarter of my son's academics staying at a flat line once again instead of moving forward.
I spoke with the principal again and he spoke with my son's teacher (who, I'm told, was crying and the kids thought she was being fired. ::guilt::) and the plan is supposedly going to be followed now. MY plan includes checking on the plan at least once a week.
I can admit that my social anxiety gets in the way sometimes, but I will definitely advocate for my kids. I also need to do more reading about how to help teach my son. What have other parents of kids who struggle with dyslexia done?
When we finally had him tested for ADHD and learning disabilities, it was a hard decision to make. I worried that he would be diagnosed with ADHD and we'd have to put him on medication. I worried he'd be a different kid. It turned out that he was "borderline" ADHD which led us to test him for learning disabilities.
Short story, for those who haven't read about it, is that he has "a disorder of written expression" which is a round-about way of saying he has dyslexia. (Or a more specific way of describing the area of his particular disability.)
We met with the principal of his school who then met with K's teacher and other staff to make a plan for him. The plan was implemented last quarter. Or at least we thought it was.
My son's self-esteem has dropped. Kids at school are teasing him because he "won't get enough points to pass" second grade. His teacher told me she didn't have time to do some of the things in the plan. He started refusing to do even math problems that he knows how to do (saying he didn't know how to do them). That was a big signal to me that he is feeling badly.
I take some of the blame in that I didn't speak up immediately. So now we've lost an entire quarter of my son's academics staying at a flat line once again instead of moving forward.
I spoke with the principal again and he spoke with my son's teacher (who, I'm told, was crying and the kids thought she was being fired. ::guilt::) and the plan is supposedly going to be followed now. MY plan includes checking on the plan at least once a week.
I can admit that my social anxiety gets in the way sometimes, but I will definitely advocate for my kids. I also need to do more reading about how to help teach my son. What have other parents of kids who struggle with dyslexia done?
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
New Cards!
I made some new cards for my etsy shop out of some of my photography prints. Kind of fun to combine two of my loves in one!
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