How time flies

As I was perusing my friends' blogs I happened to see that my best friend had recently added a new post. It was short and to the point and took me back to high school. My best friend is married to her high school sweetheart. They have four wonderful children and he is currently serving tour of duty #2 in Iraq. She wrote that he had left for bootcamp 18 years ago yesterday, the same day we buried a good friend of ours. I had actually forgotten the anniversary this year. My mind has been a little occupied. I generally remember it because she died on my dad's birthday. I can't believe Nicole has been gone for 18 years now. Gone longer than she was alive. She was just 15 when she died. I had only known her a year, but in that time we got to be really good friends. Our lockers were right next to each other and we had first period spanish together where she sat in front of me. My one rebelious act in high school involved Nicole. she had been absent from school and Senorita Borkovich was hounding her for an excuse from her parents. She didn't have one so I did what any friend would do in that situation. I forged one for her. Everyone loved Nicki. She was very sweet. It came as a shock to us all when we heard the news. Another good friend of ours had been in the car with her and fortunately she survived. I was very shy during that time in my life and untrustworthy of people I didn't know. I had a difficult time in junior high and was afraid things were going to much the same for me in high school. I was cruelly picked on for what I believed to be my weight and my brains. When I met Nicole, I wasn't sure at first. I always felt that people had ulterior motives for being nice to me. It is something I still struggle with to this day. That's another blog. But I soon discovered that Nicole wasn't that way at all. She truelly was a genuine person. At the end of our freshman year she told us that she would be going to the public high school in the fall since her parents couldn't afford tuition. Sophomore year started and it was strange not to see Nicole at her locker next to me. Labor day Weekend came and went. We all arrived to school on Tuesday morning to be met with the shocking news that Nicole had been in a car accident and hadn't made it. Nicole had only been at the public high school for 4 days, but she left a mark on her classmates. Our entire class was released to go to the funeral as well as about a third of her class from Ross High School. I know how old I am and how long I have been out of school but sometimes it feels just like yesterday that I was roaming the halls of SJCC with my friends making sure we got to class on time. Now I walk the halls of CWHS making sure others are getting to class on time. I also look back and think of how things have changed. 1. we didn't have cell phones. 2. our school was not climate controlled. 3. Granted CWHS is bigger than SJCC, we didn't have 6 minutes in between classes. We had 3. 4. We were not allowed to carry book bags. We had to carry our books and if your classes were too far away from your locker you carried all that you would need. I then think of all the things Nicole never got to see. At least she didn't have to experience September 11th.
As I end this blog I say this, Nicole you were a wonderful friend to me when I needed it. You have been missed greatly. Knowing you are in heaven watching down on us eases my mind a little. May you rest in eternal peace.

Kids really do say the darndest things

I just love my job. Yes, I am being serious. I have the best group of students in the world. Since my population is 17 and older I have changed things a little bit as far as instruction goes. I am doing theme units based on social studies and science standards and incorporating language arts, reading and math into it. One program I use that I absolutely love is called News-2-You. It is a weekly newspaper geared towards students with disabillities. It has a different theme each week and has various reading levels to use. It comes with worksheets, a recipe, and communication boards to be used with your non-verbal students so that you do not have to constantly program their augmentative devices. Generally I will stretch out the theme for the week. This week however, we did most of it today what with Monday being a holiday and yesterday was an inservice day. I like building on the theme as we go along. This weeks article was about trains. I printed up packets for each of the students. We read the article aloud and worked on the worksheets that went along with it. As we were working on the packet we discovered that two of the pages were similar and one was to be done if you lived in Canada and the other the United States. We had the kids fill out both and we ended up developing a mini lesson on the differences and similarities of both countries. I love when things flow like this. I also showed a video from United Streaming on trains. One student asked how coal and wood made steam to run an engine. So, tomorrow we will be watching a video that talks about this. The other theme we have been working on is one titled "Beneath the waves". We are learning about animal life that lives under water. Each day we watch a video on a new animal, we discuss it and then I have a picture of it for them to color. the kids then cut out the animal and we put it up on the bulletin board we are making. As the afternoon was winding down, the kids were getting a little slap happy as was the staff. I have 6 students total, 4 boys and 2 girls. Although in the afternoon you would think they were all boys. They all think it is funny when they burp and believe me my girls can burp with the best of them. I am sitting with Brittany helping her cut her pictures out when she let out a burp and started giggling. I looked at her and said my standard, "what do you say?" She excused herself of course. A little bit later one of the boys started burping and Brittany pipes up with, "You need to excuse yourself. That is just disgusting." I did a double take and was like excuse me? Like you have room to talk. You just did the same thing a few minutes ago. Aren't you the pot calling the kettle black. Her response? She started to giggle again and went about finishing her work.
Every day that I spend with these kids just amazes me more and more. Some times I am so surprised with what they are able to do and remember. And the things they say just makes me laugh. I could have the worst night ever and dread going to work but as soon as those kids walk through the door, my whole mood changes.

O-H-I-O

It's that time of year again sports fans. The last week of August generally brings the start of a new school year. With that comes football friday night for most high schools. The CWHS Indians are off to a good start with a record of 2-0. But this weekend is special. It marks the beginning of the college football season. And with that another season of Buckeye Football. everyone has their favorite team. I root for my alma mater. But they don't even compare to The Ohio State Buckeyes. Anyone and everyone in the state of Ohio roots for the Scarlet and Grey. There is nothing like a Saturday afternoon watching an Ohio State game. This is the only sport I watch on tv. I am not really into the NFL. I'll watch an occasional baseball game or even a basketball game. But on Saturdays I am tuned in to my Buckeyes. Living in a suburb of Columbus makes it even better. I attended my first Ohio State Game last season with a friend of mine. It was awesome. I didn't even care that it was raining. I am hoping to sponge off of my friend's staff tickets again this year. I have also had the priviledge of meeting the head coach. He spoke at graduation a few years ago. Ohio state fans are unique. Whereever you go, if someone sees an ohio state shirt or hat and they hollar "O-H" you are generally going to hear someone else respond "I-O". It's just a Buckeye thing. Yes, I know that we have blown it the last 2 years in the championship game. But you know what they say. Third times the charm. We've got alot of football to play but I have faith in my boys. They are currently leading 19-0. It looks to be a great season of buckeye football.

First week back

Well, here it is Friday afternoon and we are just about finished with our first week back at school. I have 3 new students added to my 3 returning students. What a wonderful group it is. My new assistant is awesome. I think it is going to be a great year. My one concern is the new classroom in the other wing. It is what we call a "STACK" unit. Of course stack is an acronym and I can't remember what it all stands for. But in essence it is a structured classroom for students with Autism. Yesterday, my supervisor came in right after lunch and stated she needed me to go to another room for a little bit. A little bit turned into the rest of the afternoon. Thank god I have wonderful assistants and students that are not needy. I had to help de-escalate a situation between the students and the adults. This room is so unorganized. The teacher is floundering to come up with work and the students are having melt downs because there is no structured routine and they do not know what they are supposed to be doing. I at least got the room rearranged for them and got the students back on track with what work they did have. Now, my supervisor has asked me to take the teacher under my wings and help her out. I am all for checking in on her ocasionally but she wants me doing it daily. I am afraid that this is going to become more in depth than I thought. I have enough to do with running my classroom. But, I promised to help and help I will. For anyone that knows me, that is one of my biggest downfalls, I have a hard time saying no.

It's over already?

Well, tomorrow is officially my last day of summer vacation. I report back to the building on friday. I am looking forward to the start of the new year. Getting up at the butt-crack of dawn, not. I can definitely say this goes down as one off my more unusual summers. I've had surgery, babysat for my nephew, took him on a trip to Michigan, and dealt with bank fraud. My sister had surgery on Monday and is recovering slowly. The incision is at the base of her spine in her lower back. She says that hurts more than the electrical impulses that are being sent to her bladder. She says she has a fluttering in her butt. I just have to laugh. The doctor is very optimistic that this is going to help correct her bladder issues. We went to Walmart yesterday and generally she has to stop and go at least once while we are in there. That is even with going before we leave the house. I am happy to report that she made it through the store without having to go. The med corp rep said that with her young age she should do well with it. We will know more in 2 weeks. If there is an improvement, the doctor will permanently implant the device into her. I am trying to decide what i should do tomorrow since it is my last day of vacation. Probably do laundry and housework. Maybe I'll treat myself to the movies.

Trials and tribulations

My dad always says, "If it weren't for bad luck, I wouldn't have any luck at all." Of course I tend to agree to with that statement. However, I also always feel that just when things are going good, the bad is right around the corner. Case in point for me. Every time things start going my way, something always seems to go wrong. I have been battling with all of my health problems and I finally had surgery. I am so happy with the progress I am making and that I trullt believe that this was a big part of my pain issues. I have been feeling great and happy. But that fell to pieces yesterday. I don't know if I will ever get back to where I was emotionally. I feel that I have been violated and don't really know how to go on.
Let me explain. This week I have had various training seminars and meetings for the start of the new school year. Tuesday afternoon I had to go to one of the local high schools and get a physical in order to be eligible to drive one of our vans that we use to take my class on outings in the community each week. On my way home home I stopped at Aldi discount grocery to pick up some much needed toilet paper. As usual I ended up getting a few more things and was trying to juggle getting everything in the grocery bag and return my wallet to my purse. I went home and went about my evening. The next day my assistant picked me up at 7:45 am and we headed to our big opening day staff meeting. We left there early in the afternoon because I was scheduled to see the surgeon for a follow up. I soon discovered that I had missed a call on my cell and that my appointment had been canceled. I arrived home and checked my voice mail. The manager from Aldi's called to say they had my wallet in their office. I didn't even realize that it was missing. So I grabbed my purse and headed to pick it up. What ensued has been nothing but aa nightmare for me.
I got my wallet and as anyone would do opened it to check it. To my absolute dismay my check/debit card was missing. So my next stop was to the nearest branch of my banking institution. As the woman behind the counter accessed my account she quietly whispered, "Do you know your account is overdrawn?" I looked at her and asked how could that be. The next thing I know I am sitting in an office going over printouts and finding out what I needed to do to get my money back.
So, today I have done nothing but track down all of the spending someone did at my expense. Between overdraft charges and the fraudulant charges, I was looking at the majority of my paycheck that is too be deposited tomorrow will be gone. All though the woman helped me file disputes to the charges that have posted to my account, I was offended by how she had treated me the night before. That could be another entire blog. So I ended up calling an 800 number for the bank after they so graciously left me an automated message this morning that there was a problem with my account. After talking with 2 different services reps during the day, whom were both very nice and understanding, the secon one put me through to the fraud center. The woman I then spoke with was so helpful. By 7:30 tonight she had called me back and let me know that she had pushed through some bureaucratic red tape and is getting everything refunded to my acoount over the next few days. The people at the bank said it could take 10 business days to get a response. That meant the end of the month. How do they expect me to live for the next two weeks? I mentioned my disappointment with the banking center to Sharon. She was very upset and apologized profuely and said she would be looking into the matter.
I also have been calling the stores where the purchases were made. One was at the JC Penney;s in the mall. The store manager was very helpful. She called me back to let me know that she had found the transaction and had an electronic copy of the signature. She left it for me in the catalogue department and I picked it up. I have also filed two police reports with the local police department. The second being an addendum to the first. Walmart requires a police report before they will assist you in a matter like this. When I talked with my supervisor from work today she let me knoow that she had dealt with a similar situation. She was very surprised at the progress I had made today. I am proud of myself also but it still hurts. Someone was out there for a few hours pretending to be me. My sister is hoping that we will get the person on a camera from one of the stores. I hope the same thing but that doesn't mean that they will ever catch the person. How I dropped my wallet, I will never know. Being that I had been carrying it in my left hand and I was having problems with numbness in that hand at the time, it is no wonder I didn't feel that I had dropped it. Also, we all know how my memory is lately. I have said nothing of this experience to my parents. Part of me wants to have it resolved before I tell them. the other part of me is scared that they will be disappointed in me that I could have not realized I had dropped it.

at long last....

I can feel my fingertips again. Doctor said surgery went well. I have the thick bandages off from around my hand and elbow. I am able to do some things with my right hand. Gingerly wrote some info down. Can't quite use it to bring a spoon or fork to my mouth. However used a knife to butter an englih muffin this morning. As long as I do not move my thumb out too far I am ok. I have a small incision covered with steri stripsin the middle of my palm towrds the wrist. My incision at my elbow is much longer than I expected. Most of my pain is from that. I just can't tell you how wonderful it feels to actually have feeling back in my fingers. Each day I get a little bit more range of motion back. I think the only problem I had was in recovery. I don't remember much but I guess upon coming to and the breathing tube being removed I had an asthma attack and they had to give me a breathing treatment. I do remember coughing and them telling me to breathe in deep from a mask. It didn't seem like I was in the recovery area very long before they were moving me to a room where my parents could come in and stay with me. I am glad I had the surgery and can't wait to get my other arm done. Thanks to all of my friends for the well wishes.