Here is the latest dilema we are dealing with in my classroom. I recently got a new student. I will call him "RJ" to protect him. He is 18 years old is is a nice young man. He is in a wheelchair due to crippling Cerebral Palsy. He needs assistance to transfer from his chair to the toilet. Two of us have to accompany him since we are all female. I feel bad for my assistants because they are left with all of the bathroom duties since I am not able to lift yet. Whatever task you give him he gives 110%. He is sweet and the other kids love him. He fits in so well. So what is the dilema you ask? He has lived most of his life with his dad and when he turned 18 he was given the choice of whom he wanted to live with. He chose Mom. My transition coordinator told me on Monday that his Mom had called her and told her she couldn't take care of him anymore. What mother would do that? My heart just goes out to him. In the three weeks he has been with us you definitely tell something is up. On Mondays when we ask what he did over the weekend his answer is usually nothing. Did you go anywhere with Mom? No. He got off the bus this morning and he just looked so sad. I honestly don't know what is going to happen to him. He loves being here. You can tell because his mood changes once he is in the room. It makes me want to cry.

random thoughts of the day

I just finished reading the most recent post on a friend's blog. In it she questions whether she will ever get her shit figured out and if not is she normal. My question is, what is normal? And who determines whether we are normal or not? If you ask me, I can definitely tell you I am not normal, nor do I want to be. I like going against the grain. Wouldn't life be dull if we were all normal? Because isn't being normal mean being like everyone else? And do I really want to have all of my shit figured out? For the most part, I can say that I am pretty happy with the path I have chosen for myself. Sure, I would like to have a family of my own but I have proven to myself that I can survive on my own. Living by myself scared me to death. But now, I can't imagine sharing it with anyone else. I have my own routine and it is nice and quiet. Well, except for the dogs and the off kilter washing machine upstairs. I look at my brother and my sister. Both have been married. My brother for 15 years and my sister 2 times with the longest one lasting 4 1/2 years. Are/were they happy? I really don't think so. My sister is heading in that direction now but my brother is and has not been for years. His wife holds things over his head. Everything that goes wrong is his fault and he has to somehow always come up with the solution to the latest problem. The recurring issue with them is money. I love my brother but I can not stand the woman he chose for his wife. I have tried. I always wanted an older sister. But she is not what I wanted. I wouldn't trade his two girls for anything. But for a woman that works in a bank and can balance her drawer every night, she sure has a hard time balancing her checkbook and getting bills paid. Now don't get me wrong, I have had my fair share of money troubles but I soon recognized what I needed to do to correct the situation and what to do so that it didn't happen again. She has not learned that. My parents have helped them many times over the 15 years but as my dad put it, the well has run dry. And not once has that woman thanked my parents for their help. Top this off with the fact that my brothering is losing his job to cutbacks the 1st of December. If it weren't for the girls, I know he would have cut his losses by now. But, my brother is a stand up guy and will honor the vows he made. His health is not the greatest and my fear is that something is going to happen to him. I don't know how much more he can take. I think the best thing is for him to go through with bankruptcy and then file for divorce. He has put up with a lot of emotional abuse from her over the years and it needs to stop. Jeff has no self-worth anymore. Those of you that have known me for awhile know how my sister-in-law can be. You have witnessed the beast in action. I have always been close with my siblings but over the last few years, I haven't been as close to Jeff. I think the distance has something to do with it. But I don't call their house because it is hard to talk to him when she is there. He is a different person when Mary is there. I want my brother back.

Election Day

Like many Americans across the country, I too exercised my civic right to vote. I have never claimed a political affiliation. I am the type that looks at each candidate and chooses based on how they align with my beliefs and standards. I chose my candidate and should he not win tonight I will not rant and rave. I will just be glad it is finally over. I am tired of the political mudslinging on tv, the phone calls at all hours of the day, and the door to door campaiging asking me who I am voting for. That is for me to know and only me to know. I should not have to tell you why I am not voting one way or the other if I tell you I am undecided. Whomever wins today is going to have a tough road ahead of him. Personally, I would not want to be the one taking over in a situation like the one we find ourselves in. What happens when he is not able to do everything promised during his campaign? My opinion is that things are going to get worse for us before they get better. The way I see it, it is a no win situation. If the Dems get elected and things go bad you'll have the grand ole party screaming "Told you so. Wouldn't have happened if McCain had been in office." and vice versa. It doesn't matter who takes office. Republican or Democrat, we need to come together as a unified front. Instead of "I can do this and that" how about "We can do this and that." Because, as you know, there is no "I" in team. And isn't that what we are? A team? The United States of America?
So, as a teacher I felt it was my duty to assist in my students understanding of the Democratic Process. Therefore we have been learning about it and following the campaigning. Today they exercised their civic rights by voting in a Mock Election. I had a ballot, a ballot box, and a voting booth. We opened the polls and explained how long they had to go to the booth and vote. Once they had voted they were to go over to one of the poll workers, my assistant Dona, and get their sticker. Dona took duct tape and made little stickers that resembled the ones you get. Once everyone had voted, the polls closed and the votes were tallied. We even had a learning experience with that. You must remember that I teacher high school students with severe cognitive disabilities. There is never a dull moment to be had. I am at the white board tallying the votes when I discover two things. One: everyone had said they had voted and received a sticker but I was one ballot short. I made 8 ballots. I have seven students. I had 2 blank ballots that hadn't been used. The second: I had a "Hanging Chad". One student did not follow directions. Instead of filling in one of the boxes next to the candidate's picture, he/she had circled both names. It took a little detective work to figure out which one hadn't voted and once we did we made him. The "Hanging Chad" was easy. You work with a group of kids long enough and you recognize things about their work. The circles made around the names were very distinctive. As soon as I saw the ballot I knew who had done it. Her m.o. is to just put circles around everything when she is unclear of the directions instead of asking for clarification. Dona and I decided that her vote wouldn't count. Were it to have been a real election, that is what would have happened. That is what I truly call a teachable moment. Did it phase her? Not really.

A fall Sunday

Time changed last night. We fell back an hour. I like the extra hour of sleep but I absolutely hate what it means. It means that winter is on the way and with that nightfall arriving between 5-5:30 in the evening. I hate that. I am a sunshine girl. But, there really isn't much I can do about it. Life goes on.
Had a very enjoyable day today. Met my sister and nephew half way and we had lunch and went shopping. Hunter is growing up so fast. School is going well. He got his first grade card on friday and it was an improvement from the mid-term. This time he only had one N. Of course it was for self-control. But he is learning how to behave and both the teacher and principal feel that he does not need meds at this time to control that issue. What a relief. He can say the Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary, and the Pledge of Allegiance. He has difficulty with understanding the "th" blend. He'll get it.
My friends are having their annual Christmas Cookie Exchange party the last weekend of the month. I just RSVPed that I would be there. Since I have recently had my other hand operated on I am going to make something easy that Hunter can help me with. I am going to make rice crispy treats and press them into molds and make cookie suckers. One of the guests is on a casein-glueten free diet so I did some research and found that rice is ok. The only thing I need to do differently is get some no-milk margarine. According to my research Fleischman's makes some. All I need to do is remember to get it when the time comes. I will just make them all that way. I can't wait to see how they turn out. I might have to make a practice batch here at home and take them to school. I think that could be something Melanie helps me with one afternoon after school.

life these days...

just seems to roll along. I am currently recuperating from my second surgery. Incisions are about the same size but thats where the similarities stop. I am having alot of swelling in my hand this time. Previously swelling was contained to my lower palm along the incision. This time my whole hand is swollen. This is making for a lot of stiffness in my fingers and tingling in my hand. The sterri strips came off before they should have so I ended up getting some at the store to put on it. It isn't closed up at all and is seeping. I called the doctor's office yesterday but haven't heard back. I don't see him until next Wednesday. Even though I am right handed I never realized how much I actually do do with my left. I guess I ama a little down in the dumps because I expected it to be similar to the first surgery. My neck is also bothering me greatly. I don't know if I slept wrong the other night or what but I am unable to turn my head in either direction very far. Driving is very tricky right now. What with the neck and hand, I hate making left turns. I went back to work yesterday. I originally was only going to take Monday off but when the alarm went off tuesday I just needed one more day. I forced myself yesterday because the ladies had the substitute teacher from hell. We used to be able to block people on the sub list but we can't anymore. Guess that means no more sick days for me. I got a new student last week. Very nice young man. He has severe CP and is in a wheel chair. We felt a sense of success yesterday when he was able to transfer with assistance from his wheelchair to the passenger seat of our van. He is such a social young man. He is getting along with the other kids so well. An end of an era is coming for me. I am in the process of transitioning the last of my original students from my first year at Canal Winchester into the sheltered work program through the county board of mental retardation. Vince and I both came to the high school in the fall of 2003. In June he will officially graduate after 6 years with me. He is going to be going to the workshop 2 days a week starting next week. By the end of the school year he will be increased to 4 days a week. I can't fathom what it is going to be like with out him. He is always at school. In the past 5 years he has probably been absent a total of 10 days if that. He is excited to start working but I don't think he understands he will eventually be leaving us. I also started a new after school job today. I am watching a 12 year old young lady with Autism from the middle school until 6:30 in the evening when her mom gets off work. She is a nice young lady. This will be good because she will eventually come to my classroom. It's the perfect second job.

a blog about nothing in particular

I'm thinking fall may have finally arrived. I got ready for work yesterday and headed out the door at my usual time of 6:45 am. Not to bad out. Around 11:00 I went out to get lunch for me and the ladies and was I surprised how chilly it had gotten. After that I could not get warm no matter what I did. Of course I later discovered that I was running a fever. I had to go for pre-op testing on Monday and had to do the obligstory peeing in the cup. Was I surprised to learn on Wednesday that I had a UTI. Great. Surgery is in a week and I have this to deal with. Then the symptoms really started to hit me. Luckily the doctor ordered an antibiotic and it should be gone by Monday. In fact I am feeling much better today. I am excitedly awaiting the arrival of my bubby and sister. They are coming down to spend the weekend with me. I haven't seen Hunter in about a month. Next Friday I am having the second round of surgery. The doctor will be releasing the nerves in my left arm this time. I cannot get over how well the right arm is healing. It is just about back to normal. The really good thing is how well the scar on my palm is fading. In another few weeks you will probably hardly be able to see it. I am happy to report that my dad is on the way to recovery also. He has battled with a hernia for many years and we finally wore down his resolve and forced him to see a doctor about it. He had surgury on September 29th. The doctor repaired a very large area. He thought there were 3 hernias. It turned out to be about 8. Luckily there was no damage to internal organs and his bleeding was kept to a minimum. He is anxiously awaiting November's arrival. And with that their trip to Florida for the winter. His sister and her husband are coming down for a week not too long after they get there. I am hoping to go down over my Christmas break. Providing I can find decent airfare. Well, I should probably finish cleaning up the kitchen. Laura will be here in a little while.

And the stupid criminal award goes to....

the man in Florida that tried to buy a meal at McDonalds with pot. Now tell me, how dumb is that? Do you have the munchies because you been partaking of said pot? Are you that wasted that you don't realize what you are using as monetary currency? Did you think the young kid taking your order might be interested in it? I just don't get it. At the end of the article it states that they weren't sure if he tried paying then with money or what he was trying to order. Big deal. He tried paying with illegal drugs. You've got to have a very low IQ to try to pull something like that off. Really now. And I work day after day to teach my students the proper way to pay for things. Even they know that money is the only thing that will get you anything. We don't use the barter system anymore. I'm not going to give you some beads in trade for a loaf of bread. Although with the state of our current economy we may be going back to that system.