What Life is Like Now

My sister and brother are home.  Of course, they've been home since about Thanksgiving. And even though Missi  has  had a few set backs here and there, but for the most part, she's stronger everyday.

When Missi's kids come home from school, she's there.  When the littlest Peterson brought home her first Valentienes, she was able to corner her mom on the couch and individually explain to her mother which Valentine came from whom.
 
Nathan has been able to go to classes, in person.  He doesn't miss a single day. And of course, like all good English majors, he's offering books for us to read left and right.



While they were gone, life had felt pretty bogged down.  It felt as though I was always walking in a pool of molasses.  And now, that they've returned.  Life is so easy. I can go shopping whenever I want to.  I can quilt.  I can go to basketball games and hockey games and cheer to my heart's content.


I'm not sure if you've ever had someone gone from your lives and had the opportunity for them to come back.  But it's wonderful.  It's so wonderful.  Life is so good.



Life is so much better with my siblings around.

My Picasso

This winter, my little Picasso has been pushed and pushed to read.  There have been times that I've gotten home from work studied with her for an hour, made supper, and went back to reading and homework until 10:30 at night.

I tried telling her that it was okay to let some of it go.  She could catch up over noon and get some sleep.  She's relentless. 

Picasso's teacher gives her a check off list, and those tasks must be checked off before she's satisfied.

And well, her reading has improved.  Picasso's test score on her NWEA jumped a whopping thirteen points.  I'm starting to think that her brain is finding it's own way - as it does with many dyslexics.

On Sweeping it Under the Rug..

A teacher from an area town is in big trouble.  Newspapers are reporting that he took nude photos of a student and made them into a portfolio for her.  Afterwards, he offered to do so for her friends.

Of course, I don't know the whole story, but I see this school district did the right thing.  They risked embarrassment and bad publicity to find justice.  There are school officials out there who think of the vulnerable teen and stick up for her.

Of course, I can think of other school districts who swept such things under the rug. Unfortunately, dirt like that must come out and often, it often it does, publicly.