A Three Act Play

Just when I think I've about got a handle on understanding my eccentric oldest son, I get to experience a new high. Imagine a parking meter post, without the parking meter. In other words, a pipe sticking out of the sidewalk where a parking meter used to be, about 3 inches in diameter. As you will note, the pipe has no end cap. This post is located in downtown Wichita near a busy street corner. And so, the story begins.

Characters: Mom, Bruce, Rebekah, Joshua, Daniel

Setting: Downtown Wichita, 12:30 pm, corner of Waco and Douglas

Occasion: Three adult children, grateful for their father's influence, guidance and fun times over the years, decide to take him out for lunch along with their mother and give him the Father's Day gifts they have purchased.

ACT 1

Scene 1

Mom: Here we are kids. This is where your dad would like to eat lunch.

(Parks the car along Waco, heading north.) Let's wait on the corner for him as he will be walking from work.

Kids: Swell!

Mom: Here comes father!

Kids: Father! (Hugs all around.)

Scene 2

Rebekah: Here you are dad. Presents new portable CD player.

Joshua: Here you are dad. Presents new coffee cup.

Daniel: I already gave you my gift ON the day. (A pair of khaki shorts.)

Bruce: Thank you! I'm so grateful for such wonderful children!

Scene 3

Mom: Joshua, why don't you take the gifts and put them in the trunk of the car. Here are the keys.

Joshua: Okay. (Walks to trunk, opens it, puts gifts in trunk. Closes trunk.)

ACT 2

Scene 1

Mom: Joshua, what are you doing? Let's go eat! (Pointing to the Broadview Hotel across the street.)

Joshua: Um, I have a problem. (Looking in parking meter pipe, laughing.)

Mom: What is it? (walking over to Joshua)

Joshua: I, um...(points in pipe).

Mom: Aaauuggghhh!

Scene 2

Mom surveys pipe. Keys are down in the pipe about 8 inches from the top of the pipe. Joshua is attempting to stick his hand down the pipe to retrieve the keys.

Mom: (Too dumbfounded to use any words to express thoughts.)

Daniel: HA HA!! Let me take a picture!

Rebekah: What have you DONE, you dork!

Bruce: Well, we gotta think of SOMETHING...

Scene 3

The family walks to the restaurant. Joshua is made to understand during the walk that he must figure something out to retrieve mom's keys. While waiting to be seated, Joshua asks the desk clerk for a wire coat hanger, and is informed that they only have wooden hangers in their hotel.

Joshua: Hmm. I guess I could walk back to the house and get a hanger.

Mom: I guess you could.

Dad: I'm hungry! It smells like chicken in here!

ACT 3

Scene 1

Joshua arrives about 30 minutes later with a wire hanger.

Dad: I'm going to watch this.

Daniel: I'm going to watch this.

Mom: I'm too nervous to watch.

Rebekah: I'll stay with you.

Scene 2

After several minutes, the men come back in the dining room triumphantly exalting over the successful fishing expedition.

Joshua: Look! (Waves keys at mom)

Mom: Great.

Joshua: We also fished around in the pipe for other stuff...(tosses a single key for some sort of briefcase on the table.)

Mom. Great.

THE END

Of wet carpets and city life

I'm sitting out here on my screened in porch, hoping that in this 90% humidity, my carpets I just had cleaned this morning will dry. We've been farkeling with carpet cleaning since Tuesday, when the guy started the job by spraying everything with "pre-treatment", then went out to start the steam machine, and it wouldn't stay running. Long story short, he finally came back this morning and finished the job, so since Tuesday morning, we've had things picked up and stacked waiting for the cleaning, now, we're still not put back together because it will be a YEAR before the carpet is finally dry. But it looks much better. I paid extra for "Scotchguard", but as I was writing the check out to the man, I wondered how I would know if he actually did "Scotchguard" as he said he would.

Rain, rain, and more rain. The yard is, in the next couple of days, going to get way out of control as I haven't been able to mow. Basements which never had problems with water seepage are flooding. Everything is damp, moist, and mildewy. Farmers are not able to get the wheat harvest underway. Even if they could get in the fields to cut the wheat, the grain would have too much moisture to be acceptable. What we need is, and I hate to say this, but it's true - we need about a week of 100 degree sunny weather. The farmers would love it, as would my wet carpeting.

As I'm sitting here, listening to the birds in the trees, I'm thinking that living here isn't so bad, then I become aware of all the other city noises crowding in around me. I am within about 6 city blocks of one of the busiest thoroughfares in this city, and there's always, 24 hours a day, the nondiscript sounds of thousands of cars a day from this road which wafts onto my peaceful porch. Then you've got helicopters circling, airplanes both commercial and military as McConnell is south and east of here, and if that isn't enough, there's a train crossing just 2 blocks away. For many years we had a fire station within what looks to me like a football field's distance away. You can almost always hear sirens, and let's not forget car radios as people drive by with their windows down. Do you ever get tired of noise? I do. If God's willing, and works it out, someday I hope to leave the cacophony of the city. I'll invite you to come out to my place. We'll sit on the porch and drink coffee, and take in the sounds of life away from Wichita. That'll be a welcome change.

Calling for volunteers

The mind is a terrible thing to waste. So they say. At the conclusion of this, my second week off work, I am getting caught up on journal readings and getting ready to do some research in the stacks at WSU. Another goal is to give the Stanford-Binet V at least 4 times this summer. (To that end, I need some SB-V guinea pigs. If you're interested, I need about 2 hours of your time, and, you will receive a small gift prize for participating.) For those of you school psychs reading this blog, what do you think of the SB-V, besides the obvious (cumbersome, complicated, many manipulatives to keep track of, etc.) I'd like to learn to give it so that it can be an option in some evaluations (there is no "standard battery"), but am also anxious to see what the DAS-II is going to be like. I have reservations about using the Wechsler in certain instances, so am needing to become more skilled with other instruments.

Here's a question for you, my readers, no matter who you are: What are you enjoying about your life right now? Or are you?

Weekly activities

The quest to document summer activities continues-when I go back and re-read this, I want to see how I spent my time and why it went by so fast.

This week I've sprayed weeds, am cleaning up flower beds, bought some flowers, and am clearing brush in the corner of the backyard. I need to do some trimming, and pile some things up to go to the dump. You might be interested in knowing that I have an old-fashioned clothesline in my backyard and I've got my sheets hanging out to dry! In this wind, it'll take about 5 minutes.

Let's see, yesterday I went to Harper with my brother to look over his property situation there - sad news all the way around. Let's just say that the world would be a better place if people actually did what they promised they would do.

I have a doctor's appointment this afternoon to discuss why I'm not feeling well a lot of the time-he's thinking it's a reaction to the cholesterol med. I'm hoping we can find a good solution to that problem.

The neighbor to the north of my house told me today that she noticed the license tag was missing from my husband's car on Sunday when she walked back from church. Great. Today's Wednesday. I called him at work, he went out to look, and sure enough, the tag is gone. So now it's off to Auto Zone where my son works to get some anti-theft lock screws, and to the tag place to get a replacement. This is the second tag we've had stolen in the last several months. And you wonder why I hate living in this neighborhood...

And that's about it. Oh, and Happy Birthday to my little brother who turns 47 today - he probably doesn't read this blog, but I'm so appreciative of him and his family. He's a great dad, a nice brother most of the time (!), intelligent, and works hard. Oh, and did I mention that he's pretty funny? He makes me laugh - (tee hee!)

Already Friday?

In my quest to note what I have done while on summer break, I will again bore you with trivial trivialities. This is actually just for me, so that I can look back and see that I really didn't while away the hours doing nothing.

Yesterday I had a bone density scan and an appointment with the doc to go over test results, which, I will write about on my other blog. Lunch with a friend followed that, then home for a little bit (long enough to read the paper), then off with my daughter to my little home town to collect the flowers from the cemetery that we placed there on Monday. Home, and to bed fairly early as for some reason, I was tired.

And, on my busy agenda today, I'm planning on a major shopping spree at the grocery store (haven't been major grocery shopping for weeks), a walk in the park, and working on assorted projects here at home (i.e., laundry, getting summer clothes out and winter clothes put away, etc.)

Just so you know, I'm not sitting around drinking a mai tai while a pool boy named Enrique fans me with a large palm leaf. (Although...hmm.)

Wednesday

Yesterday as I mentioned, I did some yard work, and I did walk with the SIL, however, she's accomplished at this and I'm sure she felt like she was dragging me along toward the end of the trail. I decided that i wasn't going to walk on the days that I mow, however, I HAD to mow last night because we have 3 more days of rain coming and the grass was already high in the backyard. SO, not only did I walk like a banshee, but I mowed for an hour and a half. Frequent breaks drinking water helped, but I had a sugar low in the evening, even with a snack. And, an update about the ants on the forsythia, as I stepped out on the porch, I noticed a couple of birds having lunch with ant souffle as the main course, so I did not spread any poison around. If they help with the problem, that would be great, just great.

So, today I'm finishing up the mandatory 12 hours of "Diversity Training" that this school district requires of its new employees. I'll be there all day, morning, and afternoon sessions. Can I sigh now, or are you going to make me wait until it's all over?

I told my brother I can condense 12 hours of diversity training into an 8 word sentence. Here it is: "We're all different, but we're all the same." There ya go. However, if anyone at the district ever figured that out, a few people would lose some well-paying jobs. I have already been to half of this training and if you held a loaded water pistol filled with icy slush to my head, I could not begin to tell you what we "learned".

As a side note, happy birthday to my nephew John who turned 12 yesterday! It seems impossible that he would be this age, but that's what old people say when trying to contend with the passage of time.

Happy Wednesday!

First day work

So, it's Tuesday, the first day of my summer "vacation". I've already gotten some things done, but I've also just enjoyed not thinking about work.

One of the things I did was probably trivial, (as is everything I write about), but I feel better having done it. I have a rather large forsythia growing in front of my house. I did not trim it last year, and with all the rain this spring, this bush became very tall and unkempt. It didn't even bloom very well this spring, but we had a late frost and I think that got it. Anyhow, I hauled out my loppers and my hand shears and gave it an army haircut. In doing so, I discovered a whole world of black ants underneath it, traveling up and down the branches, turning the forsythia into a mass transit system. SO, now I need to find ant repellent-I have some in the shed, but, it looks like rain, and you can't use it if it will rain in the next few hours, yadda yadda. My son and I loaded up the forsythia brush, 3 old storm doors, and various other disposables and headed to the transfer station, where a waiting loader piled our refuse into a truck, which hauled it, along with the refuse of all the rest of Wichita, down to a landfill south of here about 40 miles.

Laundry is working, and now I need to make a trip to Sedgwick County Hazardous Waste Disposal to get rid of some old paint cans. Next on the agenda will be a walk at Sedgwick County park with my sister-in-law, the power walker and fitness buff. I'm glad to be going with someone since I lost my previous partner.

Well, Dan's ready to help load cans up, so off I go.

To all my faithful readers who have given up on me ever posting again, I say, I'm BACK. I apologize for not posting since last April 21, but I'm going to able to do so with regularity at this point.

School was out yesterday. Today is "teacher work day". You pack up your stuff, you return test kits etc to downtown, you take home what you want home, and you bid a fond farewell to your schools. We started the day out with breakfast at Kensler-oh my. There was some blueberry french toast casserole, egg casseroles, fruit, bagels, muffins, sausage gravy, juice, coffee, etc etc. We had a meeting to honor our retirees and wrap things up, then off to my office I went. I spent the morning filing and putting things away, then went to Clark and wrapped things up there by having, of all things, a meeting with a parent! I also met the new principal, who is bringing 4 teachers with her from her previous school, and I gotta tell you, she impresses me. I'm looking forward to working with her.

So, school's out. Two months are stretched before me, but I've heard time flies by quickly. I have a lot of projects I want to get done, one of the first is, a cleaning out of my house and a possible yard sale. I've never been one to set pretty things around and to decorate (I inherited my mother's gene for functionalism instead of beauty), but I do want to do some painting and I dunno, I MIGHT buy some new curtains. We'll see. If I could afford it, I would pay an interior designer to come in and just do some simple things for me. I DO, however, have two nieces who could do a pretty good job with that...you wanna help me this summer Nicole and Michele?

I also managed to have a complete physical a couple of weeks ago, and will go in next week for test results, so will write about those on my other blog, "A Decision for Health". I guess I could put a link on here if I could figure out how to do that...

Unexpected shuffle

Today is Saturday, warm, windy, and a nice spring-like day. I got to sleep in until 8:00 today! Woo hoo! I've had "company" since early this afternoon, and now everyone has gone, continuing on the errands they began earlier in the day.

I'm trying to get used to the earphones that came with the MP3 player my better half got me for our anniversary (31 years next week, thank you very much.) I've always known my ears are weird. They are a little smaller than normal, and I have no "lobe crease" as my son says, to hang these little earphone things on. They are fairly uncomfortable. I may need to invest in the big kind that go over your whole ear, since these aren't working very well. I'm doing good, however. I've got Rich Mullins singing in my ear (apologies to Jay).

Well, in the world of this school psychologist, I've found that things can change day by day, sometimes minute to minute. The meeting with the upset parents/guardians that I had on Tuesday morning was one of those resolution "can't we all get along-you give a little and we'll give a little" meetings. It seems to me like ONE SIDE gave a lot and the other side gave a little, but oh well. We have a plan. Some details were hammered out that I would spell out here, but because they are so specific to the case, I cannot - the situation could be too easily identified. But if those of you who are school psychologists or interns are reading this blog and would like to know more, please email me. I could in a conversation divulge a bit more in general terms - and some advice about a pitfall to avoid.

And, this past week, I got to take a stand for ethical principles. At one school, we have a case sliding headlong into the wrong direction, at the advice of someone the rest of the team listened to when they shouldn't have. I'm not listening to that person. I'm not following that person, or the team's recommendation. And I will dissent legally if it comes to that. A sticky situation indeed. But, the time has come to stand on what's right.

At both my schools, the principals will be leaving. One is retiring, and one is moving to another school. I also got an email saying that I may not be able to stay at my schools next fall as was promised because of "unexpected shuffle". That's the story of our lives, isn't it! Unexpected shuffle happens to everybody, and it can really mess things up. We think it does anyway because we have a short-sighted way of looking at one small part of the picture.

Happy only what, 4 weeks left...

Cold and Heat

After a spring snow last weekend, it's finally turning warmer. On the way between schools yesterday, I ran my car's air conditioner. Is it only in Kansas where you would wear a winter coat, gloves, and muffler, and run the car heater at full force one day, then 2 days later turn on the air conditioner? It's crazy. The cold weather got the early rosebuds, froze the peony plant that had straggled up, and nipped the buds off the mini-lilac bush. Fine. Whatever.

This week I really must work steadily on the paper for Internship class that's due, and my oral defense. I just can't believe how much work this is. In visiting with another psych who went through this program two years ago, she made the comment that it didn't seem fair to load a first year school psychologist with a job that's overwhelming, PLUS class work in addition to that. She said the second year is much better. I hear the same thing from my sister-in-law, who is an excellent teacher working in a nearby district. I receive these words joyfully because they give me hope that maybe I won't always feel like this. Will I?

It's the usual end of the year rush to get kids evaluations in, but I'm doing okay. At both schools, I was able to hold the line in terms of, "let's evaluate the ones who are the worst of the worst" and save the rest until the first of next year. Sad part is, some of the worst of the worst do not qualify for services. In one of my schools last year, they did 10 staffings the last week of school. Sorry, I'm just not going to do that.

I met with the overseer of psychological services yesterday. Yes, I do have a job for next year. And yes, she thinks I can stay at the same schools. There's good reason sometimes to change, but there's also comfort in familiarity.

Off to the 8:00 meeting with the parents/guardians who are upset that our team decided not to evaluate their child. We'll have a couple of district personnel there to help facilitate the meeting, and we'll see how far we get. Then it's to the other school for a staffing, then back to the other school for the rest of the day.

28 days and holding

After today, there are 28 days left until school is out. I always thought I could do anything for 28 days. Now, I'm not sure.

I have 2-3 and sometimes 4 staffings weekly between my two schools. I have training sessions, internship class, and the internship class case study and oral defense to prepare for. There are rather serious issues going on at both schools - at one school, the parent I wrote about several posts ago who objected to a recommendation I made - this parent has filed an appeal and are exercising their rights to a resolution meeting, then a mediation meeting, then an appeal hearing. Next week, I must attend the first of these, the "resolution meeting". Also in attendance in addition to particular school staff will be the special education coordinator for our building, and a district lawyer. The parent may also bring a lawyer. I'm hoping I won't have to say a lot with the downtown person and the two lawyers present. The meeting is early in the morning. Suffice it to say, I won't be eating before I go.

At my other school, chaos reigns due to several issues, the most notable being the untimely death of a special education teacher last weekend. This week is state assessments and the SPED kids are having a tough time, but the state and fed officials do not take into account these environmental issues when they look for reasons that scores are low on these assessments. We won't know the scores until next August, but I'm sure the SPED kids were not able to perform their best. Other issues at this school are weighing heavily upon me, and I will not be able to comment about them on this public blog for awhile yet, but comment about them, I shall. They are issues that really have a bearing on how efficiently a school functions.

Also this week, I've upset a teacher who complained to another staff member about me. This other staff member informed me about what she said, and, you'll be happy to know that I blew it off. I don't have time to get involved in dramatic presentations at my job. I just try to do my job. And, finally, this week, in the what I have learned category, I have (re) learned that when something's your responsibility, and when someone offers to take care of this thing that's your responsibility, and then DOESN'T, the buck still stops with you. You're still responsible. You cannot point fingers and blame the someone else who offered to take care of this particular thing. Because when downtown calls asking about this particular thing, it's not good to say, "Well, so and so offered to take care of that for me, and I gave it to them, but apparently, they DIDN'T take care of that for me, and yes that's my responsibility, and yes, I'm sorry, and yes, I will take care of that immediately." Moral of the story (and haven't we heard this before): Just do it yourself. Figure out who you can trust and not trust. And then, take responsibility for what happens.

There ya go. A whole 4 days summed up.

Monday after Easter

It's back to work on a cold Monday. We were surprised by snow last week, and cold temps. I told somebody that I was refusing to get my winter coat back out, but alas, I broke down and wore it.

Yesterday was Easter, and my son and I attended the presentation of Handel's "Messiah" at Bethany College in Lindsborg. This work has been performed at Bethany by a community chorus and orchestra at least once annually since March 12, 1882. A few interesting notes about "Messiah", it was first performed on April 13, 1742 in Dublin Ireland - Handel was invited by a charitable organization to premiere it there. This invitation arrived at a low point in his life. Several operas he had written had failed, he was in bankruptcy and in danger of being sent to a debtor's prison. He was a man who had been deserted by friends and family, and it was said that he was through as a composer. In accepting this invitation, his hope was that he might be able to change the course of his life.

"Messiah" was composed in 1741. The first part was written in 7 days, the second part in 9 days and the third part in 6 days - in less than 25 days the entire masterpiece was completed. And what a masterpiece it is! If you ever have a chance to hear a live presentation of "Messiah", do not miss it. We hear bits and pieces of choruses or words from this work, but hearing all of it in totality is an experience you won't soon forget.

Time to get to work. Besides the "normal" stuff of this job, there's a lot of work yet to be done for this internship class. You know where I'll be in the evenings after school. That's right, working on a paper and presentation which is due April 24. That's where I'll be.

May all of you reading this blog have a blessed and productive week. I'll write again soon.

Secrets

It's Sunday morning. I'm up early, showered, washed a few dishes, put a ham in the crockpot, gotten the paper off the porch, unloaded the dishwasher, and made coffee. It's not because I'm all perky. It's because for some reason if I wake up before the alarm wakes me up, I may as well give it up and get up because I cannot go back to sleep. Ever. Things start rolling around in my head and I can't stem the tide of thoughts that are already starting to race around-thoughts about the day ahead, about my job (yes, even on the weekends), about problems, both large and small.

This morning, though, I have a confession to make to all my faithful readers. I stayed up way too late last night (midnight) and watched an old movie that was on the classic movie channel - "Deliverance". Now stop laughing, I hear it way over here. That's right, I stayed up to watch Deliverance. I knew what the story was about, and had seen bits of it over the years, but once I got started watching, I couldn't stop. In case you've forgotten, this odd movie, made in 1972 (my graduation year from high school), starred Burt Reynolds, Jon Voight, Ned Beatty, and Ronny Cox as four businessmen who take a canoe trip together away from civilization. As I recall, it was newsworthy at its release because of its extremely graphic violence - even now, the TV version is a little hard to sit through - I could not watch the uncut version. And now I have that "Dueling Banjos" tune running through my head. Great. But it was an interesting psychological study of what lengths people will go to bury their sins (so to speak). There are people living with us who have enormous secrets they are going to take to their graves. People you might know and work with, or go to church with, or who might check out your groceries at the store, or teach your children at school. Ever think about that?

There is a website I read every week, not for the fainthearted, and I'm warning you, there's adult content on there so don't say I didn't tell you. It's www.postsecret.com. People mail their secrets in on postcards to the webmaster who posts them on this site. It's amazing what people will post so publically but so anonymously. Take a look sometime if you've got the nerve.

Holding on to convictions

All of you "seasoned" school psychologists out there - you can read this entry and just smile knowingly, because I'm sure this has happened to you - but my "baptism by fire" happened yesterday afternoon, when I met with an upset angry parent for, oh, an eternity, but actually, it was a little more than an hour. The parent came to the school unexpectedly to discuss a decision we had made (based on my recommendation) for their student, and the parent was, well, let's just say a little steamed. As I watched the person deliver several diatribes, I got the feeling that this person, a professional person in the community, probably was not used to NOT getting his/her own way. Although the meeting was upsetting to me on several levels, I was calm but firmly held my position. I don't know how long I will be able to hold my position, as this person will exercise their rights to due process, and if I am told from a higher authority that I must change my stance, then I will, but for now, I'm hanging tough and will fight the good fight. So there.

A light moment

I was giving a first grader an assessment today and we got to talking about the alphabet. He says, "It's the ABC's, you know". "Yes, that's right", I nodded. "You know what else?", he asked, eyes shining brightly. "No, what else?" "Well", he says, "You can either SAY the letters, or you can burp them out."

Well. Thank you for NOT demonstrating that. He was cute as a button.

I forgot

Sympathies are extended to Michael P. In the world of what doesn't have eternal significance, but what people get passionate about, the KU Jayhawks got beaten big time by some team not worthy of a mention here, and did NOT make it to the Final Four. They just kinda fell apart, didn't they Mike...it was painful to watch. But, I'm proud to be a Kansan, and proud to be represented by the KU Jayhawks. I have no school loyalty really, I root for all Kansas teams, which is why the Shockers get a mention every now and then. And K State, well, I've got a purple pride coffee cup. And a niece that's having a great time being a Wildcat, plus another niece in the wings waiting to go. There ya go. I'm "bi-teamual". So Mike, I hear the colors for your wedding involve some sort of PURPLE. HA. There YOU go.

Of labels and being a kid

Spring break is over...man oh man. It went FAST. I did get away for a few days, but man oh man. It went FAST. (Did I already say that?)

So I'm off and running tomorrow. A staffing first thing in the morning. Testing testing testing testing, Monday afternoon, Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday morning. Staffing Thursday. Testing Thursday afternoon. Testing all day Friday. It's crunch time for school psychs. Wonder how many times I'll be giving that WISC-IV between now and the end of the year? More times than I'd like to think about.

I have ordered a book about mental retardation, especially written for parents. If it's as good as I think it is, I will give it to a mom and dad I've been working with. Over the summer I'd like to acquire an organized listing of resources - for you new psychs who read this blog, do you have difficulty putting your hands on things which could be helpful for parents and teachers? I think I have good resources, but because I'm at two schools, I've got resources at both places on both desktop computers, and on my laptop, and at home on both computers. Somehow I need to do some consolidation.

Here's a comment from a friend of mine who reads my blogs on a regular basis but who doesn't make public comments. I thought though, that this was worth printing: "After reading your most recent blog (20th), I had a thought...It really saddens me to think we now live in a world where a child cannot just go to school and "be a kid" anymore. It appears each one now has to find which "box" they fit in and then deal with the "label" on that box, and heaven help them if there is no right "box" for them to fit in. How very sad...Just Me"

Well, Just Me, welcome to the world of special education, where parents absolve themselves of responsibility and blame the schools when their kids can't read. Welcome to the world of NCLB, where EVERY child, regardless of ability, WILL pass state and local assessments, achieving a gold standard put in place by politicians, not educators. Welcome to the world of school psychologists, who are pressured to find labels to fit so that desperate children can receive help - when actually, had the child's parents read to the child, exposed the child to stimulating environments, and monitored video game and TV and movie viewing - perhaps, just perhaps no label would ever be needed. The kid could just be a kid. But sadly, the little 4th grade guy who plays "Mortal Kombat" with his uncle and who has seen guns and drugs sold from his home is not alone. It happens all the time. I just want to grab parents by the collars and scream at them to WAKE UP.

Then, when you hear on the news when some one has been arrested for some sort of high profile crime, his mother/sister/aunt/father
/grandmother /cousin will be interviewed. "I just can't understand this! He is not like this!" Really. Let's look at his school records. Did you go to parent teacher conferences? Did you meet his teacher? Drop in and visit his school? Volunteer at his school? Get to know his friends? Monitor his homework, but teach him responsibility? Protect him from violence and evil? Take him to church? Give him chores to do? Get him to bed at a decent hour? Provide apples and oranges instead of an everyday diet of candy? Make responsible parent decisions? Set a good example?

I dunno. You tell me. Am I nuts?

Ok! I hear you!

Sorry sorry sorry! I promised a lot of people that I would blog, and that I would blog LAST WEEK, but, well, you know, stuff happens. I'm really feeling bad-my family, who I never think are reading my blog, has been nagging me. And friends. And "others". You know who you are.

So, this is spring break, and two days have already flown by. Tomorrow I'm leaving for a little mini vacation, but who knows, I may blog while I'm gone. We'll see. I left both schools feeling overwhelmed about everything that is waiting for me when I get back. Our coordinator sent out an email needing school psychs to volunteer to take an extra case or two from those schools who are inundating their teams with evals. I didn't volunteer as I'll be doing good to get mine done - in fact, it would be nice if I had help, but that's not happening any time soon.

Recently I've placed kids with LD, MR, and will possibly have one that will be OHI the week I get back. And, I will have my first, (I'm almost certain) "OI" case, (that would be "Orthopedic Impairment") in April. I've also recommended dismissal for 2 preschoolers who are doing fine, and declined to place two kids that probably need it, but there's no category to serve them in. We also have several requests from parents for testing- well-meaning parents, but parents who don't understand that their kid isn't going to get placed unless we have that nice little discrepancy between IQ and achievement. Or a health condition which prevents learning.

Well, I'm going to take a break and try not to think about things while I'm off relaxing in a different environment, but I will take my laptop so I can work on (possibly) a couple of things, like my internship evaluation. See you in a couple of days.

Back sort of

Well, I finally had to update both my blogs with a Google account or some such mishmash. Great. And as you know, I haven't posted on either blog for DAYS and DAYS and DAYS. I hope I haven't lost all my faithful readers.

In the School Psych world, things keep hopping along. Spring break is only, let's see, 2 weeks away! I'm so excited! In the meantime, the work continues to pile up and up and up and up and I have had some interesting cases come and go. I've been writing reports at home in the evenings in order to keep up. PLUS, I need to get started on my case study presentation for internship class. I always said I was going to be a psych who not only didn't take work home, but also who worked a "normal" work week. Neither one of those things has been the case. Not only do I put in 50-60 hours a week, but I also work in the evenings. One of the most frustrating things about this job is that I am not in charge of my own schedule, a "team" is. I am a member of that team, but only one member. And when the "team" schedules staffings, I don't have a lot to say about it. It's a pressure cooker at times.

I had briefly considered going to NYC for the National Association of School Psychologists conference the end of March. But, nope, I'm not. I can't be gone for that week. Maybe someday I will be able to attend one of those.

Welll, I'm back to blogging I hope on a regular basis. Thanks for staying with me all those of you who do. It's been a tough last couple of weeks.

This and That

I ended the week with an inservice on Friday. I sort of like them because I can wear jeans, chat with friends, and chill out, but by the end of the day, I'm pretty much done sitting on cold metal chairs and looking at powerpoints. Monday we're out for Prez Day, so...a three day weekend indeed is just what I need. (ha)

I'm in the weird situation of suddenly evaluating siblings. At one school I'm evaluating a set of twins AND their older brother, plus another set of two brothers, and I just completed evaluations with two brothers at the other school. The twins are interesting, as it looks like one may qualify for services and one won't. I have a friend who is a twin, and who is very successful as an adult in the education field, but his twin is another story. The twin is a low-functioning adult who just never quite grew up and became a responsible decision maker. Brings up that old nature-nurture question...but I'm not thinking about THAT on a Saturday morning.

The sun is shining today and we will experience some relief from the bitter cold and winds that have prevailed the last several days. The older I get the more problems I have keeping extremities warm. Once my feet get cold, baby, I'm in trouble. I've been wearing two pairs of socks (thanks sis for the wonderful socks you send me from the outlet store in Michigan) and my old athletic shoes which are ugly ugly, but keep the heat in. Once I get to school I change them, but my office at the one school is so danged cold I run a space heater-and I keep the ugly shoes on. Sorry, but I do!

Here's some thoughts to warm you. Think of:
*Summer picnics in the park with a gentle breeze blowing
*Watching a baseball/softball game at twilight
*Fireworks on the 4th
*The smell of BBQ grills, fired up and cooking hamburgers
*Combines in the field cutting wheat (can you tell I'm from Kansas?)
*The farmer's market with exhibitors selling produce
*Kites waving in the breeze

Now put another log on the fire and enjoy the day!

Of handbaskets and fiddling

In the world of school psychology, you can go from feast to famine, from joy to sorrow, and from sanity to insanity often all on the same day. I always said I liked this job because every day is different, and that's very true, except, I wonder if my, um, age, is showing when I say that it's hard on an "older" brain to ride a roller coaster every day. I made this life change because I was stuck in a job I was never going to advance in-I had interviewed and subsequently been passed over for 2 promotions. Every day was the same and I finally realized that although I THOUGHT I had the ability to make my own decisions and work independently, the federal and state government, plus plenty of supervisors were always around to look over my shoulder. So, now I'm in the public schools. Did I ask for a wild ride? I think so.

This last week I visited with a student who was missing his dad. I was alerted that he was having problems, so I was able to pull him out of class to talk. He said his dad was in jail, and would be until 2024. We visited awhile and then, while I worked on paperwork in my office, he worked on math worksheets. He's now a buddy, as I gave him a roll of Smarties as he left. At home this weekend, I pulled up the public records on the department of corrections website, and learned that yes, his dad would be incarcerated until 2024. That the last time this student saw his dad probably would have been when he was 5 or 6. And that dad was a habitual sexual offender and truly rotten to the core. But this man fathered a son who misses him. Does he know that? This child needs a Big Brother. Or a mentor. Or a role model other than the million dollar athlete he idolizes. His single mom needs to be more aware of his needs, and more proactive in seeking help for him. But he's one of 5 kids, and she doesn't have the emotional stability it takes to put the needs of someone else, like your children, first. She's all about surviving until the next check, and whatever coping skills she has are focused on herself.

Here's part of the roller coaster: I prepared for 4 staffings last week. For 3 of them, parents did not show up. I have information about their kid that they don't know, and I'm ready to disseminate it, and no one's there. In working with another student, I've found mom to be defensive, hostile, and abusive to me and other school staff, particularly the child's teacher. That's because it's all someone else's problem. Her child's behavior is extreme because it's the teacher's fault. Whatever. I had another parent say that she wasn't concerned about her teenager's behavior because ____ (a well-known state facility for juvenile offenders) could straighten him out. WAKE UP PARENTS! Your child's education is going to hell in a handbasket. You are fiddling while Rome burns. You are zoned out, unplugged, and too busy to take care of your children's needs. And everybody is going to pay the price.

Take care of yourself

In one of the first staffings I did after starting internship this fall, I recommended no special ed placement for a child, based on my evaluation results. He certainly had problems, but he did not meet the criteria to be eligible for special education in Kansas. The team agreed, and we did not place. The guardian for this child did not agree, and decided to appeal our decision. My evaluation was then picked over with a 'fine-toothed' comb by a higher up supervisory downtown type person and I got a written report Friday on that person's findings. With fear and trembling I opened the envelope and read the report. It was a nicely worded critical look at my results-and it brought home to me the seriousness of what I do, and of how I must be able to back up any course of recommendation with proof from the assessment that I do. I cannot take shortcuts, I cannot "feel" like something is true without evidence, and I cannot recommend something without facts. The responsibility I have overwhelms me. Although there are other members of the child study team who are equally as important or more so than what I do, it seems that the entire course of decision making is determined by the assessment results that the school psychologist reports.

And yes, I missed two critical pieces of evidence that a more seasoned psych would have followed up on in this evaluation. I will have to go back and do some more testing and assessment of this young student, but as I wrote in a note to the higher up downtown person, I look at this as a great learning experience for me. I don't know that there's another new psych on internship here in Wichita (and there are 10 of us) who has had a case go to administative review and appeal. It's painful, but necessary for growth.

There are days that I think that I cannot do this job and it weighs upon me. There are other days that I love what I do - I enjoy meeting parents and most of all, I'm able to confidently present results at a meeting-I can actually contribute an answer to the mystery of why their kid is not succeeding in school. That makes it worthwhile to me. At a staffing last Thursday, a parent cried during the meeting. She was just grateful that we thoroughly took a look at her kid, and were able to help her figure out what to do next.

The job could be all consuming, so setting priorities in my own life is something I need to take a look at. I'm a caregiver, and operate in this role at school, in my family, and at church. But I'm going to become a worn out caregiver if I can't get a handle on taking care of me. Maybe that's why when I go to the Symphony with my youngest son, or recently with my brother, I sit there and soak the music up into every pore. I allow it to wash over me and permeate my brain. It is a gift of healing from the Musician who orchestrates this universe and I readily accept it. It's truly a God-given balm for the weary, worn, and bleeding soul.

Oh, my head hurts

I'm sorry I haven't posted recently. I know some of you check this blog regularly and when I've not posted, you're probably wondering what's going on. Last week was not a good week for me-and this week is starting in the same vein. I worked at school from 8:00 this morning until 6:45 this evening. I am testing two kids who have suspected learning disabilities, but neither are "textbook" cases, which requires me to administer more tests to try and determine what is going on in those little brains. Those of you who are psychologists, what do you think about the VADS? Do you ever administer it?

And also last week, I had the unfortunate experience of forgetting about a staffing, and walking in unprepared. It was a re-evaluation and I had the testing done, but I was unprepared to present my report. I absolutely hated that feeling and I will NOT, if it is in my power, I will NOT do that ever again. I had two staffings scheduled tomorrow, but neither one will happen for various reasons, so I have a reprieve. Briefly. Then it's into the fire again.

I heard through the grapevine that the school I wasn't at today was in "lockdown" for part of the afternoon. That's all I've heard, so I'm anxious to get in tomorrow and find out what happened. Back in my school days, we didn't have lockdowns, but we had "bomb drills". When I was a kid in 4th, 5th, and 6th grades, during the cold war, (yes, I'm that old), we thought somebody was gonna nuke us about any time. So every month they blew a siren and we went down into the locker room and sat cross-legged on the floor with our heads down. That will prevent fallout poisoning, doncha know.

I'll try to write again this week. I'm a little stressed.

Is it spring yet?

It's been a few days since my last post, so I thought I'd leap in here and get something going before heading off to school. I've had an interesting last few days. It seems that a day doesn't go by without me learning something about this job that I didn't know the day before, and from all indications, that will continue past internship. "They" say it takes 5 years of practice before you can consider that you have reached a level of competency needed in order to function well in this job. I believe it.

Among the highlights: I worked with a kid who had an IQ 3 years ago of 128, and, who reads almost 3 grade levels below his current placement. I visited with a 5th grade kid last week who drew me a detailed picture of him in full gang regalia, with his gang name printed on his chest. There was the parent who, after a complete evaluation was done on their child which indicated a severe learning disability, will not sign off on getting their child help. And the teacher who questioned my ability to do my job. There ya go. I told you I learn something new every day.

There's ice and snow and cold, and sorta dreary days which add to the general feeling of, I'd really like spring to get here. I dreamed last night that I drove through a neighborhood and saw tulips and jonquils blooming. That's my subconscious saying, ok! Enough snow already. But my subconscious doesn't know that snow is great for wheat, and wonderful for the parched farmland around that hasn't seen enough rain the last few years. I think God knows what He's doing, even if we don't know what He's doing.

The wheatstalks are standing a little better

Well, whaddya know. WSU beat Creighton. I'm...amazed, delighted, and, well, amazed and delighted. Here's a quote from a blog from www.kansas.com: "It seems like whenever WSU is up, KU is down, and vice versa. It was nice to see them both win tough, close games against opponents that mattered!" Yes, I would agree. Wouldn't you, Michael? I'm personally thrilled, just thrilled for the Jayhawks!

So on to school psych stuff. I had my first staffing last week for a kid with MR. It was tough, much tougher than I thought it would be. Got some encouraging words from the school psych coordinator, so felt I better about things, but man, I would have done things differently I think. It's never easy to deliver this sort of news. Did a staffing also for a kiddo that didn't qualify for LD, although she definitely has learning problems-that LD definition is just problematic all the way around. I need to look up some more info about the Response to Intervention (RTI) model and how LD is determined there. Here in Wichita we need a 24 point discrepancy between achievement and IQ, but we also have a "Nonstandard LD Determination" we can use, however, this kid didn't quite fit that either. She's 2nd grade, so I think after she's failed this year and next, then she'll have that 24 point discrepancy. Such a shame. We have to fail first before we can get the help we need to be successful - does this make sense to anybody?

Coming up in the next 10 days I have 2 more LD staffings and 2 re-evaluations I haven't even started on. Several kindergarten kids with DD labels are turning 6 in the next 4 weeks or so, so I gotta figure out what to do with them. Organization and prioritizing are about 90% of this job. There are times that I just simply take the time to update my calendar (if you're a school psych, consider getting yourself a Franklin-Covey Educator's Planning Book-it's WONDERFUL) and make sure I have everything on there. I can't remember jack cheese these days.

OK! The wheatstalks are crumbling.

Now that I've bragged about the WSU Shockers on this blog, and razzed my nephew about WSU basketball compared to the OTHER Kansas team at KU, I probably should maybe CONCEDE a little bit that the Shocks are playing like grandmas with one hand tied behind their backs, and that, yes, KU beat Oklahoma (whatever), and that yes, the Shocks after having a great first part of a season are now falling apart like Phill Kline's re-election campaign, so OK! What else do ya want me to say? C'mon, Michael, WSU isn't USED to consistency. Gimme a break. And my Shocks could debeak your Jayhawk any day of the week but you guys are too "chicken" (ha) to play us. I think Mark Turgeon needs to inspire the guys to not miss any more 3 pointers. Whaddya think, Michael?

It's getting hot in here

I am really into the fire this week, but I have had two staffings cancelled, which probably is a GOOD thing. One little girl needs glasses so badly, and has needed them for months, but mom doesn't want to take care of this need, thus, her evaluation is delayed. I can't test a kid when she can't see. I asked to postpone the other one because for the first time since I've been working with kids, I could not connect with this kid and establish rapport-he refused to be tested. Since that first session, I've worked with him two more times and things have gone a little better, but oh my, he's an angry little boy- and here's me, another adult trying to get information from him. He has a right to be upset with all the stuff going on in his young 8 year old life.

Wednesday and Thursday are gonna be tough days. I am really struggling with an eligibility decision regarding a student we are considering for the mental retardation exceptionality. There are quite a few things to think about with this particular student, so the child study team has spent literally hours talking, analyzing, thinking - this situation has consumed me the past couple of weeks. The staffing is Thursday. We still don't know what we're going to recommend. Wednesday we're meeting with a district specialist, and Thursday we're meeting with parents. I hope we figure something out.

Speaking of kids with problems, in the paper last week there was an article about the dad who dropped his 10 year old and 3 year old children off at their mom's place because he didn't want them anymore, and surprise, the mom didn't want them either, so they ended up calling the police and taking them to the children's home. How nice. To be 10, and to come to the jolting reality that your parents don't want you. Talk about your kid that's left behind. How is this 10 year old gonna go to school, sit in class, and learn about the Magna Carta? But the school she/he attends will be accountable for this child's learning-and will be held responsible if this kid doesn't make the grade on those high-stakes tests.

I just heard that one of the suburban districts surrounding us is discussing having school year-round. Hmmm. Advantages, yes. Disadvantages...?

Into the Fire

Yesterday was my first day back to work! Yea! In an inservice yesterday, we discussed a new method our school district will be using to evaluate preschoolers. Today the kids are back, and it's a full schedule. I have, count them, 4 meetings today. I'm also in the middle of evaluating a 2nd grader for learning disabilities, so hopefully I can finish that today and tomorrow. Poor little guy, he's pretty good in math, but is so disfluent in reading. He's so extremely frustrated that now he has become a behavior problem. Mom is living many, many states away and is battling her own demons, trying to get her life together so that she can once again take care of her kids. That's gotta be tough for this young man.

I've completed my first evaluation of a student who I will recommend placement in special education under the "Mental Retardation" category. These are the tough ones. It's hard to tell parents this news, and in this case, English is not these parents' first language, so it will be more difficult. We have hired a translator for the meeting, just to make sure there is no misunderstanding. Their kid is a cutie, repeating kindergarten for the 2nd time, and still not understanding a lot of things those kindergarteners need to know. He's behind, very behind, in all academic areas, and socially and emotionally. But he liked coming with me for testing!

It's going to be a nice day here, in the 50's and sunny. Would be a good day to walk outside-maybe around the playground. Yeah, around the playground. Maybe I'll try that.

2007

2007-here we come. Whether we're ready or not. Everything's over, said and done, 2006 is a wrap. 5 more months until school's out!

I'm sorta looking forward to going back to work, in a way. Tomorrow I'm gonna practice giving a Stanford-Binet V, an IQ test that's been out awhile, but I'm not proficient at giving it. There's lots of manipulatives and other stuff to use, plus I think it's a little confusing. Takes practice to learn a new test, you know.

(I'm sort of watching David Letterman out of the corner of one eye-he's going to have a 10 year old kid on his show tonight who is a "lizard whisperer". Great. )

Well kids, thanks to those of you are who are checking the blog once in awhile. I don't have a very exciting life, but my friend Barbara does right now. Congratulations on your recent marriage to the man of your dreams-best wishes for a long and happy life with Lyle!

A Challenge

Is this the time of year that I write about all the resolutions people make and break? Yes, yes, I believe it is. You people and your resolutions. Has anyone reading this blog ever made a New Year's resolution and kept it? Let me know by commenting below. More later.

I love my vacation

The days are flying by, and soon, I will be heading back to work. I have really really enjoyed this vacation, and am convinced now, more than ever, that a job in the school system if you can live on the pay, is the way to go. Today I'm being Miss Susie Homemaker, and just rattling around by myself trying to get some mundane things done. The job is never far from my thoughts, however. I have an intense week scheduled after coming back to work and had to bring stuff home to work on so I could be ready. Now WHEN exactly I'm gonna feel like working on these reports is the big question.

If you're in western Kansas, you're coping in blizzard like conditions right now. Unfortunately, it's not coming this way-I'd really like to see some snow. However, my middle son, (you remember him, the one who slid down the big pile of sand in my dream on his knees, taking the hard way) is moving out today and tomorrow. I'd hate for a few little snowflakes to stop his progress.

Christmas Musings

It's Christmas morning. I'm up, sitting here with my coffee. The radio is tuned to KLOVE, 99.99 FM. What great Christmas music they are playing this morning! The poinsettia is soaking up the sunlight which is streaming in the east window and it promises to be a great day weather-wise.

Our kids are grown up and we have no grandchildren. This means several things where Christmas is concerned-I slept in until 8:00 today! There's no wrapping paper strewn about, no excited yelps, no bodies sitting on the floor of our small living room. We did not even, gasp, have a Christmas tree this year. No outside lights. I didn't get out any decorations-but to quote a green fellow we all know, Christmas came - it came just the same.

In our family of "adult" children, we drew names and shared simple gifts on Christmas Eve. We had soup and chili, and cheese and crackers, and pie for dessert. Today we will go to my brother's place and enjoy Christmas dinner, and yakking, and more dinner, and more yakking, and play cards, and, well, just be together.

I enjoy decorations, lights, and trees just as much as the next person (unless that person happens to be my husband.) But keeping it simple this year, and noticing everyone else's lights and decorations was just fine for me. While I'm napping, you guys will be taking all that stuff down.

Keeping it simple. In this world of $800.00 PlayStations, and Wii's, and new IPODs, and big screen TVs, that's a concept that intrigues me. Maybe that's why I am striving to get my financial business in shape so that in 2 or 3 years, we can move out of the city and enjoy a simplier lifestyle. We've already started to do that in several ways.

Prosperity preachers and their concepts of "blessings" grate on my soul. There's nothing wrong if God chooses to bless you materially. But my oh my, our purpose on this earth is not to acquire things and more things. And forgive me if I sound a little scroogy, I don't mean for it to, but more than once when our kids were growing up, Christmas didn't happen very substantially. We were blessed at times by those who knew we were struggling, but we didn't ask for help. I didn't apply to charities for assistance or stand in line for a free turkey. Nothing wrong with that. But I wonder, I just wonder, if the meaning of Christmas is lost when a kid opens his 20th present and plays with the boxes. I realize when I have my own cute grandkids, I'll be one of those doting grandma types, no doubt about it - that's a perspective I haven't experienced yet.

I think Christmas gifts mean more when there is more of yourself IN the gift. For example, before my mother went to be with Jesus, she knitted several small Christmas bell ornaments for her grandchildren. Those simple red knitted bells mean the world to me-in fact, my daughter asked for hers to hang on her tree, but I couldn't quite give it to her just yet! (Sorry Rebekah.) I had a fleeting thought to pick up this tradition as we've had several additions to our family who don't have a knitted red Christmas bell ornament. I think mom would be pleased.

Whatever you do today, celebrate the things in your life that mean the most. For me, that's saying, Happy Birthday Jesus. In answer to my question of what Jesus would want us to give him on His birthday, my friend Candice commented - "I think Jesus would be delighted if we'd all just spend a little time with him. At least 1/2 as much as we spend waiting in line to check out at the mall or Wal-Mart. Merry Christmas!"
Well said Candice. Merry Christmas to you too.

Birthday Gifts

Today is the FIRST day of my new life...at least my temporary new life. I'm off for the holidays, and don't have to think about things until January 3, although, I probably will end up thinking about things...I know how this works. Anyhow, since I don't have to go to work today, what am I doing up so early? My youngest son's birthday was yesterday. We have a tradition that on his birthday, he gets to go to his favorite breakfast place in the world, "The Good Egg". We couldn't go yesterday, so I get to take him today. And so early because he goes to work at 8:30. The things I do...

After breakfast with Daniel, I get to stop by the grocery store and buy some things for dinner tonight, then come home and try to be domestic. Oh my goodness, the things I have to do to clean this house up. It's amazing. I was telling my sister last night that we couldn't eat Dan's birthday dinner on the table because it's so full of stuff. Help is around the corner however-starting the second week of January, I get to hire my daughter to come in and do some light cleaning once a week. She needs the money, I need the cleaning, it's a good deal for everybody.

I'm really sorta dragging my feet about Christmas this year. We do not (gasp) have a tree, and we drew names in our immediate family, so I'm not buying for everybody. I refuse to join the frantic mobs at the malls and stores-you couldn't pay me to go into a WalMart. I really try to not get sucked into to all the materialistic aspects of Christmas, but unless you live in a cave for two or three months, it touches you somehow anyway. But, it's all in your persepctive. A couple of lines from the little musical our choir did at church last Sunday go like this: "A gift for a King should be a simple thing...I will give to this King...my heart."

What does Jesus want us to give Him for His birthday?

Sunday PM Musings

The wonders of chocolate milk apparently didn't aid my youngest son enough. He still is not feeling very well from his minor surgery a week ago, but at least the swelling is going down some. He doesn't look as much like a chipmunk as he once did.

It's a 3 and 1/2 day work week coming up. I have a staffing first thing tomorrow, where I will explain to some parents that although their kid is wonderful, bright, funny, and a marvelous human being with lots of talents, there's nothing wrong with being average in intelligence. What is intelligence anyway? There's all kinds of theories and all kinds of ways of measuring it, but all in all, you have what you have, and it's up to you to do something with what you have no matter what number on an IQ scale you happen to achieve. Let's hear it for the average kids of the world-of which I am one of. I was never a scholar in elementary school, in fact, I was told that I was "slower" and certainly not in the same realm as my older siblings. And my older siblings ARE smart people, as are my younger siblings-I think any and all of them would achieve pretty high on a Wechsler scale-higher than me. And, I actually married a pretty smart person as well, so it's all around me. But into college, I sorta came into my own and found myself no longer living in the shadows of all those smart siblings who had gone before me and after me. That was probably the best thing about my college years-they were uniquely my own. Here's the moral of the story: An average kid with motivation can accomplish much in life. Moral # 2: You learn more from failures than successes.

Congratulations to my friends Candice, Kris, and Alisyn, recent graduates of the School Psychologist program at WSU. Way to go guys! I wish the best for all three of you-it has been my privilege to know you. You'll all make great school psychs.

The wonders of chocolate milk

My youngest son's surgery went okay yesterday. I got to stop off at the grocery store on my way home from WSU and get him some jello (which was all he asked for.) But while I was there, I saw other things he might like, and first thing I knew, I had accumulated several things in my cart for him, including chocolate milk, which I rarely buy. I got home and unloaded the 5 or 6 bags. He came downstairs and started rummaging for the jello, but appeared pleasantly surprised at the other things I got for him, mumbling something about, "I oughta get sick more often..." It was nice that this little carton of chocolate milk was helping him be thankful. This procedure was not a pleasant one for him but the drugs he's taking is making it more pleasant. Here's a good thought for a quick healing, Dan.

I'm desperately needing a caffeine fix to help me get going, and I didn't make any coffee at home, so it's off to QT I go. THEN I can think about school psych stuff. Have a good Tuesday.

Creative Folding

I'm not a craft person. I don't have a creative bone in my body when it comes to arranging things, painting, scrapbooking, or decorating. But yesterday, I learned about iris folding. Check out this website: http://www.irisfolding.circleofcrafters.com

Have you heard of this? At the "Annual Handmade Christmas Craft" session at our church, we made the bell (click on "free pattern of the month, then scroll down to the November pattern, the Christmas bell.) To get the instructions about how to do this, click the word "Heart" under "Free Pattern with Step by Step Instructions". I can't believe how simple it is, at least, the bell was simple. It looks like there are more complicated patterns available. Try it and let me know what you think. Jay, I was thinking your girls would enjoy this craft, and Rebekah and I will volunteer to have a session and teach it to them, maybe the end of January.

Tomorrow will be sort of a weird Monday. I'm taking my youngest son to the surgical center for a minor procedure first thing in the morning, I have a training session in the afternoon, a meeting with my mentor tomorrow after the training, then going to an internship meeting in the evening. I'll try to stay awake through everything. Nothing like getting up at 5:00am to get your day rolling.

Did ya catch that Shocker win yesterday? WSU is 7-0. Take THAT, Michael. KU STINKS!

Our Kids

The meeting I was dreading yesterday didn't go too badly. AND, I got to leave early, so that was a bonus. I toured a school here in our district which is, as the principal put it, the last bus stop. Kids who have been expelled from their schools for "zero tolerance" violations need to be going to school SOMEWHERE. Otherwise, these little darlin's would be out on the streets 24/7, going to the classes that criminals and gang members hold every day. There are about 100 middle and high school aged kids there now, and the system which is in place to correct behavior works pretty well. Every good choice is positively rewarded. Every bad choice has consequences. There are levels of behavior to earn. Security guards and cameras are a visible presence. The class sizes are small, about 10 students per class. No extra curricular activites. No sports. No leisure time. 15 minute lunch. 2 minute passing period. No exceptions. Most kids are there for a semester, but some could be there for the whole school year. However, there are limits to what will be tolerated, even in this place. The limit is 3 major infractions. Then there's a hearing. Then, you can be expelled from this school. And you serve your sentence on the streets. Or in jail. Almost every kid they have in that school has been arrested at least one time. The student body is disproportionately male and African American, although there are more girls there now than ever before.

Always, it seems after touring a place like this, everyone is thinking the same thing. Why? How do we have kids that are so messed up? The answer is complicated. A combination of factors. Because I'm working with a special population at school, I can see some things that might contribute. I know of a second grade student who already has violent tendencies. A cute little guy that could charm the socks off of anybody when things go well. But he's a pistol waiting to go off. Everybody that works with him sees it. We've taken some steps. Put some strategies in place-for example, he's not allowed recess, it's too unstructured and he's too volatile. Tried to get the parent more involved. Then, he revealed this last week his favorite thing to do---you read it here first---he plays "Mortal Kombat" with an adult uncle.

Potpourri (Is that how you spell that?)

Brrr! It's a little chilly out there today. At least we are not in a situation like some Missouri residents are dealing with today. From last week's snow/ice storm, many in the St Louis area still do not have electricity. I emailed my friend in St Louis who says she's doing ok, but they have much damage-this is the second time in two years this city has been hit with a storm severe enough to knock a million people flat on their behinds.

Closer to home, how 'bout them WSU Shockers! Ranked 10th in the polls last week, this little team with the odd looking mascot (truly, how many of you think a shock of wheat is an intimidating presence?) has soared to new heights. Mark Turgeon is a coach you can define pretty well by using words such as intense, driven, and focused, and, his team shows it. You probably won't find me at Koch arena cheering the guys on, but I'm an avid follower of their successes and failures. KU and K-STATE, your Jayhawkers and Wildcats don't hold a candle to our little wheat guy.

Time to get the car warmed up and get going. Big meeting today-let's hope we can put our personalities and past histories behind us and made a good decision about one of our students-she's counting on us.

Blah

I'm sorta feeling blah today. I don't know where the time has gone. I was at the church several hours working on a missions display for tomorrow and that was my day. Blech. It's cold and wet. The snow melted some yesterday and today so that was nice, but what's left is mud and dirty water. My house is just so...blech. Carpet is dirty. Everything is dusty. I need to really really clean. Rebekah, you wanna earn some money? I'll pay you to clean my house...

My youngest son is home from work, having a lively conversation on the phone. I can hear him laughing upstairs. What's so funny? I'll never know. Maybe I shouldn't know. The less you know about your adult kids, the better.

Unexpected surprise

Ok, see, THIS is why I work for the school district, however, I must say, that this large of one rarely closes. Hardly ever. Some winter days every district within 50 miles of here will be closed, but we'll still be open, sloshing through the ice and snow. But today, we are in the center of a bullseye of a storm that's heading up here through the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles. POW! So, while my husband trudges off to his job at the state office building downtown, I'll be here at home, enjoying NOT getting out. The coffee is perked, and so am I. To top things off, it's PAYDAY. You get paid once a month, you get an unexpected day off-and they fall on the same day-life does not get better than this! (Unless it happens to be your birthday too.)

The staffing that was scheduled for today will be rescheduled. The testing that was scheduled for today will be rescheduled. And I'll be a day or more behind. My schedule, so carefully written in my calendar last Monday, is outta here, like a school psychologist at the end of a mandatory training session on a Friday afternoon.

Ok, I'm done. All the rest of you hard working people, who have to report rain, shine, snow or no snow, ice or no ice, get out there! {And have a GREAT day. (Ducks to avoid blows raining down on my head.)}

What to do with lemons

I just want to say that I LOVE hearing from all of you who are checking in to read this trivial blog, and to comment. Patzoo, it was nice to hear from you, and yes, you ARE a talented writer! I know you are a little skittish of publishing for everyone to view, but you are creative and have a lot to offer. And Fraser's Girl, well! Thanks for letting me know that things are just "heavenly" with you-especially since you're married to an angel...how was the Prime Rib for T Giving dinner? Jessica, good to hear from you as well, I hope to get to know you better. My friend Candice-are you feeling better? I have fond memories of classes with you-you made me laugh and not take myself too seriously. You are too cool. For those of you who read this blog and have invited me to read your myspace, I really like blogspot better because you don't have to sign in. If you'll send me a link where I could view your blog without having to sign in to myspace, that would be great.

I haven't said too much about my job, but hope to as time goes on. I can tell you that I really really like what I do. It's a challenge, it's rewarding, it's interesting, it's different every day. Although school psychologists are trained to do more than assess eligibility for students to be served in special education, that's really what I do most of. I also enjoy meeting with parents (for the most part) and visiting with them about their child's needs. I'd like to do more consulting work-that's where I feel school psychologists can be more useful than people give them credit for. This week I have 3 staffings scheduled-the one today was a "happy" staffing-the child was doing quite well so we dismissed him. Another staffing tomorrow may not be so happy-I tested a child for eligibility in the "gifted" program, and although the child is functioning well at a high average level, they just don't meet the qualifications for gifted. I think parents will be ok with it, but it's always tense to explain that "Although your child is WONDERFUL, and BRIGHT, and CREATIVE, blah blah blah..."

Thought for the day: When life hands you lemons, chunk 'em down your reeking garbage disposal and get a bowl of ice cream and a bottle of chocolate syrup.

A Dream

Because I'm sort of a practical person, (my siblings would disagree, but I really am), I don't place a lot of stock in dreams. We all have them, they can be kinda weird, but I don't look for hidden meanings. Mine are usually too entertaining to be deeply philosophical. However, last night, I vividly dreamed about my oldest son. I had taken him to a place I used to play as a child and we stood at the top of a high berm looking down a very steep side. It was made entirely of sand. My instructions to my oldest son were to "slide down". Then I turned and walked away. Keep in mind that he's an adult now, (albeit still living at home), but in this dream he was maybe 6 or 7. I went home, and forgot about him. Later, I realized he had not come home and and went looking for him. When I found him, he was several years older. I asked him if he made it down the hill ok. He said, "Yeah. I went down on my knees, and it HURT, but I made it." I stood there thinking, I would have gone on my rear end, but you, of course, chose the odd way to do this that no one else would have.

That's my oldest son. He chooses to learn life's lessons the hard way. He will be 25 in December and I'm ready for him to slide down the mountain once again in pursuit of a life that doesn't use my washer and dryer. His latest plans are to move in March. Looks like it may happen, and I couldn't be happier about it. Get going son!

Sunday PM

It's a nice Sunday afternoon. Dishwasher is running, my daughter is dinking around on my keyboard, I've had lunch, now I'm getting ready to take a little nap before choir practice. I'm thankful for a job with weekends off, for children who I have good relationships with, for a spouse who works many hours a week at 2 jobs, and for my old car, "Hoss", who starts for me every time (except for once when I ran out of gas).

Hope your Sunday afternoon is going well. I have a lot of work to do this week, but I'm not thinking about that just yet. Monday will be here soon enough.

Just Drivel

Happy day after Thanksgiving...for those of you going shopping today, well, good luck with THAT. I refuse to go shopping the day after T Giving, although, I confessed to someone a couple of days ago that back when my kids were kids, in the late 80's I once stood in line at a Target store at 5:00am in order to purchase Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle toys and figurines. It was crazy then, and it's crazy now. Here in Wichita, people were camping outside a Best Buy here last night in order to be the first in line when the store opened at 4:00am to nab the latest electronic whaddya call it. It's crazy, I tell ya.

So, a nice day here. Sunny, maybe 60 degrees. I'm finally working on my little piece of earth in the front of my house that last spring, I tried rather unsuccessfully to turn into a spot for "eye-catching beauty". The cannas I planted grew about 10 inches and quit, never blooming-it was too hot and dry for them. The petunias perished in the heat. But the ornamental sweet potato vines did fairly well. I was hoping they would choke out the weeds, but no such luck. After Round-Up, black plastic, digging, and more Round-Up, sticker plants STILL grow there. I can't let them win, but I don't know what else to do to kill them off. I may try a "pre-emergent" some sort of weed-i-cide early spring.

I'm thinking next summer, since it's in the sun, perhaps, just perhaps tomatoes would do ok there, but who grows tomatoes in the FRONT of your house, and not only in the front, but out by the curb? I guess I could. Somehow I have the false notion that veggie plants belong in the BACK of the house. The front is for, well, flowers, and bushes, and nice looking things.

"Count your blessings, name them one by one..." They are old words, but timely. What are you thankful for?

Relief

I cannot descibe how I felt after getting this blog up and running. I mean, I KNOW there's not many people who read it, but my goodness, I almost felt what could only be described as relief. I think I have just missed writing. My friend Julie tells me she's taking a creative writing class at the college she works at. I've never done that, but I've thought about it. I think I didn't take the class when I was going back to school because I was afraid I would fail it. Plus, there's a certain vulnerability when you let people read your stuff.

I looked back at this blog and read from the very beginning. There were one or two entries I thought maybe could possibly approach what a real writer might say. If I can pull you in and help you experience a little of my emotions when I write about Kansas sunsets and supper on the stove, then I've met my objective.

I'm here...

Well, I haven't post since June. That's right. Almost six months ago. I've updated my headings and all that stuff. Hey, I'm like a real psychologist now, and (do real psychologists say "like"? I'm sure we don't, but oh well) so I will begin posting once again for those who care to read.

We're almost ready for T Giving break-tomorrow's the last day of school this week. Most everyone on staff at both my schools is looking forward to this vacation-and I am too, sort of, but I know what waits for me when I get back. Yeah. What waits? Well, let's just say that the job will be there when I get back.

I am at two schools, as opposite as you can get-but that's a good thing. My days are always interesting, always varied, and, one of these days, when the pressure isn't quite so great, I'm hoping the job will be fun. It better be. My school loans are now in repayment status-I knew this day would come. You won't believe how old I'll be when they are all paid back. IF I take as long to pay them back as the Academic Loan Group wants me to. Let's just say that when I write the check for the last payment, there probably won't be paper checks anymore and I'll be fortunate if I'll even remember what I went to school for.

Catch the Baton

I'm waiting for my youngest son to finish getting ready so that we can go eat breakfast. Every two weeks or so, Dan and I have a breakfast date. It's pretty cool that he actually still wants to do this, and he even picks up the check every once in awhile. We have a good time, and even talk about "important" things sometimes. Within a year or so, he'll be making more money than me, so I hope we can continue this tradition of breakfasts out after he's out of school. By then, he'll be carrying a briefcase and looking so very-business-like and grown up, making his own way, like young men have been doing since the beginning.

In 30 years, or so he'll grow nostalgic for "home", and drive past the old home place, telling his wife and children, "That's where I used to live. There's my school. There used to be a Braums there, and a hardware store there, and, oh, my friend Michael used to live there...did I ever tell you what good times we had back then?" And his children, like children have been doing since the beginning will roll their eyes and listen to stories of his youth. "Oh daddy, things aren't that way anymore. That was back in the olden days." And there will be a knot in his throat and a catch in his voice as he says, "Yeah, you're right. Things aren't that way anymore." Looking at his kids, he will feel like parents have felt since the beginning- that his kids have somehow missed out on something important from his generation. And so he begins another story, this one about how he threw a bat in anger one summer day because he missed a ball being pitched to him by his brother. And the bat hit a window at his school and shattered it. And about how he ran home, and his mom marched him back up to the school to view the damage. And how she made him confess to the principal that he broke the window, and how the prinicpal and his mom decided he should learn a lesson, and how for the next week, he worked after school doing chores-like sweeping the parking lot. His children look at him incredulously. For breaking a window? Accidently? You had to sweep the parking lot in the 104 degree heat? A life lesson learned. And passed on to the next generation. Mission accomplished.

Making Life Easier

Monday morning-so nice to see ya! After the weather man on channel 12 said there would be no rain last night, I woke up at 4:00 am to lots of thunder and lightening, and...would ya know it, rain. It's cooled things down and kept me from having to drag the hose around this morning to water the little plot I have planted some things in. I have decided that I really must invest in one of those wheel thingys that hang on your house that you can roll your garden hose on. I spend about a year untangling and unknotting it before I can turn the water on.

It's one of those things that makes life easier that you wish YOU would have invented. My son was telling me last week about "fingertip pens and pencils". Have you seen those? They fit on the end of your index finger and that's how you write with them. No more gripping those writing utensils between your thumb and finger. One of the school psychologists I worked with last semester always commented about a kid's pencil grip in his reports and described it. "Hortense uses a 'fist grip' to hold onto her pencil and her writing appears laborious."

So maybe I should invent something this week and make a fortune. Nah, I think I'll have my coffee first.

I have been remiss in posting these last few days. First of all I want to wish my “baby” brother a happy birthday-he turned 46 yesterday. Although he can be stubborn and obtuse at times, I greatly appreciate him. We live fairly close, and are in frequent contact. He’s intelligent, funny, compassionate, and a great husband and father. I’m proud of him!

I didn’t get any responses to my query on the last posting regarding what goals you may have in life, except, this brother aforementioned sent out an email to some of us siblings asking us to write down 10 things we would most like to accomplish before we die. Well. You talk about taking stock in life-that little assignment will do it for you. Once I got started, I had no problem coming up with 10 things. I’m thinking about sending this question to my kids. I’d like to know what they think.

I’m taking Ms. Pancreas to the doctor today. Started on an additional med to help with the fasting (first thing in the morning) blood sugar numbers. I’ve taken it for a week now and I’m noticing some side effects, but my finger sticks in the mornings are looking a little better. And actually, Ms. Pancreas isn’t in this rebellion herself. She has recruited Mr. Liver to help her dump large quantities of glucose at night while I’m sleeping. so this new med is to help counteract that. I thought about my dad today-he passed away several years ago. He had type 2 diabetes and the only thing available for him at the time was monitoring sugars by checking urine. Certainly not very accurate. Diabetes is a progressive disease, and I often wonder just how well it was controlled with him. I know he watched his diet extraordinarily well and was active. I think that helps a lot.

I thought today I need to change the name on my blog. I’m no longer a practicum student. I’ll be an internship student starting August 1. That’s coming up quicker than I realized.

What do I want to write about today? I dunno. Let’s start with this: I’m really enjoying being out of school. In addition to working 20 hours weekly, I’ve got several projects started, all of which, if I told you about them, would have you bored to tears within seconds. One thing I’m really liking about this part time schedule is that I get to practice the piano almost every day. My son, who is a better classical player than I am, is giving me “lessons”. He’s assigned me a couple of pieces to work on, plus I also have dragged out my scales book “The Complete Book of Scales, Chords, Arpeggios, & Cadences”, “Includes all the Major, Minor (Natural, Harmonic, Melodic) & Chromatic Scales-Plus additional instructions on music fundamentals"...just in case you were asking WHAT scales book…and am playing scales every day. One of my life’s goals is to be able to play a piece by Beethoven called “Sonate Pathetique”. The adagio cantabile portion of this piece is some of the most beautifully written music I’ve ever played.

Do you have any life’s goals that would involve you learning something new? I’m not necessarily talking about climbing the Andes Mountains (unless that indeed is your goal, then more power to ya), nor am I really talking about ethereal intangible things (that’s another topic for another day). I’m just asking if any of you would like to share on this page any specific goals you have, and are working towards in this life. Maybe you would like to learn to knit, or to run a mile without collapsing, or give up one meal a week in order to spend time meditating, or learn about stars and planets and constellations. I hate to own up to some of these (knitting! really!) but all of these plus many more are on my to learn list. Maybe you’re a busy mom, a student, and an employee-or you do all three of those jobs, like several people I know. Believe me, I understand that. But I would encourage you to take a little time for yourself, if to do nothing more than to think. To ponder. And to dream. You’re worth it.

Saturday, way too early

It’s early.  I woke up at 5:30 am – that’s what I get for having that schedule the last 5 months. Through my open bedroom window, a light morning breeze stirred the air.  The birds were beginning choir practice, and I could hear a train in the distance.  Normally, I can snooze right along with all the first light awakening sounds, but today, for some reason, I just couldn’t.  Even as I type this my sleepy brain is struggling to wake up, but I tell you, if I went back to bed I’d just lay there and think about things-and thinking does me no good this time of day.  The “I wonder whys” start.  At first, they are somewhat insignificant.  “I wonder why my middle son is such a slob.”  “I wonder why someone would pick OUR car to steal a license tag from.”  They progress in significance to, “I wonder why I can be disciplined in SOME things but not others”.  Then the “you oughts” begin.  “You ought to test your blood sugars more often.”  “You ought to get more exercise.”  “You ought to practice the piano every day.”  And then there’s reminders of obligations, and of things to be done and checked off a list.  And finally, if I let my brain go there, I can then progress to reminders of mistakes in the past, and moments I wish I could take back, and bad decisions, and all kinds of things it does me no good to mull over. I got up to avoid all that…now I’m writing about it.  Great.  

Stemming the tide

Today, I’m going to do a public service announcement.  Are you ready?  Here we go.  

I know it may come as a great shock to people, but those forwards you get in your email may not necessarily be true.  I know, I know, it’s just difficult to understand that not everything you read on the net is true, and, it seems a little odd that I’m using that very medium to inform you of that, but, so it goes.  Case in point:  I received from a person (by the way, this person is none of you reading this, he is someone who is affiliated with WSU and has my email address for other reasons), a forward about Bill Gates and Microsoft offering a refund of 245.00 for each person they sent that email to.  This man, who is known by graduate students and has a fairly public position at the university actually took the time to read the forward, then to send it to at least 300 people in his address book.  

I responded back to him as follows:    
Don't be sending out crap like this.  This is a HOAX.  Please check out:
 http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/nothing/microsoft-aol.asp
 This website addresses this rumor.  You need to send an email out to every single person you sent that load of crap to and apologize.  And next time, check out any internet rumors by going to www.snopes.com and using their search feature.  Are you really that naive that you believe this?

Amazingly, I have not heard back from him.  I would encourage you today that when you receive any kind of internet rumors in your mailbox, that you delete them, or, if you want to be in public service, check them out by using one of the better internet rumor sites, www.snopes.com.  They have search feature that works quite handily-you just have to put in a keyword from the rumor.  Then when you get the real scoop, email the sender the information back.  I realize I’m only plugging up one little hole in the dike of internet hoaxes and rumors, but hey, at least I’m trying to do my part.  

Here's a pic of me - just so you know I really graduated. This was taken at the reception after graduation. The rest of the group has been cropped out as I wasn't sure THEY would like to have their pictures posted online...

Boom!

Well, I’m sitting here listening to the 1812 Overture, as only the Wichita Symphony Orchestra can play it.  BOOM!  There go the cannons…awesome!  Usually I’m down at the riverbank with my brother, enjoying the last night of the River Festival, which includes a gigantic fireworks show, but this year I elected to stay at home and listen to the Twilight Pops Concert on the radio.  I can see some of the fireworks from my house, but the show is really spectacular from downtown.  

Thanks to all who made my graduation a memorable experience, to all who emailed, called, sent cards, and emails.  Scott, it was good to hear from you!  Now that I’m out of school, I’m not going to end the blog, but I’ll keep it going for awhile.  I’m going to see if I can find where I misplaced my sense of humor…..

It's over, it's done...

Yes, graduation is over. I am awarded the Educational Specialist degree, now I can put some letters after my name-Ed.S., in case you were wondering. I have three more days at my practicum site-and may work also on Thursday and Friday if they have anything for me to do. In that little town I'm working in, school is out Tuesday the 16th, so Wednesday will probably be my last day.

I told someone that now that I've graduated, and had a wonderful day with family and friends on Saturday, I've got to come down off that high sooner or later, and I'll probably be cranky and depressed this week. I don't think it's really hit me yet that it's over. And really, for me, it's not really over. Not only am I working in the office at WSU all summer, but, I will be on a year long internship in the fall. This will require me going to classes at WSU every other week, and preparing a case study to present at the end of next spring. So I'm not done yet. Some School Psych programs have the internship before graduation. WSU has you do it afterwards. I don't know the wisdom behind that, but it works for me.

I hope to blog more this week. Thanks for hanging in there with me. I didn't do really well at writing last week. BTW, my son took some pics of me at graduation. I'll try to figure out how to post one on here. I'll see if I can find one I'm not embarrassed to post. And, more words of advice, if you want something important videotaped, find somebody who knows how to do it well. Don't ask, say, oh, I don't know, for example, don't ask your spouse to do it. Even though you love your spouse, and are so grateful for your spouse's love and support, and your spouse means the world to you, don't ask them to videotape something if they really can't do it very well. There. That's all I'm going to say about THAT.

Monday Musings

We had intermittent internet service yesterday-I called our internet provider. A nice young man came on the line to assist me. We had just gotten started, and I noticed the tone of his voice took on a sort of patient “I know I’m talking to an older woman who probably doesn’t know where the ‘enter’ is on her keyboard” quality as he began asking me questions. Fortunately my younger son came in the room so I immediately asked him to intervene. Well. In about 30 seconds they were discussing routers, connections, and alphabet soup, you know, ISP, and all that. Turns out our router, (one of four box type structures on the top of our computer desk) is not sending a good signal. Works sometimes, doesn’t work other times. I don’t really know about this stuff. But I’m glad I have a kid who can converse fairly intelligently with these people - he’s always sorta functioned as our own inhouse tech support.

Next to the last week of practicum. Two more weeks of spending 50.00 a week on gas just to get to work. It’s been a bummer to do that, but it has been a valuable experience. We’re wrapping up some evaluations this week and I’m also going to give the “Test of Visual Perceptual Skills” for the first time. I hear it’s not too bad. I brought it home to practice on my oldest son but didn’t catch him to do it.

Graduation this Saturday! There are only 4 of us graduating in the school psychology program this semester, but I think that's probably a bit more than what they generally have, which is 2, maybe 3 graduates a semester. We'll be walking with the College of Education, and will be called to the platform after the doctoral candidates and before the master's degree graduates. I was asked at church yesterday if it was about over, I replied rather enthusiastically, “oh yes!” The questioner stated, “I could see it in your face! You look great!” That, my friends, is what going back to school at 45 will do for you, once you’re finished six and a half years later. People start telling you how “great” you look. By the way, I need to let you know that I saw proof finally, on Thursday, that my incomplete grades were finally changed, and now, I don't have to hang on by fingernails anymore. I'm feeling much relief. Barb, Deb and Sylvia-see you Saturday on a milestone day for us. In case I don't get to say it Saturday, it's been a privilege for me to get to know you. You are all going to be great school psychologists. Congratulations!

Just rambling

Well, I can see these jokes went over big time.  I can hear your uproarious laughter from here.  You’re welcome.  I’m glad to add a little levity to your day.
*****
I just heard a peal of thunder.  I guess it rained last night but I wouldn’t know-I slept pretty soundly-only woke up twice-for the first time in many nights.  
*****
I’ve got 3 weeks to go working on practicum, and 10 days before graduation.  I’m feeling a little nervous and pressured, but am thinking, if I can just HANG ON, I’ll make it. If I can just HANG ON, I’ll make it.  HANG ON.  There’s quite a bit of work to do on practicum yet, but not overwhelming.  I think the most stress is coming from not having two incompletes changed to grades yet.  I’m nervewracked waiting on the professor to do so and thoughts of getting up there and not being able to graduate because the grades weren’t changed are racing through my head.  She assures me they will be changed-just HANG ON.  Sigh.
*****
If you’re human, this has happened to you -you’re living your life, ambling along, not bothering anybody, doing your job-when all of a sudden, a situation you were blissfully unaware of rears its ugly head and upsets the tranquility of life.  This happened to me on Tuesday evening.  A very messy situation came to my attention, and even though I was involved in it in a minor way several weeks ago, now it seems that I’m involved in a major way because my minor involvement was gossiped about by several people which then, mushroomed into major involvement a couple of weeks ago.  How’s that for confusing.  This gossip and talk really hurt a third party and now we have a mess.  Here’s the life lesson:  Don’t talk about others when you don’t know what you’re talking about.  And don’t talk about others even when you DO know what you’re talking about-more often than not, it’s a hurtful thing.  
*****
That’s all.