About last week...11-6-09

It has been a very interesting week.

Can someone say emotional rollercoaster?

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There were two significant deaths in the last week.

One, a lovely husband of our beloved Asst. Athletic Director at our small Prep High School my boys attend. He just died instantly last Saturday in his brother in law's front yard, just around the corner from my home.

It was sudden, and heart breaking, and Mama and I had the privilege of catering for his memorial on Sunday. The wife knows he is in heaven, awaiting her arrival until her work here on earth is done. He was only 60, and he left behind an adoring wife, and two lovely children, 21 and 16.

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A few days later, one of my Mama's best friends passed away after a fierce fight with cancer.

She was only 66.

She and my Mama did hair together at my Mama's beauty shop for about 25 years.

She helped me so much with my wedding, making sure everything was just so... and welcomed my babies with such loving open arms with each birth.

I will always remember Marla with such love and tenderness...

She was simply a lovely, kind, extremely talented woman, and she will be sorely missed.

***

Just before that, the man a couple doors down passed away from lung cancer... I mentioned it before. All in one week... three deaths.

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Then this week, there was the dreaded Parent/Teacher conferences.

I don't dread them really, but come on... you only want to hear good things, and sometimes, at least with my men, I don't always hear all good things...

We are human, we are not perfect in this household, nor do I pretend to be.

Johnny got all A's, but has to learn not to correct the teacher's spelling or diction all the time.

Yes, some teachers make mistakes too... just because they are teachers doesn't mean they are perfect either.

To be clear, he and his teacher had a little tete' a tete' about the word "Hallelujah".

It can be and is spelled a lot of different ways, and I'm not altogether sure I just spelled it correctly.

But, Johnny got indignant about it, folded his arms and challenged her to "Look it up, then" when he WALKED UP TO THE CHALKBOARD TO ERASE AND FIX her apparent mistake.

She was laughing about it as she re told the story to me... Me? I wasn't laughing.

I was mortified.

I didn't start laughing about it until today.

The conference was Monday.

Yeah.

It took me a while.

***

She really wanted me to laugh with her. She kept telling me how brilliant he is, and how she doesn't want to break that spirit he has, but if I could just help him to tone down his deep need

to correct everything.

She was really, really sweet about it.

She gushed about him.

I kept picturing him in deep do do when he got home.

He was gonna get the lecture of his life, and a restriction to match it.

I did not raise my men to be rude and disrespectful, and just because they may be smart and talented, does NOT mean they get to correct their superiors errors... at least not in front of others!

So, other than that, she tells me he is a delight, and she wants to have him test to jump to 6th or 7th grade... she feels there isn't much more she can teach him without stifling his love of learning.

The only thing holding us back... is his size.

He's not small for his age, but compared to 11 or 12 year old, prepubescent, voice changing, girl noticing counterparts... he is.

Sooo, I may have to homeschool him and have him go at his own pace. Public school is absolutely out of the question. He wants to be home schooled soo badly!

Me? Not so much.

I enjoy my days, sans children, at home. But... whatever he requires... I shall do.

So... we'll wait until after Christmas... see what happens... and maybe have him take some online courses concurrently.

There are so many options these days!

I love that education is so much more open and freely used these days. Not all kids fit the mold of traditional school... ya know?

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I got a cold on Wednesday, and am almost over it already today, Friday,thanks to Zicam.

Have you tried it?

IT. IS. A TRUE. MIRACLE.

No, they don't pay me to talk about it, but if they ever wanted to throw some free spray my way, I'd gladly take it.

It truly does what it says it will do... shorten the length and severity of any cold.

We take it religiously as soon as symptoms start... and a couple days later... we are cured!

Really, really awesome stuff.

That... and Mucinex DM.

So, I'm on my road to recovery already... ready for my weekend.

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So... that's been my week... I forgot to do my writers workshop for the first time in over a year...

but I was at my sons football games...

I love school sports programs.

They are so much fun!