May I Have More Spoons, Please?

A little over a year ago, I started having severe back pain. It would be so bad that I would wake up screaming in my sleep. To a lesser degree, I was also having pretty bad pain in my hips and lower back, but I had gotten used to this as it had been happening off and on for several years. I had been to doctor after doctor, and been told it was basically because I was fat. Funny thing was, even when I lost weight, the pain never got better.

But this back pain was different. Steal-your-breath-away, whole-body-electrified, different. So, I started making the rounds of doctors again. Test after test, the humiliation of being told I was fat, insisting that it had to be more than that, finally finding a Primary Care doctor who would listen. (Coincidence or not, this doctor is a woman. All the previous doctors who told me everything was in my head or was just because I was fat were men.) She sent me off for blood work, CAT scans, MRIs. She argued with the insurance companies. She fought for me. I'm so glad she did.

Soon, she was telling me I needed to see a pain management doctor because the MRI and CAT scans were showing lots of degeneration in my spine.  From there, the pain doctor could refer me to a rheumatologist to get more tests done.

Through the pain management doctor (whom I have since stopped seeing for reasons I don't want to get into here), I was referred to a rheumatologist who was finally able to give me a diagnosis. Apparently, all those years of pain I had been having in my hips and lower back were early signs that I had psoriatic arthritis. I have the "fun" kind that likes to chew the bones of my spine and hips. Since the previous rheumatologists I had consulted (male) pretty much patted me on the head and didn't do any real tests, it went undetected. My current rheumatologist (again, female) did tons of blood work, ordered more x-rays, and another MRI and basically spent over an hour in an examination room with me going over my medical history with a fine tooth comb. She's also the one with the eagle eye who diagnosed the psoriasis on my elbows and scalp, which is what led her to my psoriatic arthritis diagnosis.

Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease where your body's immune system attacks the skin. Psoriatic arthritis is where the immune system attacks the bone. I have the kind that attacks the spine and hips. It also attacks the tendon connection points, mostly in my feet and knees, making walking even more difficult on some days - especially in the mornings.

So, now I'm receiving treatment to try to slow down the disease, but there's no cure.  I will be in pain for the rest of my life.  Some days are bearable - kind of like having a horrible headache in your back and hips. But other days...other days are excruciating.  I have days where if I move wrong, I scream.  Days where I cannot walk.  And even on days when I'm not in horrible pain, I'm so exhausted from constantly having SOME level of pain, that I'm just too dang tired to think about even getting ready to leave the house, much less actually going somewhere.

So what does all this have to do with my title?  When I first got diagnosed and realized that I've got a chronic illness, I started researching other people with chronic illnesses. I wanted to know how they cope with everything. A lot of people started talking about something called the "Spoon Theory." So, I researched that. The Spoon Theory was created by Christine Miserandino to help explain to people what it's like to have Lupus, another autoimmune disease. Basically, it says that on any given day, you wake up with only a certain number of spoons. These spoons represent the amount of energy you have. Some days, you wake up with 20 spoons, plenty to do everything you need to do. But maybe the next day you only wake up with 2 spoons. And you never know how many spoons you will have on a given day.  Each task you have to do in a day costs a different number of spoons.  Maybe getting out of bed costs you 3 spoons if that is when you hurt more.  Maybe fixing breakfast only takes 1 spoon. But you have to ration your spoons. Here lately, I have only had 3-5 spoons to spend each day, prompting my question, may I have more spoons, please?

I am currently on medical leave from work. I applied for pay through the sick leave bank at work, but I won't know if it has been approved or not until after I return to work in January. Which means my December paycheck is going to be about  $600 - $1,000 short. If my application for sick leave bank days is denied (their definition of what constitutes a "real" reason to be out of work, even with documentation from your rheumatologist, is ridiculous), I will not receive a paycheck at all in January (since we are paid a month behind). I have a Union representative working with me on it, but I still worry.

I also worry if I will be ABLE to go back to teaching. Maybe it's time to move on. Just the thought of going back is exhausting. But I don't know what else I can do and make the same salary. If you are the praying sort, I would appreciate prayers. If not, I also would appreciate positive thoughts, good energy, or whatever you are inclined to send out into the universe on my behalf. I'm worried about how I'm going to take care of my boy.

I've Started a Kickstarter Campaign

For a long time, there's been this book inside my head. 

No, not one of the one with all those made up people in it. (Although there are crazy, made up people in my head, too.)

The real one, the tough one, the one I'm still writing and will probably never stop writing until I breathe my last breath.

It's the book that celebrates my mother, God rest her soul. On the day she was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer, I started writing to her. Not on paper; at least, not at first - that would be nuts! No, I started in my mind, telling her how awed I was by her calmness, by her acceptance, by her love for all those around her - even for those who had hurt her. But I didn't tell her about the letters, because I was afraid I would hurt her.

Then, when Mom passed away, I kept writing because it made me feel like she wasn't really gone. Jamie would do something silly, or funny, or exasperating, and I SWEAR I could hear her laughing and telling me that he was payback for all the times I had  misbehaved. Like the time he put the vacuum cleaner attachment through the TV. Mom laughed long and loud over that one.

I want the world to celebrate with me what a wonderful, giving, beautiful person my mother way. But they can't do that as efficiently if I don't publish my book of letters to her. For that, I need your help. Please visit my Kickstarter page and pledge to help me get this book off the ground. I hope others going through the same thing will find some comfort from it, and that others will learn to hug their loved ones a little tighter for a little longer, because you never know how fleeting that precious time is.

Please help me introduce Shirley Gregory to the rest of the world.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1066436875/dear-mom-letters-my-mother-never-read

Battling Inherent Prejudices at the Middle School Level

Sometimes I get so frustrated in my job. I have been trying to teach my students not just how to be better readers, but how to be better humans. Yes, I know, that's not really in my job description - but it should be. I try to instill life lessons in my reading lessons; read with more fluency, comprehend the deeper meaning, eradicate hatred and ignorance, celebrate our shared experiences, read on grade level, recognize that our differences are what make us beautiful, make connections across texts.

But I am working against more than a decade of distrust, hatred, and intolerance that their little bodies have soaked up from their families, their peers, and society itself. Sometimes I want to scream because I feel I am fighting a losing battle.

Today, I showed my students a powerful video of spoken word poetry. The author is a slightly built, short haired woman who speaks about heritage, who speaks out against prejudice, who talks about the very things I want my students to understand. Did my students pick up any of her nuggets of wisdom? Oh, no. All they could ask me, all frackin' day long, "Miss, is that a guy or a girl?" My response, "Does it matter?" Inevitably, a student would point out that the video title had a woman's name in it, so the poet must be a woman.

The ignorance and hatred I heard coming out of my students' mouths today is sickening. The fact that they didn't even know what they were really saying, they were just repeating what they had heard others say, makes it even more sad. A huge part of me wants to walk away from teaching middle school for this very reason. I don't know if I can teach in an environment where there is so much hatred and the kids don't even know WHAT they are hating. But if I walk away, don't I become part of the problem, because I didn't stick around to open their eyes? Or can their eyes even be opened at this age? I just know by the end of the day I was ready to cry, and felt physically sick, from some of the things I heard my students say. Can I teach in an environment where there is so little respect for all the differences that make the human race beautiful and amazing? Can I teach where I am expected to denounce some forms of discrimination, but keep my mouth shut about others? I already know the answer to that.

I Have Been Away Too Long

I have been gone for a really long time. For that, I am sorry. First, I was too busy. A lot has happened since I received my M.A.T. back in December 2012. I worked as a temp in education research. Then I got a job as a Reading Interventionist. Not knowing diddly-squat about RTI, I had to do some major research, so that took my time. Then Jamie got very sick, was in the hospital all summer, and almost died. It was the worst summer of my life, one I hope never to repeat again. But all this drama, these crises, they took my words. I drew in upon myself and hid from the world while I lived day after day, just putting one foot in front of the other.

Things are better now. Jamie is almost 100% again. I am emerging from the dark place I hid for several months. I am still a Reading Interventionist, and I am also taking on leadership roles on my campus.

I'll tell you about all of it sometime, once I find all my words. For now, I just wanted my non-Facebook friends to know I am still alive, as is Jamie (thank you, Lord).

In the meantime, please accept this proof that Jamie is alive and well (and growing!). Last month, Jamie and his friend Cait went to his JROTC Military Ball on one of the bases down here. In case you weren't aware, this was shortly after his 16th birthday. He is growing up so fast!

But He Needs All the Wisdom He Can Get!

Tonight, we went to the store and stocked up on soft foods - yogurt, ice cream, cans of pinto beans (to be smashed with a fork), eggs for scrambling, broth, soups, bananas to be smushed, anything I could think of that would be squishy or could be made squishy. Tomorrow morning at 8:15, Stinkbumps will be having oral surgery to have all his wisdom teeth removed. My child is a bit above the curve in dental age. He was born with a tooth, so I really shouldn't be surprised that he is cutting his wisdom teeth three years earlier than most people. Jamie's oral surgeon joked that he should use that against me next time I say he's immature.

I know this is a pretty routine surgery and thousands go through it a day. But I still fret a bit because of his tendency to have allergic reactions to things and his asthma. This particular doctor likes to put young patients completely under for this kind of procedure - he says it is less traumatic for them and easier on him. I understand his reasoning.... but still. If he has a reaction, because of the asthma it will be just that much more severe.

I don't think I will breathe easy until I get him home and all the anesthesia has completely worn off.

Think of him tomorrow, would you?

Good News

I just got the news at work that they are going to train us all in several different departments so as to be able to keep us around longer. I don’t have a definitive date on when/if we will be let go, but at least they are trying to keep us on longer. I will post more when I know it.

 

Updates and Things

I want to apologize for my lack of blogging. I've been a terrible blogger for the last two months. I've been so busy that I haven't had time to write. But I assure you, I'm reading your blogs. Not everyday, sometimes in a spurt of catching up on a week of posts at one time, but I am reading.

I will try to get my stuff straightened out so I can write a nice, long post about everything. But it won't be tonight.

Missing you all.

On Writing (More)

When I became pregnant with my son, my words dried up. Once he was born, I was too exhausted, busy, frazzled, any one of a million emotions moms go through, to be able to put pen to paper. I didn't even have any ideas anymore.

By the time he was in late elementary school, the occasional poem would pop up and even less frequently, I would have time to stop what I was doing and write it down or type it. Sometimes I posted them to my blog.

In the last year or so, something has happened. Those dried up words, the ones I despaired of ever coming back to the cracked earth that my creative wordy mind had turned into, started raining down again.

Last fall, I wrote a novel. Right now I'm polishing it up to see if I can get it published. Since then, I have composed dozens of poems, either posted to this site or used in my classroom. Yes, I share my personal writings with my students (within reason, of course). A while back, I started a second novel, this one in the Young Adult genre.

Now, I had intended to sit down and work on either editing the old novel or adding to the new one tonight. But when I sat down at my computer and started typing, something else came out entirely - almost fully formed, coming so fast my fingers and mind can't keep up, my body is desperate for sleep but the story won't let me go. It will be my third novel begun in almost two years, the second novel in just a few weeks.

I hope this drenching rain of words keeps up. I hope I don't get bogged down with having too many stories going at once. I hope I don't fizzle out and all the stories wind up sounding the same. The topics addressed are very different, but still, it could happen if I'm not careful.

But even if they do wind up sounding the same, even if I never get a single word published anyone, I am so grateful this has happened. I never realized how dead I had felt inside, how much I felt I had submerged myself into the persona of "caretaker", until the dam burst and my words poured forth again. Is this something that happens to other people? Do you get so bogged down in the day to day "stuff" that the person you are just gets buried underneath the minutia that comprises your life? Have you experienced this sudden release - where suddenly, out of nowhere, the "you" that you used to know comes back to you? Please, drop me a note in the comments and let me know your thoughts.

Online Writer's Circle

As some of you may know, last fall I wrote a novel for a class. Right now, I am writing another one of a different genre. Several of you who read this blog are writers. Many successful writers are active in writer's circles where like-minded authors gather to critique, encourage and bandy about ideas. Would any of you be interested in an online, password-protected writing circle? I want to attempt getting the YA novel I'm currently writing published. I also want to be an all-around better writer. Anyone else with similar interests and goals? Please leave me a comment and let me know.

Some Pics from Comicon

At Comicon on Friday, I got myself some bling....

I feel this is perfect for a Gifted and Talented teacher, don't you?

I also took in a show.

A "Rocky Horror"-esque reenactment of "Doctor Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog." I did as the title commanded and sang along. Jamie pretended he did not know me.

We also saw some local wildlife.

I was tempted to leave the boys with the Ewok, since they seemed to like it there.



I do not know these people, but R2D2 was really cool! His head swiveled around and he "talked" to you in response to your voice. This was taken Saturday, when I went back without the boys. Heh heh heh.

I visited their research and development department.

It would seem their researchers have put together this "little" guy to counteract a growing threat of war from across the sea. I tried to convince them this was a bad idea, but no one would listen to me. (Name that Doctor Who episode!)

I was so greatly affected by my two days of exposure that I found myself going native, so to speak.

When I got home, I dyed my hair purple as part of the costume I'm going to wear tomorrow. Also because I've wanted purple hair for years, but was working in a job that specifically banned it. I'll put it back to a color that is a little closer to my natural one come August.



Comicon

This Friday, I will be taking my son and five of his friends to the Texas Comicon. None have ever been. Jamie and a few of his friends are just starting to get into comics. All of them love Star Wars, Star Trek, and various other sci-fi franchises. The good thing about this con is that it encompasses more than just comics. A musical theatre troop will be performing a stage version of "Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog," for one thing. For another, scheduled guests include Cary Elwes, Mark Sheppard and Jim Beaver. There will be light saber battles, yo! All of our geek hearts are going pitter patter over this, I can assure you! I will post with a run down of the event and lots of pictures this weekend!

I'm Alive, I Promise!

I'm still alive. But to recover from planning and teaching three different lesson plans a day (YO!), then venturing into student teaching in the most inner-city district there is down here (DOUBLE YO!), I had to cease and desist all other activities other than breathing and paying attention to my kiddo once I got home. So, I let the blogs fall by the wayside (again). Sorry!

To catch you up, I am now on summer break, but not really, because I am taking two content area classes and finishing up my portfolio. The aforementioned student teaching with three different lesson plans a day (UGH!) was too much to pile on top of school work. So something had to give. Now I will graduate in August. At the beginning of August, to be precise. And the new teaching year starts a couple of weeks later. I think I should have all my ducks in a row before hiring begins. But if it doesn't happen, I have a back up plan. I have applied to substitute teach next year. So there's that to rely on. Also, this summer I am trying hard to not hold down a full-time job. Instead, I borrowed money up to my ears so that I can stay home and treat my classwork as though it were a job, with a schedule and everything. So far, I'm doing okay treating it that way.

Here's the schedule. I know the pic is hard to see. Sorry about that!

Jamie is gone during the day taking one of his high school courses (!!!!) over the summer so that he has more room in his schedule. He and several of his friends got accepted to a magnet program that focuses on Engineering and Technology. He's more interested in the technology part. Anyway, in this program, they have several required courses on top of the courses needed to graduate, plus they have to take extra math and science classes so that they the Distinguished diploma. So, not enough class periods in the day to get all requirements. Hence, taking a class in the summer. Jamie may have to take other summer school classes in subsequent years, as well.

Speaking of Jamie, here are some gratuitous pics to show you how much he has grown. He is now my height and his feet are about three or four sizes bigger!

We went to the SA Symphony's concert of space-related themes. Of course, Star Wars was on the play list. Several people dressed up as Star Wars characters came out during the concert, then mingled with the audience afterward.

Jamie and his friend Caitlin before the 8th grade semi-formal dance. She is actually an inch shorter than he is, but had on kitten heels so they looked the same height. Sadly, Caitlin will be going to a different magnet high school next year, so we won't see her as often. :-(

And last, but not least, Jamie and the rest of my NERDs (Neighborhood Electronic Robotic Device) at the Neutral Buoyancy Lab at NASA for the Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) competition back in April. They were the only middle school team in attendance. Competing against high school and university teams, they got 6th place out of 14 teams. WAY TO GO, NERDS!!!!!!!

Poetry Month

We're studying poetry right now in my 7th grade classroom, so it has gotten my creative juices flowing. Here's something I whipped out in about 5 minutes.

Of all the things you ever said


Ever tried or never did

I think the one that hurt the worst

Was the day you cursed my birth.

I tried hard not to let it show

Kept the anger simmering low,

But all the while I screamed inside

“Was I the one you wished had died?”

Now you’re gone I cannot ask

But still I turn back to the past

And wondered if all this was true

Every time you said, “love you.”

 
Somehow, I think the school district would frown on me sharing this with my students. What do you think, too heavy for the average 7th grader?

March Madness

I think Jamie and I both are suffering from a case of March Madness here, but it has nothing to do with basketball. We just finished our Spring Break, and I have to start getting ready for school in less than three hours. The only problem is, I haven't been to bed yet. :-( Oh, Spring Break, you flew by too fast! My motivation and drive are dragging. Jamie and I both seem to be at our snapping points. Even with the loveliness of Spring Break, there has been a lot of arguing and bickering in our household of late. We are both tired of it, but stressed to the max. Poor kid is working so hard. I think he is just as eager as I am for this semester to be over. I know we can survive this. I know we WILL survive this. In the words of Dory, "Just keep swimming....."

Tidings

Disclaimer - this very well may be one of the most depressing posts I've written. You may not want to read this if you're having a bad day. Just sayin'. And please don't leave me any judgemental comments about this post. You are not thinking anything I'm not already thinking about myself, okay?

I put this up the other night, then promptly took it down the next day. Now I'm putting it back up again with the tag "rheumatoid arthritis" with the hopes that other people looking for answers about this sucky condition may find me. And for the record, there's no such thing as being "too young" to get RA. Don't ever let a specialist tell you, "Well, all your symptoms point to RA, but you're too young, so it can't be that...." And especially don't let them pat you on the head and tell you that there's nothing wrong with you, that you must just be "more sensitive to pain than other people" and try to push you out the door with a prescription for some stupid narcotic pain pill. INSIST that diagnostic tests be done. If that doctor won't do them, go to another doctor who will. Fire your rheumatologist if he starts acting like a misogynistic a-hole, and go get one who will actually listen to you. I did.

I know it has been a very long time since I have posted on here. There are so many things to say, and not enough words to say them with, and sometimes not enough energy to even turn on the computer to post. I'm trying to stay positive, and I have moments where I can pretend, and smile and act as though I'm not questioning - asking "But why? What did I do? WHY?". Perhaps this is why I have not posted lately.

I have this horrible tendency to cry if I talk about the things that are bothering me. Something terrible can happen, or I can be in the darkest pit ever, but so long as no one asks me to speak of it, I will not cry. But if I open my mouth and begin to speak the words, to give form to that which is hurting me, or frightens me, or makes me sad or angry, I weep. So I tend to try to avoid talking about the things that are truly and deeply upsetting me. But sometimes, I have to let it out, lest I go mad.

Much the same with writing. If I speak it or write it, then it become real. I can no longer ignore it, belittle it or wish it away. With each word spoken or written, it grows - lifting off the page or through my voice to plague my life and ensure that I most probably will never be the same again.

Jamie will never be the same again.

With each day that passes, I'm losing more and more mobility. I can no longer run or dance; in reality, I haven't been able to run in years, nor to dance in months. But there again, I've been ignoring that little reality for a long time. Heck, I can't even bowl - walking up to the lane properly is beyond my capability now. I wake up in the mornings barely able to move. I often accidentally break things because they slip out of my hands. A lot of times, I can't feel my fingers completely, so I don't realize I've lost my grip on things until they've fallen and shattered. I'm exhausted by such simple tasks as walking down the hall to retrieve a stack of papers from the work room.

My house looks like a pig sty because I can't keep it clean and Jamie has a ton of homework to do without being expected to keep the house clean, too.


I feel like my life, like my body, is falling apart. And yes, I know I sound like a spoiled little girl, whining at her parent, but all I can keep asking is, "Why? What did I do wrong?"

I said it was depressing. I'm sorry. Like I said, I can pretend for so long, but then there comes a point where I have to talk about it or write about it or else I will break completely. And I've been so good about cutting myself off from everyone over the years that writing about the things that are upsetting me is just about the only outlet I have. I have to let it out somewhere so I can continue to be strong for Jamie. He's upset enough by all this without me showing him how completely freaked out I am by my inability to do things the average two year-old has no problem doing.

50,168 Words Later....

and I'm a winner in this year's NaNoWriMo. Nothing like having the incentive of failing the class if I don't finish the novel! It's finished but it isn't exactly the greatest writing ever. I intended the story to be one thing, then the characters took over and it wound up being something else entirely. In the middle of writing it, I got the idea for another book. So I don't know if I'll write that one over Christmas break or if I'll write down some notes then stick them in a drawer until next year's NaNoWriMo.

It's alive! Now I'm going to bed.

On Writing, and Teaching, and Life

Howdy, folks. We're in the middle of the crazies down here. Today, I had a bad migraine that kept me up all night, so I called in sick to school. I took some more medicine around 7:30 this morning and woke up at 2:30. At 3, I started working on the novel I am supposed to be writing for school. Up to this point, I had been waaaay behind. Today, I wrote 11,505 words (no joke) on my novel. This means I now have written 30,030 words of my 50,000 word novel. I expect to finish over the long holiday weekend. Realistically, if I can write on two days like I did today, I'll be done and never have to look at it again. Yay, me!

In other news, I'm now down close to 70 pounds from what I was in January. The secret to my success is stress and chronic illness. Add in bursitis and mystery arthritis and you have yourself the key to weight loss. However, I do not recommend this as a weight loss plan for the masses. It takes dedication and desperation.

I continue to pray for the school year to hurry up and be over. Because the Thanksgiving break is only five days, alas, I do not think we'll be able to travel this month to do any visiting. See also first paragraph Re: grad school course requiring an insane amount of writing this month. I will, however, have two weeks off at Christmas that I am hoping I will have the time and funds in which to travel and see my beloved ones.

You would not recognize Jamie, either, as he is now more of a bean pole than ever, except with broader shoulders, a prominent Adam's apple, a deeper voice (he sings in the Bass section at church now!!!!) I will eventually post pictures when I come up for air.

We are both singing in the choir at Church, and are in rehearsals for the Christmas concert in a few weeks. Jamie tried out for a solo and is sad he didn't get it. I'm working on a solo part in "You Oughta Know" for the concert, but we haven't been told yet who's actually singing it in the concert (it's between me another another very nice lady with an amazing voice).

I love you all.

Believe it or Not.....

I am still alive, my lack of blogging notwithstanding.I'm still teaching. I'm about 50 pounds lighter. I'm stressed out and sleep deprived. I just had a birthday. Oh, and I'm participating in NaNoWriMo this year as part of my grad course. This means I have even less time to blog than I did before. If you want to know how my teaching year is going so far, read my book when I'm finished. I'm basing it off my experiences at work. Truth is often stranger than fiction.

I just wanted to post to let you know I'm alive. And I love my blogging family. And I'm singing in church still.

Good night.

Random Things I've Discovered This Week

• Holding in your pee too long will give you a headache.
• If you accidentally let it slip to your boss that you're coming in on the weekend specifically to work on the office procedures manual, something that cannot be done during the week because there's always way too much to do or too many interruptions, critical tasks will appear on your desk that absolutely, positively !must! be done over the weekend. *sigh*
• Time passes much more slowly when one is waiting for one's test scores to be posted.
• The sound of a ringing phone is enought to make one want to hit someone else.
• The way our children behave is in direct correlation to how we ourselves behaved as children. And I will laugh about this fact when Jamie has children. And encourage his children to act that way. It's a vicious cycle. What can you do?
• I've now eliminated soda completely from my diet.
• I'm completely baffled by Jamie's gift of working with young children. This must be something that skipped a few branches on the family tree. Or even a few trees in the family orchard.
• I'm now getting close to being down 30 pounds since the first of the year. Unfortunately, the only place you can tell it is in random places in my body and on my face. I haven't really gone down a whole clothing size yet because of the way plus size clothes are made. Stupid plus sized clothing manufacturers!!!!!

Told you they were random.

A Catchall Catch Up

It has been far too long since I have posted. This morning, I took my PPR exam. I think I drove myself nuts on several of the questions, pretty much overthinking them until I was ready to just click on an answer already so I could go home. I finished the 90-question test in about an hour, but made myself mark questions to be reviewed if I had even the slightest doubt as to the correct answer. Then I went back and reviewed the marked questions and made sure I had read each question carefully and selected the best possible answer, sometimes rereading the question four or five times. Generally, this is not how I take tests, but I also sometimes make careless mistakes this way. As there is a lot riding on my score on this test, I felt I owed it to myself and to Jamie to do my best, ergo I took more care.(For those of you not in the know, if I don't get a passing score on the PPR exam, my teaching contract gets revoked. My replacement at my current job has already been hired, so I wouldn't have that job to fall back on, either. Can we say, "Screwedsville?") Oh, and the state won't allow me to retake the test until 60 days have passed - well after the school year has started. Again, big fat mess if it doesn't go well. Do you see why I took more care than usual?

School starts back in session down here Aug. 22. I start in-service training Aug. 9 (provided.... see above). I have already begun getting up at 5:30 every morning in anticipation of my school schedule. Jamie is forced out of bed at 6:30. We follow this schedule on weekends also. The main reason for this is because my neurologist has stated that people who get migraines need to have a schedule and stick to it regardless of holidays or weekends. Since Jamie gets migraines, too, he is being put on a strict schedule, as well. My last day in the school year will be May 26, 2012 (I think), Jamie's last day of school will be after Memorial Day - a fact that has left him none too pleased but tickles me mightily. :-)

We continue to make progress in organizing the house and purging it of outgrown/broken/unneeded stuff. It's amazing how much crap we've accumulated over the years. Of course, we aren't progressing nearly as quickly as I would like us to, but still I guess some progress is better than no progress.