Falling Asleep - Maybe This Will Be Brief

I did get to the hospital yesterday. As many of you already know from our emails, they now suspect migraine and will be running more tests. It makes sense in a way although he certainly hasn't complained of severe headaches. That doesn't mean he hasn't had them; he's not a complainer and with so many other things going on, the headaches may not have seemed like a big deal. I don't know.

He's epileptic (seizure free for years until recently) and there may be a connection.

My cold is in the runny, sniffly, sneezy stage so I didn't go today. Generic day-quil works well for me so I can keep the worst of the symptoms under control. We talked on the phone tonight and they've added more tests to the list for tomorrow or Tuesday. The only thing they can agree on is that something is wrong.

I did get out with Elcie to the 99¢ store this morning and then over to annoy Tim at Barnes & Noble. Elcie had her strawberry frapp, I had decaf with vanilla and caramel, and we shared a cookie. She bought a couple of plastic horses to add to her collection and I picked up a couple of activity books for the other two. They still like to color. Oh, and Elcie is trying cross stitch; one frog and one cat. I think she'll be able to do it. We'd tried embroidery and she had problems. This doesn't require as much coordination. I showed her how to use a needle threader after the 3rd time she called me to thread the needle. I can hardly do it without the threader anymore; even with bifocals.

A lot of my canned goods come from there as well. It's usually my final stop at the beginning of the month.

We saw a little girl (maybe 3 - old enough to talk clearly) with a woman who must have been either grandma or greatgrandma. Older than I. The child was walking just ahead and saying "I don't want you to get lost so you stay close okay?" She (the child) had both hands behind her back wiggling her fingers as if to say c'mon now. It was so cute. Grandma played along of course.

The temperature has dropped several more degrees. Elcie and I just beat the rain home. Part of the city lost power for a short time, including Barnes & Noble. Only for a short time but they're completely computerized so they were dealing with that.

It makes me grateful for my old fashioned education. I love computers but if the power goes out, I can still function.

I think my battery (the big one that kicks in in case of power failure) is dying. Yesterday my monitor went black and I freaked. We unplugged it from the battery and into my circuit breaker and voila. Today, the same thing with my speaker. I think it may be included in my service contract. I'll have to check.

Still no t.v. in this room although Elcie fiddled around and fixed the vcr/dvd player. It's not the t.v.; we can get one fuzzy channel with the t.v.'s builtin antenna so it's something in the cable/dvd player hookup. It will have to wait for Ray to come home. He has a style all his own with hooking up electronics and I hate anything to do with hardware; computer or t.v. Plus with my crowded setup here I'd have to move furniture to get to all the power cords.

It's humiliating when your kids know more than you isn't it.

I'd planned to make chicken soup (or possibly order hot and sour soup from our Chinese restaurant). Didn't do either one. A neighbor barbecued and sent a care package over via the girls. I didn't have to do anything about dinner but maybe I'll tackle the soup tomorrow. Chicken soup is soothing (even if I'm the one who has to make it) but hot and sour will clear sinuses in a hurry and someone else could do the cooking.

Another neighbor sent birthday cake yesterday. Their youngest (of 4 now), just turned a year old. The oldest is a little younger than Elcie. They've lived next door for years; since their first two were little. Nice family. The mother doesn't speak a lot of English and when she and I try to talk, the kids translate. She's trying to learn but it seems to be hard for her probably because she doesn't get out much and she's so tied up with the kids.

The affair of Elcie and her receiver seems to be settled. No details from the school (they can't discuss personnel matters of course) but Elcie or I are to let them know immediately if she has any more problems. She will, I'm sure of that. Elcie is nothing if not vocal. And she now has her computer. Her new teacher didn't realize or had forgotten she had one; her last year's teacher was out on maternity leave and didn't realize it was still locked in her classroom. They're discussing replacing it and reviewing the software to see what more can be done to be sure she's ready for high school next year.

And finally we're all in agreement on the handwriting. Our next project is teaching her touch typing. I've tried but I'm not getting through to her. It may be because it's so easy for me; I can't understand why it isn't for everyone. A professional with a good online program might be better and I can back them up.

As long as she can print legibly, she doesn't need cursive for her day to day work. Eventually it may become less difficult for her but for now it slows her down and detracts from her learning. She focuses only on putting one letter after another. Silly but it took forever to convince some people. They thought hiding her computer away and forcing her to write was the answer. It wasn't.

And you don't want to see what passes for handwriting with me. I print neatly and quickly but my handwriting has always been barely legible if I draw the letters very slowly. I type everything I can.

Update:

I received Merle's comment almost as soon as I posted this. I wasn't clear about the missing computer and her current teacher wasn't at fault.

Here's basically what I replied to Merle:

I should have told the whole computer story. Elcie didn't mention it to me until last week. In the meantime, her new teacher was trying to arrange to purchase one for her; not realizing she's had her own (courtesy of the District) for years. The teacher has had some serious family problems and has been trying to juggle her teaching with the family issues which must be her highest priority.

I know we talked about Elcie's computer before school ended last year and I'm sure the teacher was just at the end of her personal rope and forgot. (I can understand that, believe me).

As soon as I mentioned that Elcie had one, the teacher tracked it down the very next day and is already plotting improvements or even replacement. She's wonderful - no nonsense in her classroom but a lot of common sense and willingness to listen.

At times the school is responsible for some of our problems but this lapse is forgiveable. I don't know why Elcie never mentioned it to anyone. Maybe she forgot too?

This is brief?

I think they're all healthy enough for school tomorrow or were when they went to bed. I hope so.

Thanks to all for the comments and the kind thoughts. I'll see what more I can find out tomorrow. Told Ray I'd try to get over as soon as the girls leave for school. I'll just keep my distance again - he doesn't need my cold.

Glad you enjoyed the joke (see below if you haven't read it). Ray doesn't drive, never has, so I don't have to worry about cooking eggs with a Greek chorus behind me. He's always been the navigator and a very good one. We complement each other nicely. Since he doesn't drive, he's not about to criticize me.

I am a terrible passenger though. I don't carp openly but I grab the sissy bar on the door, try to use the brake on the passenger side, and even gasp from time to time. My older son laughs at me. I'm sure I have control issues. If I'm in my own car, I'm driving unless Jim is along on a longer trip and I'm just too tired to continue.

Take care everyone.