SSIS*

(* So Sorry It's Sunday)


Friday after I took my class to Music, I walked back into the classroom to find a carseat on one of the tables. It was one of those instances where you see it, but you don't really realize you see it, but you know something's out of place. Then I heard a voice from behind the desk say, "I brought you sweet tea. Nectar of the gods!" Cousin Courtney was sitting there waving a Sonic sweet tea in the air. After I GermX'd and took a slug off of it, I got Nonner from his carseat and spent the next 15 minutes just loving on that baby. Snuggling him and the sweet tea was just what I needed to make it through the rest of the day.

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Friday after school my mom called to tell me she had fixed a skirt of Ab's and a pair of shorts of Sam's and they were by the front door with a gift bag and that I needed to run by the house and grab them before I left town. The only thing I wanted to do was GO HOME and get AS FAR AWAY from that school building as I possibly could, but I figured, heck it was only a few blocks out of the way. I'm so glad I did. On the gift bag was an envelope that said TGIF. Oh heck yes, TGIF. Inside the card were words that made me cry. Inside the bag were two new pairs of earrings. I love my momma.

Of course, she always knows what to say. I sat in her driveway and cried for a few minutes before I got myself together and drove on home. Basically she said she admired my willingness to tackle new things (tackling them feebly, I feel) and that whether I realized it or not, I had impacted 30 little lives (some I want to impact more than others - by sending them to Timbuktu).

I have come to the realization that it's not the fact that there are 20 children in the classroom looking to me for direction that I hate so much. It's those two little boys who are so very, very lacking in something and so desperately in need of something that are weighing on my soul. If I deal with either of them one on one, they are sweet. They are both smart and capable of learning, but they both have some major baggage. If only the world were different..... this is exactly how I felt at DHS. There are things that need to be done, but I don't have the capabilities to put a gigantic band-aid on their little lives and make it all better.

However, I did find that hugs speak VOLUMES to those two boys. Of course, they speak to the rest of the class as well, so Friday I did a lot of hugging. Hugs from Kindergarteners are balm for the soul. Even if they do smell like poop.

And Cousin Courtney assures me that when that one little boy is under the table it's far better than him being ON the table, jumping off and he can hear me just as well under, so let him stay. She's all about flexibility and obviously I need to be as well. I heart her. I admire her. I know she can handle this class exactly the way they need to be handled and she's going to do great. As usual.

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Kady finally likes first grade.

I'm so glad. The thought of homeschooling kind of makes me nauseous right now.

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Thursday Abby and Paul both stayed home from work and school before they were both sick with the stomach bug. It was that morning that I went in to the principal and found out the process for calling in. I knew I was next to fall. Sam came home early last Monday, KD went to bed one night with a horrible tummy ache and Paul and Abby were spewing as well. It's only natural that I, Weak Immunity Girl, would be next.

Thursday I sent a boy home after he complained of a bellyache. I wasn't taking any chances. Right after that I had a talk with the whole class about throwing up and the proper place to do it. Ugh.

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Yesterday, after sleeping till 10, I tackled the mountain of laundry piled in my utility room. And the kids and I had a movie-fest, watching such classics as Save the Last Dance and That Thing You Do! Both are favorites of mine and they both make me happy. I needed a day of happy, even if it was speckled with laundry throughout.

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Last night the whole Hoover clan loaded up and headed for the county fair (anyone else humming that old Chris LeDoux song?) Actually we stopped at Sonic first for burgers, then the ATM for some cash and THEN we headed for the fairgrounds. We got there about 15 minutes before the DEMOLITION DERBY started and let me tell you, I was probably more excited than anyone else in those grandstands. I love a good derby.

(For those of you who are new to the place, I drove in one four years ago. I had a purple car with a garden gnome painted on the hood. It was also covered in flowers, bees and butterflies. It was one of the best nights of my life. Seriously. You know, after birthing my babies and getting married and all that....)

There were some awesome crashes and KD and Sam both declared that when they're old enough they're driving in one. (I really thought Ab would be all over it, too, but ya know, being nearly 12 and all, she's SO above the rest of us right now.) Of course, we'll let them. Hey, if Momma drives in one, she kind of sets a precedence. Paul and I both declared that we're going to start saving now so we can both drive next year. We've said that before, so we'll see. Seems like those pesky like bills and groceries get in the way of buying and working on derby cars.

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On the way home from the fairgrounds last night I suddenly got nauseous and dizzy and those are the symptoms of this bug going around. I also broke out in a sweat. I figured that I was a goner. I got my pj's on as soon as we got home and after I tucked my tired, sweaty, dusty kids in I collapsed onto my bed to watch Family Guy and writhe in anguish. Instead I fell asleep.

If nothing else, maybe I can just sleep off any virus that threatens to invade. As much as I'd like to not go to school this week, I really hate to puke.