May 2, 2008
Willie still has his contact lens (until Monday), but the cone came off first thing this morning after nine style-filled days. His reaction really reminded me of the early years of Walter and my marriage. For many years in our early married life, Walter and I had ten-and-a half month contracts with the university at what I now consider laughably low wages. During the six-week summer stints when we had no pay checks (and practically nothing saved), we had to scrimp to make ends meet, dining on pasta and anything else we could afford on our stretched-thin budget. We became experts at making special combos from whatever we had in the house, until even our imaginative brains were taxed by the pantry that held only a jar of olives, a box of pearl barley, and a quart of V-8 juice. Once that regular fall paycheck hit the bank, all of our pent-up spending urges would come swooshing out, and salespeople at any shop we entered could boost their commissions.
When we took the cone off Willie this morning, he did two things in quick succession. First, he apologized profusely for whatever it was he had done to merit such a wicked punishment and swore he would never do whatever it was again. Second, he made a break for it, as if he had pent up urges of his own, much like our spending urges after a long summer. In this case, he had to investigate across every fence, under every out building, and through every narrow space that he had been barred from for the last week plus. Wearing the cone apparently adversely affected his hearing because in every test we ran this morning (regardless of pitch, decimal, or tone of voice), he did not return when called. When he finally dragged his sorry self back to the house, he was happy as a clam (can anyone tell me why in the world a clam would be happy and where this simile came from?).
Erin had the TAKS tests this week (a make-up reading test for having taken a pre-spring break vacation the first time it was offered and the fifth grade science test). Neither did any good for her back. Apparently, the teachers/principals/administrators want everyone taking the test to try their hardest. To discourage anyone from rushing through the test in the hopes of finishing early and having fun, no one is allowed to do anything except sit at their desk and read until every single person taking the test is done. One child got sent to the office for drawing at her desk (too much fun?). Since Erin was taking the re-test in reading with the students who had not passed the first time, everyone was very concerned that the test takers take their time. Erin finished her test at 11:25, but had to stay seated until 2:59 when the last child finished. Thursday, I was wiser and picked her up from school when she finished. Unfortunately, the Wednesday session had wreaked havoc with her back. In physical therapy on Thursday she was so knotted up that the whole session was heat and massage (no exercises, not even any stretching). Anyway, for a variety of reasons I'm glad to get this week behind us. Hopefully, she can continue making progress on her back after this setback.
We did manage to turn Thursday into a productive day. With Davis home for a couple of days and Erin out of school over the lunch hour, we made it a family event to attend the opening day of Gina's. For those of you wondering if the new Gina's would be as good as the old Gina's. . .all I can say is try it. We're going back (Leslie, do you want to meet there after church on Sunday?).
I'm going to end with a story that some of you will think I have made up. I swear everything I'm about to write is true and totally Erin.
At breakfast the other day, Erin started asking roundabout questions about her Make-A-Wish trip. After a few exchanges, I gleaned that she was trying to figure out if she could ever have a second wish. I figured she was wrangling for another trip to Wyoming (which was going to have to come on our own dime next time). When I finally asked her what she had in mind, if she ever did have another wish. She said she would ask to meet all the Senators and Representatives in Washington personally, so she could ask them to support the Conquer Childhood Cancer Act. I told her that it probably wouldn't do much good to meet them all, because she wasn't their constituent. So she amended her wish, and said that she wished she could meet Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison in person to tell her about the bill and ask her to support it. I told her that was a good idea. Then she looked at me and said, "I think the Senator doesn't support the bill because she's not informed. And I think she's not informed because her staff is incompetent." Another adult at the table said, that that wasn't true. She didn't support the bill because she was a [and he named something that starts with trog and rhymes with lodyte]. Anyway, I had to agree with Erin's assessment. I don't think the bill is on the Senator's radar at all. This would be a good time to go to my April 11 entry and refresh your memory about how to contact legislative aids.
No comments:
Post a Comment