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Location: Upstate, South Carolina, United States

I think that the Meredith Brooks' song, "Bitch," summarizes me rather nicely. Or, if you prefer, X. dell says I'm a life-smart literary scholar with a low BS tolerance...that also works!

Saturday, September 30, 2006

Constant Sleep

Basically, I wore myself down this week due to lack of sleep. The end result was that a cold that my daughter had for all of 24 hrs has now hit me for three days, and I feel like crap. Oh well. Alex was able to get a ride up yesterday, so he took care of me last night and nearly all of today. I made dinner tonight, though, because I started to feel better, plus we had already bought the ingredients. I made a grilled duck with cherries and red wine reduction sauce (used a cup of a nice burgundy, then we drank the rest with the meal), and then I made braised leeks. Of course I had to throw in mashed potatoes because Alex has a potato fetish. No really. He does. He's the only person I know who, when given a choice of two side items, will choose two different forms of potatoes. I could tell it came out good, but my full taste range is hampered by the cold.

****

So, 24 hrs after Ariana handed Andrew the Puppy, he handed her back a Thank You card. Oh my god...a child...a male child...who writes thank you notes!!! He apparently made it on his computer with cardmaking software, and he put in lots of cats and dogs in the graphics for her. He then wrote her a little note inside about how much he appreciated it.

That's it. I'm going to negotiate the dowry with Andrew's mom this next week. I don't care if it's culturally against modern American culture to have child brides or arranged marriages. My daughter found a good one, and she's just going to have to keep him.

****

A student dropped my class yesterday, and I know why. He obviously has a learning disability. He will fail to get instructions that the rest of the class gets, even when he comes to see me one-on-one. It's like he doesn't hear every third word. I feel badly for him because he obviously cares about doing well--why else would he come and see me all the time?--but he just couldn't get it. His church just tested him for ADHD through some psychologist. I hope he comes back and tells me the result. Meanwhile, I think he realized that there was no way he'd get through my class this term AND manage the rest of his classes. Yes, he was struggling with all of them. When he dropped the class, I realized that I was both sad and relieved. I was sad because I genuinely like the guy and wanted to be able to help him. I'm relieved because there wasn't a way for me TO help him, so I don't have to fret about him anymore. Well, sort of. I mean, I'll always wonder what happened to him, but I don't have to worry about him specifically passing this class. He's not even a bad writer--he just can't follow instructions to save his life.

****

Miracle of miracles, I have a cell phone now. It's a fancy-schmancy one too, and I'm not sure what the fuck to do with it. Maybe I'll get one of my students to show me... At least I already figured out how to take pictures with it and how to play Tetris--you know, the important stuff. I still don't know what the holy hell this "bluetooth" ear thingy is that came with it, but I guess I can read the instruction manual about it later on. Or I'll wait until Alex figures out his whole phone and bluetooth thingamabob, and then ask him. Basically, Alex needed a phone of some sort (he has no phone at all at his apartment), and so we were just going to get him a phone. However, my car has 152,000 miles on it and I drive a lot in it too, and the other concern was that it'd break down on me and I'd be stranded. So, we purchased a "family plan" for both of us. Yes, we share minutes, but that hardly matters. I avoid the phone like the plague. I'm not using more than ten minutes a month, trust me.

****

And the last note today: it's a long story, but it took me I don't know HOW LONG to figure out what my sister needed...and I managed. My sister is not the best at revealing what is in her soul or what is bothering her, and it took me many, many months to realize why she blew up at me in June. It took her getting mad again this last Sept for me to read between the lines and figure out what was going on. I swear, people knock English lit as a useless degree, but it's that lit analysis background that enables me to often figure out people in a very beneficial way when I read their writings. Anyway! Rose and I are exchanging constant emails right now, and it is all ok. I really thought things could never be ok again, and they are. Funny, that...she NEEDS me. Why didn't I ever realize that my sister--even though she's nine years older than me and has often been a spare mom to me--NEEDS me too? I don't think I will forget the hurtful words she said to me months ago, but at least now I know what context to place them in. I'm glad to have her back in my life.

8 Comments:

Blogger NWJR said...

"Miracle of miracles, I have a cell phone now."

Welcome to the 90's!

7:47 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sleep is the best thing for that cold. I had it last weekend. I rested as much as possible and took Theraflu. I feel much better now.

Sisters... regardless of what might happen, it's just the kind of relationship that is almost impossible to destroy. I know there are some situations where it happens, but for the most part, it's a relationship that can weather horrible arguments. My brother's drug problems put a strain on my whole family at times, and I had a horrible fight with one sister as a result. I didn't think we could ever get over it then, but I rarely ever think of it now. I'm glad things are better for you two now.

1:02 PM  
Blogger Canoes under my shoes said...

I'm glad you're back IN with your sister. That's important.

Sleep is nice. Your dinner sounded good. Hopefully the next time you go to such an effort, you'll be able to taste it!

2:03 PM  
Blogger X. Dell said...

(1) I hope communication between you and your sister continues to improve.

(2) Bluetooth lets you look like you're talking to yourself while you're on the phone. It's getting harder and harder to distinguish cell users from schizophrenics.

(3) ADHD? Well, there's obviously some kind of learning disability, physical or psychological. In either case, he might not be ready for college yet--at least not until he can regain some control of his attention.

Students like that are difficult because if you continue to teach them as they are, they'll figure they're "not good enough," or some such rubbish, and lose confidence. If they drop out, then they definitely lose confidence. Either way is fraught with pitfalls.

I have a sneaky suspicion, however, that you'll see him again in the classroom setting. Hopefully, he's working towards a rewarding college career.

(3) At least it's not illegal to arrange a marriage in the US. And I bet that they become very good friends. We'll see how adolesence treats Ari and friend's relationship. Otherwise, I hope she finds someone like him.

(4) I'm glad to hear that your new husband is the kind of guy to come back and nurse you to health--even if it's you who's doing the cooking:-)

7:00 PM  
Blogger Juanita said...

Kira, take my advice and put that blue tooth thing someplace..."special." So special that it'll be lost forever. You don't want to walk around with that thing on your head, looking like someone on lunch break from the from Star Trek convention. Wait! Maybe you do! Well, it's up to you.

6:31 AM  
Blogger Edgy Mama said...

Damn, I need some sleep too. And a new cell phone. I want a blue tooth, but I'm afraid people will think I'm a crazy lady talking to myself in public. Wait, I do that already.

3:34 PM  
Blogger mcgibfried said...

god bless adhd.
if it weren't for that, i may actually accomplish something!

6:19 AM  
Blogger Valerie - Still Riding Forward said...

I'm here, still, just under the weather.

Glad you figured out what your sis needed. And Bless Alex for fussing over you, I'm missing the mate again with this cold.

8:39 AM  

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