Henry

Last night Henry slept out of his crate for the first time. He spent most of the night on the bed, where his whole thirty-five pounds kept Troy from stretching out properly. I think the decision to let him sleep out had a lot to do with the story from my previous post. I reread it again today with the same reaction- complete waterworks. I feel very lucky to have Henry. Have I mentioned how cute he is?!?

I'm trying to come up with some cool things to talk about. School, grad school, and Henry consume all my time, so they are all I really have to talk about. I'd talk about Troy, but I don't think this is the place, unless its a funny anecdote. So my devoted reader will just have to put up with the mundane details of my life. Love you, T!

Most Depressing Story Ever

To read, go here: http://www.repeatafterus.com/title.php?i=7483

So maybe you won't want to read it. I find it to be very sad, and I cried in the middle of one of my graduate courses as I read it aloud with a partner. Horrific as it is, I felt it was an important story to read.

The highlight of the class? Finding out I made a 100% on the midterm. The prof actually wrote "A+" on the paper. I'm so showing to all my students tomorrow!

IEPs

In theory, the individualized education program is a wonderful idea. No longer will children be forced to survive solely on the cookie cutter education that their "normal" peers receive! Hoorah- for the special needs child will get exactly what they need! But... wait... The students still have to learn the same amount of material and pass the same tests as their "normal" peers. In other words, the President of the United States must think that my Masters in Special Education is the same thing as a freakin' magic wand. They don't get division on their own? Let me tap them twice on the head with my wand and they'll be doing calculus. Enough on that.

I'm slightly up in the air about getting another dog this summer. Henry is an amazing little guy who really deserves a pal to play with while we're at work all day. Two dogs also multiplies the work exponentially. For example, its really easy to take Henry with us when we travel. Two dogs would probably have to stay home and get walked and fed by a neighbor. Its so hard to decide! Plus, Henry's growing out of the puppy stage, and I miss having a teeny tiny little dog around. I think Henry's best interest should win out, which would involve someone to keep him company.

Monday's nearly over. Hopefully the rest of the week goes as fast as today did.

Maryland, Part 2

Home again. The laundry has been started and Henry's had his bath. He got really dirty playing in Jack's backyard, but boy did he have fun! The drive home was fine- I slept at least half the way.

We spent nearly an hour with Meme today, and it was much better than yesterday. We took in some photos that I printed off the computer and she really liked them. Our conversation today was more about family and memories. I tried to talk a lot about things that happened years ago, since I think her long-term memory is better than her short-term memory. She would change some names around, but that's fairly normal for older people. She made a couple of off-the-wall comments, but they weren't nearly as strange as yesterday's visit. I think she's a lot more lucid in the mornings.

I'm going to try to write to her twice a week. I really feel bad that she's in the nursing home and in such rough shape. I wish there was more I could do.

We're going to be bums this evening- this week will be back to the norm for me with tutoring and classes, so I'll be busy. It's crunch time for the next several months. No more slouching off!

Maryland, Part 1

Man. This trip has not been the usual good time. Jack and the kids are great- we got to see Johnny, which was a surprise. He was supposed to be training all weekend, but they let him come home overnight last night. We had a nice dinner with Jack, Johnny, Lauren, and Debby Saturday. I got to eat crabs for the first time in years and shredded several fingers in the process. They were really good, though. The problem? Meme.

Sometimes she's really with it. She asked about all the family, wanted to know if Teresa was ever going to get married, and enjoyed the doughnut holes we brought. Then, she'd say things like her roommate was new and just moved in (she's been there for four years) and, "That tree is a dalmation" (completely fruit-loopy- no trees in sight). She even got pretty mean at a couple of times, like when I told her roommate that her family looked really nice (there were photos of her grandchildren everywhere). Meme said, in a really mean tone I've seldom heard her use, "That's not her family." It was just really weird. Her posturing is pretty bad, but I'm used to that. I was just a little shocked at how it is to communicate with her.

I visited with Aunt Teresa, Uncle Bob, and Casey yesterday. They're doing really well, aside from the stress of dealing with Meme. Its shocking to be presented with her deterioration, but I'm sure its worse to be presented with it on an almost daily basis when you go to visit. Casey is incredibly tall and teenagery, with girls calling and playing music too loud. He's still a good kid.

I'm done rambling. We're still in Maryland as of this post. We're going to visit Meme one more time (small doses are best), go to Nana and Grandpa's house to show Troy the progress we made at Christmas, eat lunch at Chipotle, and head home. Troy's been great about all the family stuff this weekend. I think I would've had a breakdown yesterday if it hadn't been for him. He's a good man, and I love him so much! More on the rest of the trip later...