Group Projects

My kids have been in the public school system off and on for many years -- too many to track. Every year there is a "group project" or two. No matter the class, the topic, the project, my kids get stuck with the responsibility. Willie and three kids in his "group project" have been hanging out at our house "working" on the project. After three long hours this afternoon/evening -- Willie and I were the only ones left standing, trying to work through putting the pieces of the so-called "group project" in order. The other kids just left -- I shooed them away -- we had other things to do -- like eat dinner. Most of the time, Willie was working on the project while the other "group members" were checking out YouTube videos. Arrggggg!

Week in review --

My mom hasn't been feeling well since Christmas. I attributed her low energy and general sense of not feeling well to Christmas and general holiday preparations. She planned for months getting gifts for 53 people -- it's her annual late summer/fall daily activity. (She's a catalog shopper extraordinaire!)

Since January 7, Mom has spent time at the LDS Hospital ER, followed up with a couple of doctor's appointments, and by Wednesday (last week) she was too weak to do much of anything. She and Dad got ready for a noon doctor's appointment, and Mom couldn't make it walking to the truck. Dad wheeled her to the passenger door and realized he needed help getting her into the truck. Liz came to the rescue, but by the time she and Dad got Mom into the passenger seat of the truck, she had passed out and began convulsing. A desperate call to 911 lead to a brief stay at Pioneer Valley Hospital and then an ambulance transfer to IMC. After several days in the hospital, Mom came home late Sunday afternoon much better off than when she left but not in the best of shape.

Mom's health issues are all interconnected and very complicated and difficult to describe if you are not in the medical profession. But, here it goes: bad lungs because of years of scar tissue build-up largely due pulmonary fibrosis and aspiration because of her pretty severe hiatal hernia; bad heart because of years of unattended high blood pressure; even more damage to the heart because it doesn’t get enough air from the bad lungs to work properly; water retention because Mom's bad heart can’t work hard enough to get rid of excess bodily fluid; severe leg and foot pain because the excess fluid in her feet and legs puts pressure on her already sore and painful neuropothy there; no energy because of bad lungs, bad heart, sore feet and legs, and a lot of pain. But, as Mom made it clear to the ER doctors, “I’m not dead, yet!”

She's home now with a few new medications, increased oxygen with a new reservoir nasal cannula, a lung capacity tester, a heart monitor (for two weeks), a finger oximeter, and a bunch of new instructions ------

She's lost close to 50 pounds in a year, and you wouldn't recognize her if you haven't seen her in that time. I (we) pray that she feels a little better each day and that she can build her strength and capacity to maintain quality in her life -- she's determined she can do it (but not without support and help from the whole family -- especially Dad).

Basketball - I've got to love it!

It's Saturday morning. The doorbell rings at 9:15 a.m. It's Allen, Willie's friend from across the street. He's ready to head to the Stake Center with Willie and Karl for a basketball game. At 11:45 a.m., Haley picked me up and we headed to the grandparent's home for our Saturday routine. Only a brief sign of the boys in my family - from playing basketball. A little before 2:00 p.m., Haley and I left the grandparents, picked up James from home, and headed to Hunter High to the wolverines JR JAZZ basketball game. We got home from the game at 3:30 p.m. or so. Annie called and needed someone to hang out with and go with her to do some shopping for Elliott's birthday (Elliott wants a BIG basketball court, not a play one). Willie volunteered, but not without catching some of a basketball game on TV. (Elliott was with his Howden grandparnets at the BYU basketball game, and Ross was home with Wyatt watching football - go figure.) After a nice trip to the ghetto mall, a bite to eat, and grocery shopping, we were finally home for the remainder of the evening to watch basketball. The Utah game was delayed on TV --we had to watch UCF and Tulsa finish up -- who cares about them. We went back and forth, from channel to channel, watching San Diego and TCU, the JAZZ, and finally Utah. The day ended with a win for the Utes basketball team over UNLV and a win for the JAZZ over Milwaukee (Andrew Boget's team).

Basketball -- I've got to love it!

Hmmm, what to write . . . .

Tuesday began with (you guessed it) another meeting. This meeting featured a guest teacher who shared effective teaching strategies and practices. We all know that teachers who are engaged and excited about their work are somehow magically able to motivate and engage most students. It was a very good meeting, and I walked away with some good stuff.

The meeting wrap-up was the best part for me. The guest teacher shared a two-minute snap shot rendition of Dr. Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream speech. He was so believable! He said he had practiced for hours with a DVD of Dr. King's speech to perfect his performance and decided to start sharing it with his students a few years back. It's kind of his personal way of sharing his deep-seeded feelings to and connections with Dr. King as the Monday holiday approaches. He told us how as a young college student at USU, Corretta Scott King made a visit to Logan for a speaking engagement and that he was assigned by the university to drive to the SLC airport to pick her up and take her to Logan. Obviously, that is something he will never, never forget. Mrs. King's advice to him as they parted was "be the best teacher possible." He told all in the meeting how those words have resonated throughout his career.

I love that speech! I was in elementary school when the speech was given at Lincoln Memorial. I distinctly remember something about it, but it wasn't until I was in junior high that I saw a film of Dr. King's speech at a church youth fireside. One of the members of our ward's bishopric was the school district's library/media director (Don Hess). When new movies came to the school district, he tried them out on the youth in our ward. I remember the I Have a Dream film/documentary like it was yesterday.

My favorite line in the speech -- "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

Braces Off!

It was a big day for Willie -- braces off! The pearly whites are free from position-altering metal devices. No more stressful visits to the orthodontist where the most pressing decision to make was always the color of the rubber bands (red and white, red and black, green and yellow, all red, . . .). We go back tomorrow for the retainer and a photo shoot with Dr. Stevens, and then it's an every six months check-up for awhile. Whew! Another phase of blissful adolescence goes to the family history memory vault.

Happy New Year!

01-01-10
A day to remember? Not so sure, but it's been a good day just chillin' . . . I read through the entire January issue of National Geographic, watched a lot of television -- the Rose Parade, football, a little flashback basketball, more football, The Office, and more . . .


Wille turned 15 on Wednesday (Happy Birthday, boy!). I think it was a great day for him -- breakfast from McDonalds, lunch @ Chick-fil-A, and Litza's pizza for dinner. I think one of the most important things for him is food -- he lives for it -- but his menu is oh so limited. Having a birthday so close to Christmas is a little different, so making sure eating out is involved makes it a little different from any other day during the holiday break. I think the best part of this year's birthday will happen on Monday, January 4, when the braces come off!

Willie, Meranda, and Parker found some time to play tennis tonight but not without first shoveling the snow off the fitness center courts (crazy kids).

Here's to 2010 -- I know it will be a great year!