All Now Mysterious...

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Classroom Decoration

I need to go down to the district media center today or tomorrow and see if I can get a large, poster quality print of this for my room:



Sorry I haven't posted more recently. My first inservice (or 'professional development', or 'staff development') day was yesterday, and I have two more days to get my classroom in order and my lesson plans done.

Busy busy busy!

Monday, August 10, 2009

Parental Advice of the Day

"Even if you sing it in sweet, soothing tones, 'Enter Sandman' is not an appropriate lullaby for a newborn."

I can't remember where I read this recently, but I will definitely keep it in mind.

--
(Oh dear, I've just admitted to having heard a Metallica song without buying the album first. I expect Lars and the boys will have their lawyers beating down my door soon.)

Thursday, August 06, 2009

Big News!

My Mom and Dad had three children. They were all boys.

Of the three of us, A got married first. He and his wife had two girls before, by mutual agreement, he took himself out of the gene pool.

S&K, who got married last June, are expecting. They're about two weeks ahead of us, in fact. They had their big ultrasound last week. They're having a girl.

Nancy and I had our big ultrasound earlier today. Everything was laid out for us to give my parents their first grandson and to assure that the family name will continue.

Didn't happen. We're also having a girl.

The Y chromosome skips a generation in our family, apparently.

A Lesson

I first read this a long time ago. I had no idea at the time just how true it was. -M

Jesus took his disciples up the mountain and, gathering them around him, He taught them saying:
Blessed are the poor in spirit.
Blessed are those who mourn.
Blessed are the meek.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Blessed are the merciful.
Blessed are the pure in heart.
Blessed are the peacemakers.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake.
Blessed are you when men revile you on my account.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.

Then Simon Peter said, "Are we supposed to know this?"
And Andrew said, "Do we have to write this down?"
And James said, "I don't have any paper."
And Phillip said, "Will we have a test on this?"
And Bartholomew said, "Do we have to turn this in?"
And John said, "The other disciples didn't have to learn this."
And Matthew said, "May I go to the bathroom?"
And Judas said, "What does this have to do with real life?"

Then one of the Pharisees who was present asked for Jesus' lesson plan and inquired of Jesus, "Where are your anticipatory set of goals and objectives in the cognitive domain?"

And Jesus wept.

-Author unknown

Wednesday, August 05, 2009

Perfect Timing

As many of you may know, Nancy has been on IV Therapy for the last ten (not four) weeks or so. She receives two liters of fluid each day via IV to combat dehydration and to get some glucose, electrolytes, and vitamins into her system. We have all the equipment to do the IV drips here at home, but she has to go into a clinic twice a week to have her shunt changed. I typically go with her, at least until the school year begins.

She usually goes in on Tuesdays and Fridays, but if she has trouble with the shunt, she'll go in and get it changed early. That was the case last Thursday. She had experienced some swelling, and the fluid wasn't flowing as it should. So we went in and she got the shunt replaced, with the next appointment set for Monday, four days thence.

We went in on Monday, and the nurse had some difficulty getting a good stick. It's hard to find a vein to use in Nancy's arms anyway; they're usually too deep to find visually, so they have to use an ultrasound to find a viable vein. Monday's experience was even more problematic. The nurse kept doing the stick, but was unable to get good blood return. (Blood return is important in this process. No blood coming out = No fluid going in.) She thought she might be running into valves, which were preventing the catheter from accessing the veins. She also said it might be stress. Nancy was already stressed at the beginning of the appointment due to a conversation with a less-than-helpful rep at her insurance company, and of course the multiple sticks only added to her stress level.

After the fourth failed stick, the nurse advised her to take some time to relax and try again later. We had tentative appointments set up for later that evening and the following (Tuesday) afternoon. We ended up going swimming Monday evening—with the shunt out, it was the first time she's been able to get in the water in ten weeks or so.

So yesterday we went back to the clinic, and two different nurses started working on Nancy. One of them brought in a CD player with some relaxing music on it. It was a collection of pieces by Handel, designed to calm and relax the listener. Just what the doctor ordered, so to speak.

Anyway, over the next hour or so, they tried three more sticks, none of which took. Nancy had done only half a liter of fluid on Monday and none yet on Tuesday, so dehydration could have been an issue. Dehydration makes it harder to get a good stick because the veins tend to flatten if your fluid levels are low. Anyway, at this point the nurses started talking about other options like getting a permanent picc line installed, or maybe even a feeding tube. Nevertheless, they decided to try one more stick, even if it only lasted a day or two until her scheduled appointment with her OB/GYN.

This time, it worked. After eight sticks over two days, they finally got a viable IV line in. And as they did, the final track on the CD started to play.

It was the Hallelujah! Chorus.

If all the world's indeed a stage, and we are merely players, we couldn't have asked for a better soundtrack at that moment. We all laughed, loud and long, at the timing. Was it irony, or maybe serendipity? Or maybe both?

Whatever it was, it was the funniest thing we'd seen in a week.


--
IV = 4 in Roman numerals. Get it?