Well the other day, I was in need of one of the secretary's extension and I couldn't find my list of numbers.  So, I sent one the students in the class next door to ask Mrs. B to give me the number.  When the student returned, he handed me a slip of paper with the following numbers written on it:  432-36100.  I asked the student to come back, because there were too many numbers and what exactly was the extension, so he came and took a look at the paper and said, "that's right."  With a puzzle look on my face, I asked him if he wrote this or Mrs. B, and he said, "I wrote that."  Then, I asked him what it said and he replied, "thirty-six hunit!"  SMH!  I corrected him and showed him the correct way it should have been written and asked him to have a seat.   The sad thing about this situation is the student didn't know that he was incorrect and seemed as if he didn't care when I corrected him.  

He is enrolled in one of my collaborative classes and the collaborative teacher never comes to assist him.  I mentioned the incident to the collaborative teacher in passing in the hallway and her response was, "really, did the kids laugh at him...I'll be in there tomorrow."  I have complained to the grade level administrator about her frequent absences from class, but still no help.  So, I just teach the general education students first, give them independent work and work with the other students next.  Hopefully, some of the information I give to these students will be retained.  I'm not hoping for a miracle, but I am attempting to get these babies to a point where they will be able to be functioning citizens.

A lot of people are losing their jobs and homes, which results in no health insurance due to our bad economy!  

The thought of being laid off, losing my home or no health insurance never crossed my mind until this week when I suddenly received a letter in the mail.  The letter stated that my short-term disability insurance wasn't paid and that I didn't have coverage.  How could this be?  The payroll officer in the payroll department takes those fees out of my salary every month...right?  Wrong?  Well not exactly anyway!  I thought to myself, "I need this insurance to cover the my loss of sick days during my absences from work due to illness and surgery."  So, I began to investigate:

I made several phone calls to the payroll department and left several messages and my phone calls went unanswered!  I decided to go pick up my check stub and pay Miss Payroll Officer a visit.  After reading over my check stub, I discovered that no insurance premiums had been taken out of my check.  After discovering this news, the thought of being laid off, losing a house and no health insurance raced through my mind and I immediately began to cry.   How could this be happening to me?  How could I not have control of my life?  I began to pray and God suddenly gave me peace of mind.  I proceeded with my visit to payroll and began to get an understanding as to why there wasn't any premiums taken out of my check.  Due to the number of my absences, the payroll officer thought it would be best that I receive a check than pay premiums.  That wasn't her decision to make and I was able to come up with a solution.  

After feeling the raft of not having health insurance, I now have a different appreciation for my job and home!  

On last Sunday, my aunt called to inform me of the passing of my mother's and her sister - my aunt and immediately I went into this state of shock and disbelief and I couldn't sleep the rest of the night.  Sleep deprivation didn't bother me because I didn't have to work the following day.  However, I began to pray for help, peace, comfort and the strength of my family members right along with a good night's rest...that didn't happen.  

On Monday, the day went along pretty normal until I received a phone call from my cousin (my deceased aunt's daughter) and she was crying and weeping some awful and I was speechless, so I just cried with her and prayed, again.  Later that day, I went to visit her and offer my condolences and help!  The next day I would go into the hospital to have a dermoid cyst removed and the death of my aunt would float to the back of my mind.

The rest of the week seem to go by quickly because I was recovering from surgery and nursing my incisions!  

My husband was helpful only the day of surgery and his willingness to help went out the front door right along with him on his way to work the next morning!  He was so insensitive to my needs and began to hype himself up about going to Florida with his brother over the weekend, until I was completely annoyed with him.  {Keep in mind:  my mother's sister passed away and I just had surgery}  I didn't express my feelings about how he was acting until Friday, when he was on his way to meet his brother for their weekend adventure.  Anyway, I told him how insensitive he has been towards me and my family and how he was leaving me all alone to care for our 4 year old daughter, myself after surgery and to attend the funeral!  His reply was "your doctor said you are okay and the soreness should go away in a few days and you'll be okay"...on the funeral:  "you weren't that close to your aunt anyway, so..."  I explained to him that I wasn't comfortable driving and that it didn't matter if I was close to my aunt when she died, we were once close and that even if I never spoke to her, she was still my mother's sister!

At the funeral:  Seeing my aunt's body lying in the casket and those pictures of her made the ocean of tears flow!  It was then that I really realized that I never had the opportunity to have a heart-to-heart conversation with my aunt (she and my mom had a falling out years ago and just recently began speaking again, but my aunt was a lil' pissy with my sister and I because we just favored our mom).  I would never get a chance to tell her that I was never angry with her, but she stayed away from us (my sister and I).  I only have memories of the good days and times my aunt and I shared when I was young...she's the one who really taught me to drive (although my father thinks he taught me)...she's the one who gave me my first car (her wrecked fifth avenue)...I only have memories, memories, memories!  I will hold them close to my heart and I have prayed that my aunt didn't carry any hate or malice to her grave, because I didn't have any of that!

My husband is home from his weekend getaway and is wishing he didn't go!  He says he spent too much money!  He better know that feeling was all of God's doing!