March 23, 2011
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The Daily News
1 So...Elizabeth Taylor walks into a bar.2 One of my favorite all-time actresses. Amazing talent.
3 She was also a crusader for Aids' awareness when a lot of people didn't even know what Aids was.
4 She went through husbands like I go through socks.
5 But she was an amazing human being, and wonderfully entertaining.
6 We lost one of the greats, that's for sure.
7 And so it goes.
8 Moving on, Part the First: It's funny how sometimes we don't even notice greatness while it is around us, nor great days when they are around us.
9 Yesterday was a great day, even though it started out ridiculously.
10 I went in all ready to enjoy a great day with my students, but for some reason, my head was reeling from worry about my Dad.
11 I won't go into a lot of details, but the other day I decided that he needs more help, and sent an email to my sisters voicing my concerns. They probably do a whole bunch more than do I, but he has reached a point where he is forgetting stuff, and feels that despite doctor's orders, he could eat anything he likes.
12 And he is becoming like a schoolboy who doesn't want to comply with teachers' rules. What he doesn't get is that if he doesn't comply with the doctor's orders, he is endangering his life. He just doesn't get it.
13 So the other day I launched the sort of come-to-Jay-zuss email to my sisters. I said basically that we can't soften and let Dad "cheat" on his diet anymore. There was this, "Oh, he could have this every now and again" thing that we all do, but if three people are allowing the occasional cookie, or chips, then he is possibly getting three times the amount of "treats". It's not working. Bottom line. And he knows how to play us, well at least me. The guy is smooth.
14 Anyway, I had a beautiful afternoon, and when I got home, I had emails from both my sisters agreeing that we need to get more help, and that we needed to clean Dad's house of any foods that could compromise his health.
15 I was afraid that we might have had a rift over that one, because you feel sorry for someone who wants to eat the things they love, but in a situation like this, you just can't.
16 It has been stressing me out all week, because I wasn't sure how my sisters would react. I wanted it all to stop, and to have all of his meals controlled by professional health people.
18 Well, all three of us joined forces, and are ready to see that my Dad is able to eat well and be under professional care, as well as our care. I thought my email might have triggered anger or disagreement, but instead, both of my sisters united, and I think we are going to see an improvement in my Dad's health. It doesn't sound like much, but when they both agreed, I felt like my spirit lifted and went to Heaven. Seriously. It might seem like a little thing, but to me it was enormous.
19 It doesn't sound like much, but I've reached a point in life where sometimes it's the little things that make monumental days.
12 I've always felt that anyway.
13 An umbrella and a friend, for example, could be as important in the scheme of things as six trips to Hawaii, or a day in Disneyland.
14 We learn these things as time passes.
15 So in many ways, yesterday worked. I didn't go to Hawaii; I didn't go to Disneyland, but I did enjoy the dreary day with a friend, and then came home to nothing but nice news.
16 Helene greeted me with news that we will probably get a wedding coordinator for Caitlin's wedding, because my baby is stressing. We found someone who sounds great, and is pretty reasonable price-wise. Is that a little thing. Certainly. Is it monumental? Yes, because I love Caitlin, and I think it will be monumental to her.
17 Moving on, Part the Second: Yesterday also brought with it a bit of embarrassment to me in the classroom.
18 First, my vocabulary list had at least three errors on it. You don't notice those errors until you see glaring errors on a handout. Fortunately, my students were pretty supportive. I wrote the handout while stressing about things, so I had a couple of glaring errors on it. Once it's printed, it's in stone.
19 I also walked into a rather strange thing. We have some students from Austria visiting our school, and two girls came in yesterday to observe my classes. I was my usual graceful host in such a situation.
20 Midway through my lesson, when the students did desk work, they called me over.
21 One of the girls asked about which American word meant the way you feel when you first walk into a room. For the life of me I couldn't figure it out. I was stil a bit out of sorts because of the weekend.
22 I was charmed to find that the word they were looking for was "impression". My room is lovely, and most everyone who comes in tells me that. So it was clear they were trying to say that their first impression was a good one. I was also pretty welcoming and friendly. So feeding them the word "impression" was clearly my pleasure. Part of their assignment is to keep a diary, so I thought that was pretty cool.
23 I always play nice music for my students when they are doing desk work. I found this wonderful version of Greensleeves that I often go to because it is almost impossible to recognize, and yet it somehow works.
24 So that was playing while the students broke from desk work and put vocab sentences on the whiteboard. The room danced with pastel markers and laughter flying every which way.
25 Somewhere in their, the Austrian girls called me over again.
26 One girl asked if the past tense of "fly" was "flight". I said, "No, the past tense of 'fly' is 'flied'."
27 And then I returned to my desk.
28
29 I really need to get some rest.30 Within seconds I moved back to those exchange students and told them that I was a fooking idiot, and that the past tense of "fly" is "flew".
31 Can you even begin to imagine?
32 Hilarious.
33 Still, the idiocy added to a great day, despite the weather and everything else.
34 Sometimes it's the little things.
35 So that's life, innit?
36 Umbrellas and stupid things.
37 Those are important.
38 It's raining, and just after 5 a.m. right now.
39 The rain is music.
40 I'm loving life. I'm smiling about Elizabeth Taylor because she has been a sort of companion over the years.
41 And I'm smiling about umbrellas.
42 Peace.
~H~
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