I Can't Wait...

I can't wait for summer vacation to arrive...I love my work, but it seems that summer is all I think about these days.

First of all, while I am working, it is not in my "natural habitat." I am working at the adult high school instead of my regular classroom right now, helping some seniors catch up on their credits so that they can graduate. Ms. Sherry G., a dear friend and former colleague of mine at the high school, has taken over my classes until the end of testing. The administration decided (and rightfully so) to leave her with my classes until the testing was over. I didn't blame them; after all, I have had two horrible health scares this year, and who knows when it might happen again.

Some of the kids here are very conscientious and try very hard to get their work done. Some spend most of their time talking and worrying about partying rather than working. It's a real shame--I partied when I was in school a bit, but I still managed to finish high school successfully. You have to have balance, man...if you can't balance work and play, then give up the play.

I miss my 10th graders terribly...they are the perfect age to teach. I've taught all four grade levels of high school, from special ed classes to Advanced Placement classes, and all grades have their positive points. I've learned, however, that 10th graders are definitely my favorites. 9th Graders are still too "twitchy" and that first flood of hormones has just kicked in...they are all arms and legs and have no idea how to deal with anything going on around them, much less inside their own bodies. 11th graders are okay, but have developed some sort of brain deficiency that makes them want to do things even a 4-year-old would balk at. Seniors are cool, but senioritis kicks in and they don't want to do ANYTHING once class rank is posted (or they receive their acceptance letters from college). 10th graders are the perfect balance of child and adult...they respect you enough to listen (at least most of them), they still have a bit of that eagerness to please, yet they have developed a somewhat sophisticated sense of humor. They are great fun.

I'll have about 2 weeks with my "babies" back in my classroom before I break for the summer...and then what a summer it will be. Graduate school online, needlework, reading, gardening, daytrips with my hubby, canning, playing with my stepson...I can't wait. Have I mentioned that already?

I've been gone so long...

I doubt anyone even reads this thing anymore. It's been a wild, wild time since October of '07...well, since September of '07, actually.

Mama had seven cardiac bypasses on 9/11/07, but came through like a trooper. She spent 10 days in the hospital, two weeks in the nursing home, and one week with me.

In October, I began having back/abdomen pains...nothing serious (or so I thought), just a strained muscle. The last week of October the doctor ordered a ct scan and they found gallstones. A trip to the surgeon Halloween night was almost too late...November 1st called for emergency surgery to remove a ruptured gallbladder, a cyst, and to remove gangrene which had set in. Two more days and there would have been no more me.

Seven days on a ventilator in ICU and five more days in regular room followed. I went home to recuperate, and went back to work on January 7th. Thing was, my incisions had not healed...my wonderful husband was still playing nurse and packing wounds. By the middle of February they still had not healed. Another trip to the doctor followed...

It was found that part of the incision went straight into my abdominal cavity (this is called a fistula), and each time I ate or drank it would cause more damage/drainage. The doctor ordered TPN, which is nutrition through a catheter that goes straight into your bloodstream, with nothing to eat or drink--that way, the wounds would heal.

Being a diabetic, the TPN solution sent my sugar level to 600 or higher--this, along with a staph infection and high fever, caused me to go out of my mind with delusions. While in the hospital, I tried to "rescue" people from the television, I was terrified the bed was going to swallow me alive, and I was convinced there was some sort of terrorist conspiracy involving (get this) people emailing me their urine. I kept whispering to my husband, "honey, don't accept any packages." Jeez.

Oh, and on top of the staph infection, I developed pneumonia and a blood clot in my lung. Not a fun two weeks.

To face death twice in one year--no picnic.

But finally the fever broke, the infection dissipated, and I went back to normal (a relative term if there ever was one). Thank God. I still have to take Coumadin for the blood problem, but I'm on my way back.

Things at Our House are finally getting back to normal. I have some upper arm pain that has not stopped yet (muscular in nature), but it is better. I cook, clean, and do a bit of work in the garden.

Speaking of garden, Greg and I are in gardening heaven. We have tilled up a big spot in our yard and have planted bok choy, lettuce, arugula, beets, radishes, strawberry plants, onions, and (eventually) tomatoes and string beans. We have over 60 tomato plants started, as well as some flowers and several herbs. I love to play in the dirt and watch everything grow...it reminds me of when I was a little girl helping Ma-Maw and Pa-Paw with the garden while Mama was at work.

Right now, a big part of the garden is Kitty Puss' personal giant litter box/playground. I'll post a picture of him soon--he's our adopted cat who lived in the neighborhood before he lived with us. He's sweet and so funny. He loves to roll around in the dirt on his back.

Life's pretty good at Our House right now. I couldn't ask for more.