January 20, 2015

Long ago, when I was a little girl, my younger sister and I were big fans of Scooby Doo – the original one, before that annoying Scrappy Doo came along <we hated him>.  Late into the night we would discuss plots and potential issues the gang might have faced earlier in the day.  I loved Daphne – she was one hot mama and I knew she and that Handsome Fred must have at least kissed at one point – I was 7 and knew all about chemistry.  Still, Velma was the smart one, and having also watched Charlie’s Angels, I knew Sabrina (Kate Jackson) was the smart one there and that brains over beauty was the true way to go.  If forced to pick one, I would pick Velma and Sabrina over the others.  Today – after poking my head into a different classroom, I was later told that the high school class had told the teacher I reminded them of Velma.  36 years later and I’m still the Velma.  <a little happy, but a  little sad that I’ve never reached Daphne status>

Showering and self-care.  One would think that it is a fairly and simple thing to do, right?  That lathering hair and knowing how to rinse it all out is self-explanatory.  Sadly, that is not the case and unless one has had modeling and parents or guardians who have modeled the process, it is foreign.  Today I had the opportunity to teach a 16 year old student how to wash hair, lather included.  I demonstrated on a chunk of my hair and showed what is required to create the bubbles.  There were still difficulties, despite that, and I almost wish there was a video which showed how to effectively bathe oneself.  Not all of us have been given such tools. 

After work I grabbed the kids and then headed off to my practicum site for a little work. I was given an id badge and a parking pass.    The latter is proof that it is actually happening:  shit ain’t real unless you’re given a parking pass.

Decided to celebrate a couple of things, mostly the parking pass, but also the fact that my kids hadn’t gotten the dishes done/dishwasher cleared and really…who wants to come home to that?  So off we headed to Bene Pizza.   It was here where I taught my children a vital Life lesson- I call it the Basil Situation, but it can be changed to parsley, kale, salad, etc.  It goes like this: “So, Ethan/Maggie <insert name of participant here>, how’s the Basil Situation?”  Then I quickly and surreptitiously flash my teeth so they can see if I have basil stuck in those damn receding gum lines and tell me before I make an ass of myself <akin to walking around with a huge hole in the back of your dress>.

Home to…math <sad face>.   I am not a math person, but I damn sure tried.  I think <and I shared this with Ethan after sitting with him for over an hour> that what frustrates people (it gets me, that’s for sure) is that he sits – he doesn’t ask, doesn’t share, doesn’t say, “What I don’t understand…” or “How do you…” or even, “Why do you…”.  He just sits.  He “figures it out in his head."  Bull capital SHIT.  You CAN’T figure that stuff out in your head, Ethan, you don’t understand the concept.   It is OK to fail, Ethan, you HAVE to fail to LEARN this!  You CANNOT get it all right and sitting there like that doesn’t help you at all, sweetie.  You have to tell me WHAT you don’t understand or WHY you are having difficulty.  You CANNOT just sit and get this via osmosis.  It breaks my heart.  Still, I sat and helped and figured out different ways to explain it, making the examples easier to understand.  We still laugh, we still make it work, but it is pulling teeth through a brick wall (new saying!!). <sigh>  One day closer to high school graduation.

Pictures:  Velma of Scooby Doo fame, created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears; The hot honey/lemon waters as we work on math.