A Sick Kid , Cool Shoes, and the 100th Day of School

Don't mind my randomness today.

A Sick Kid...

I received the wake up call at 4:45 this morning.  The one where you hear..."mom...mom...mom..." in the tiniest of voices.

I wasn't sure if I was dreaming but when I felt his little hand squeeze my finger I knew something was not quite right.  "I threw-up," he said.  So, of course, he climbed into our bed.  I took his temperature and  knew I would be making sub plans this morning. 

While the stress of having to care for so many different things can take it's toll, somewhere between typing today's sub plans, taking a shower, driving to town to get my classroom ready, and driving back to the country to take care of my sick boy for the day, I realized this is okay. Being sick is never fun.  Taking care of sick ones is never fun.  Cleaning messes is never fun.  But one day, this 11 year old boy won't need me to take care of him any longer.  So for today, I simply say thank you. It may not be fun, but I am grateful that I can be here for him.

Cool Shoes...

After arriving back home before the girl had to go to school, I was reminded of how much of a teenager she is becoming.  Here was our conversation before my mom headed to town to take her to school.
"I have my field trip to Mars, today."
"Oh yeah, I forgot.  You must be so excited."
"Yeah, it should be fun. I hope we make it there and that we don't end up dying or having to abort the mission."
"I hope so too."  "Try to make it home in one piece!"
(She's headed to Challenger Learning Center for a simulated journey to Mars as a part of her science curriculum)
Five minutes later...
"I love these shoes! They are the coolest shoes ever!"
This coming from the child who has never seemed to care about her appearance. Her dad and I don't usually splurge on name brand items, but for Christmas we gave in and got her a pair of Converse All Star tennies.

 Don't mind her size 10 foot. While, I have accepted the fact that she is taller than me, and that I will never again be able to rest my chin on the top of her head, I am not very happy about it. Just another way of God allowing me to realize that they are just ours for a short time!

And the 100th Day of School...

 

At school today, my students are enjoying the 100th day of first grade.  I haven't gotten to teach this day for the past five years, since it has fallen on my partner's teaching day.  After arriving back home, I realized that I was feeling a bit bummed about missing out on this special day.  Caleb, being the trooper that he is, said that he would do the activities.  Given that he's in the 6th grade, I didn't see how the activities I had planned for 6 year old's would be appropriate, so I improvised.  First, I had him type 100 words on the computer, while I sat in the "comfy" chair and watched.  Then I let him build me a Lego structure using 100 Legos. Much harder than he had anticipated. He started out trying to do an RC version--

but gave up and created a vehicle with hidden compartments for some of the 100 pieces!  (Don't mind the dust...it's a liability luxury of living in the country!)

That hour really wore him down, so he headed back to my comfy cozy bed for a nap! Maybe for lunch I will let him take 100 bites of a saltine cracker or 100 slurps of chicken broth!