A dinglehoffer?

OK here I sit working and Makana says, "I'm making strangles of myself." SO I say, what? and look over and she has a plastic fork from her tea set and she has wound it all up in her hair! She meant tangles. I think she has been watching too much little mermaid!

Rambling thoughts in August

I just felt the need to share what has been going on in my life, not sure why. I am opening up a new middle school in a week. I went to Korea this summer for a study tour and was gone a month in all. When I came back I certainly felt behind at work, though it is summer vacation. I had to hire someone new as our number of studtnts increased and ended up taking a position teaching 2 subjects rather than try to hire someone to do that. We decided to just hire someone for the SS position that I was going to teach. So now in addition to planning for my one subject, I will plan for 2 while trying to make sure that all the teachers in the SS department are prepared and have what they need. I have not moved into my classroom completely. I bought a new puppy that I am trying to train. Adorable, but we should have named her the Energizer Jaws Puppy. I tne meantime my 10 year old lab will not accept the new lab. She is a nervous dog to start with and was spending as much time as possible hiding from the puppy. She wasn't eating much, but she does that even when I keep another person's dog while they are out of town. So I knew she was acting strange, but didn't see her too much and chalked her behavior up to pouting and figured she would come around eventually as she usually does. Sunday was my birthday. I woke up to my husband telling me there is something wrong with Nalu. I go to see her and she cannot move her back legs, is dragging herself around. How do you go from running with me and going up and down stairs to no control over her leg. She could still control her bowels and all and could still wag her tail. Bizarre. So we took her to our vet who took xrays and saw nothing that would do this, he sent them to a radiologist for a second look, some degenerative changes that would be expected of a 10 year old, but nothing to cause this. Then we go to a neurologist, yes, they have those for dogs. He wants to do an MRI, and possible surgery, deposit, 3 grand, about half if they do the surgery, but without it we have to euthanize her. Now I know that many people would just do that and we don't exactly have 6k lying around. But mentally and in every other aspect but the legs she is fine. She was our first "baby" as my husband says. So yesterday she had the MRI and the surgery, it was a ruptured disc. SO far so good, except financially I guess. I am still so behind in work and yet here I sit ;-) And somehow I have some perspective, because I could be crying my eyes out over my loss and I am not. A girl from work called and said that she is so behind etc etc, and I am having the whole faculty over a week from today, was I OK with that. She was totally checking to see if I need anything, not trying to up the anxiety. I said, you know, it will work out and if the house doesn't pass a white glove test, they will have to understand, I was busy, three all day workshops next week, plus all my extra. Yes, it is pressure, but worrying won't help, ya know. Anyway, I am not sure why I shared this, just felt like it because you all always provide me a place to put my thoughts into words and maybe make some meaning. HMmm, I could have done that without sending it into cyberspace, but an audience makes a difference. We say that in teaching, that kids like authentic work with an authentic audience, maybe now I sort of understand why.
So if you are dealing with stress, and who the heck isn't these days, maybe we all just need a little perspective. Maybe that is why I had to go through this with Nalu, but I sure would have liked to learn that without her suffering! I just kept saying, at least it isn't Makana, which in some ways sounds callous, but man I would have REALLY been a wreck then!
Kristin