A Very Sad Day

We lost a child in our family today, she was only six years old. My husband's adopted sister, a full-blooded Lakota Sioux. She was put into foster care upon her birth, and luckily found our family. She did not have to endure being shuffled from foster home to foster home because she needed so much special care. This little girl was one of the sweetest and happiest I have ever met. Always smiling, always playful. As my daughter said, "At least she lived long enough to learn to do a somersault."*

The pathetic female that gave birth to her was a drug addict. She did so much garbage while she was pregnant, that her child was born with her insides on the outside of her body. Her first experience in this world was a surgery to save her life. Her life has been riddled with health problems, these issues have increased dramatically in the last two years. She's had tubes coming out of her body for most of her life, has frequently needed feeding tubes. Constantly getting infections. For the last year or so she has been in and out of comas; had issues with her ammonia levels jumping and her potassium levels dropping. Seizures had also come to besiege her. Recently she got an infection that moved in and attacked her liver and kidneys, basically killing them. In desperate need of a transplant, but not clear of infection and therefore ineligible. The doctors did their best for her, but her poor little body couldn't take anymore.

The fact that the thing that did this to her is still wandering this earth having never spent a day in jail, and probably still doing drugs infuriates me. This creature robbed a child of any choices or even the ability to ever be healthy. I will not refer to her as human, because anyone that can do such a thing isn't.

All this is made harder because we are 1200 miles away, and cannot be there to say goodbye or for our family. She will be remembered and loved by us always. I am glad that in her life, she knew unconditional love; and her parents and two of her siblings were able to be with her as she departed from this world.

*My daughter is very torn up over this. We just lost my grandpa in May, and less than three months later she loses an aunt that was also a playmate and friend. I know she will be fine, she knew of her aunt's bad health. She knows that her aunt isn't in pain anymore and was surrounded by family at the end. Her pain doubles my own.

Reflections on The Beginning of the School Year

It's that time of year again, school is about to start up again. Teachers in my district officially started back to work yesterday. Most of us have been back for at least two weeks, moving everything into their rooms and getting them ready for the first day of classes.

This year there are many, many changes occurring within my school and district. We have a new principal and assistant principal. There is a new Superintendent. We have three new elementary schools and two new junior highs. Sixth grade has moved up to junior high with the seventh and eighth grade. On our campus half the staff is new or teaching a different subject or grade level, or both. I am personally switching from 8th grade Language Arts to 6th grade Social Studies, World Cultures. I know several teachers spent the summer getting familiar with their new subject through the curriculum and the textbook. I read the textbook and got my word wall together all summer, it took 2 ink cartridges.

I am excited about the new year, grade, subject area, and group of students. I am also a bit nervous. I like to challenges, but find it disconcerting to be heading blindly into the unknown. I know that strictly speaking, it's not the unknown. I have always been one that prefers having guidelines and rules, and they have scrapped the curriculum for my subject. I am eager for the mental stimulation of work, yet am already missing the days of lazying around (though I am suffering from slight boredom). Each summer vacation reaffirms that I am not cut out to be a housewife. Despite this, I'm having a hard time shifting my brain to work speed. I've also enjoyed the time I've had to pursue my other interests to any extent I want. I must now relearn how to balance my time between the have-tos and want-tos of life; and shift my focus to the have-tos parts of life.

I am looking forward to the look on students' eyes when they make a mental connection about what I'm teaching. I also love it when kids gets excited about something they are learning. I am not looking forward to the bureaucracy or parent phone calls. Look forward to work related conversations.

I am also making a change in my transportation to work. I will be riding a bicycle to work unless the weather is bad. I began to do so last week on a regular basis. It still takes under 20 minutes to get there. My left knee hurts a bit when I ride, but no other side effects. I still have an old knee brace, I think I'll use it next time I go riding.

This year will teach me a lot about my job and myself.

Some Thoughts on Science and Human Rights

P.Z. Myer's blog, Pharyngula is one of my favorite blogs. He is reasonable, intelligent, and has a sense of humor. He even allows his university students air their ideas on his blog, it doesn't even have to be directly related to their course work. His guest blogger today is Shastra, who discusses the relationship between science and human rights. This young person has some very interesting thoughts on the topic of how science and democracy are similar.

I heartily agree with what this young person had to say. Please have a read and leave your comments.

The "Y" and "M" Block

A favorite toy of youth. Completed August 13, 2008.

A mouse for the letter M, so cute. Completed August 31, 2008.

 

The "V" and "Q" Block

A voluminous volcano. Completed August 10, 2008.

Queens are much too complicated to fit in a 1.1 square inch space. Asking questions is vital to life anyway. Completed August 11, 2008.