I was up about ten minutes late again, but that was more about being lazy than about the need for more sleep. I started calisthenics somewhere near 545am and it took me until 555am to finish. I didn’t sit down in front of my PC until almost 6am.
Jacob came to us in the middle of the night sharing that his stomach was upset and wanting Tagament. Mindy upped and fetched it for him. Not an hour later he came in again to let us know that he threw up. Mindy already had the day scheduled off so she could take Bella to an appointment in the AM, so Jacob being ill wasn't the wrench it could've been. I could hear him upstairs still moaning and groaning all the while I did my meditation and stretch routine from the family room near 630am. I knew then that he wouldn’t be going to school.
That in mind, I didn’t bother walking Mindy until just before I headed out the door on my run. That ended up being around 640am. It was 37 degrees under partly cloudy skies. A pretty nice late winter morning, really. The day’s high was forecasted to be in the upper 50s with scattered clouds and sunshine. Spring is definitely in the air early. Before running off, I checked our trash can resting at the curb. It was already emptied. I ran the full 4.1 miles without incident. It was nice run. I passed the older gentleman out walking without his wife. They’re often out there together speed walking regardless of the elements. They both look to be in their 80’s.
Mindy asked about making my breakfast when I woke her just ahead of my run. I shared that she needn't worry about it. I planned to make it myself. To that end, I decided to make a cheese omelet. It was delicious.
Headed up for a shower around 750am and was ready by 810am. And since I didn’t need to see either kid onto the bus, I was ahead of schedule. I went ahead and walked Eiknarf who was now up and ready to go out. Took care of that along with a few prep items just before leaving the house for New Albany
It was already shaping up to be a lovely Wednesday. Perhaps the tide has finally turned. It was sunny and warming up quickly. I took 670 east and didn’t encounter any traffic problems. Arrived near 855am and was in my office by 9am.
As 10am neared I was surprised not to see a hot topics list for our 10am call. I walked over to see the manager who typically sends the list but stopped by Max Shultz’ desk along the way. He & I talked for a couple minutes. Sister Jamie is due any day. Said his mom, Lisa is dying to hold her new grand baby. Made my way over to see the manager. She was surprised to see me. Said she thought I was on vacation all week, which is why she didn’t send me the hot issues list. Said it was already taken care of. Cool! I explained that I was on vacation two weeks ago.
It was setting up to be a quiet day working remote. And that I was most thankful for. I planned to take a lunch and head to Lowes at Easton
Was back at the campus just after 2pm. The first thing I did was retrieve and eat my packed lunch. By then I was really hungry. Mindy called mid afternoon to share how Bella's appointment went. Said she had just dropped Bella at school and planned to spend the afternoon at home catching up on some mounting to-dos. She left Jacob home alone ill, but called him a couple times to check on him. Said he was doing a lot of sleeping. She asked if I still planned to try and get home early so we could have a normal dinner before our rather hectic evening, which included a meeting with Bella’s teacher, then dropping Bella at gymnastics, and then an informational meeting at the 6th grade school in preparation for next year. Lastly, we planned to pick Bella up from gymnastics on our way back home.
Things were still fairly quiet so I figured to be leaving at a decent time. Ideally, Mindy wanted to be eating by 530pm. Come 430pm I felt well enough on top of things that I departed for home. I planned to take 670 unless, of course, I encountered an obvious traffic snarl near the on ramp. It was warm – about 58 degrees. But sadly, the sunshine around earlier had finally given way to clouds. I made great time heading home with just one minor slow down near where 670 merges into 70W. Was still home before 5pm.
While Mindy was in the kitchen dealing with dinner (pork chops), I got started on the three surveys I was asked to complete regarding Bella behavior patterns. There must’ve been about a 100 questions on each. The format was simple. (I.E.- Has difficulty making friends. Always, Often, Sometimes, or Never). I completed 1.5 before dinner was ready.
By the way, Mindy shared that Jacob was sound asleep in bed. It was just the three of us for dinner. The pork was extra yummy and was served with mashed potatoes, a garden salad and rolls. Mindy had to bark at Bella to get her to eat. Bella will often play with her food but eat next to nothing.
While I managed the rather simple clean-up, Mindy sent Bella to ready for gymnastics. Once again, we were leaving Jacob home alone. He woke just before we left. Mindy and I briefly discussed who would stay home if he were ill again Thursday. Said I would do it if necessary. We left the house at 610pm and arrived at Bella’s school a few minutes early. We hung out in the hall checking out the class projects hanging on the wall. There were another set of parents in Mrs. Anderson’s class room at the time. We waited patiently.
She was ready for us by 630pm. Mrs. Anderson has a student teacher with her for the rest of the school year. Her name is Mrs. Anthony. She is really cute, pregnant, and doesn’t look a day over 17. Yikes! The conference was very informal. Mrs. Anderson and Mindy talk all the time. We reviewed a number of Bella’s assignments and talked about some of her strengths and weaknesses all the while Bella played on the Apple PC in the back of the classroom.
The meeting was no longer than 15 minutes. Not only were other parents waiting to meet with Mrs. Anderson, but we needed to have Bella at gymnastics by 7pm. No real surprises. We walked out at 645pm while the net couple stood just outside the classroom door waiting. As we turned the corner, Bella pointed out that that was Gabby (Jacob’s girlfriend) and her parents. I suggested that we go back and introduce ourselves. Mindy didn’t want to, and Bella was mortified at the very suggestion. J Since we were on a hard fixed schedule, I acquiesced.
We took Leap to Walcutt to Roberts and dropped Bella right at 7pm. Perfect timing! Mindy told her that we might be a few minutes late getting back there to pick her up, but not to worry. We'd definitely be there before the class ends at 9pm. We took the same path back into Hilliard just a little further north to the 6th grade school. I think we were both surprised that they had assisted parking much like they do at Disney World. They guided us into a particular spot. We were ten minutes early for the 730p session.
Just inside the school we were greeted by a young woman who teased Mindy about her leg brace. Turned out being the principal. Said she tore her own knee up falling with her baby and had to wear a similar brace. It would be the principal and the 6th grade guidance counselor emceeing the orientation. Hilliard is unique in that they have the 6th grade-only school with the idea being to transition the children from an elementary environment to a middle school environment gracefully. According to the principal, it works very, very well.
The crux of the meeting was to orient us to the school hours and how the curriculum works. First bell rings at 725a and they’re dismissed at 215p – the earliest school in the district. Each kid must take 6 units, including math, science, language arts, and social studies, which each count as one unit. In addition, they can choose to take band or orchestra as one additional unit, which leaves one unit for electives. The electives are 1/3 unit courses that go for something like 12 weeks each and include gym, technology, music, etc. – six in total to choose from. Mindy said Jacob already indicated that he wouldn’t be taking band or orchestra. Wanted to know if her could take gym 3 times to garner a full unit.
We listened to the full presentation. Sounds like the guidance counselor has done this a time or two. We quickly had our answer without having to ask. No. One can only take an elective during one trimester. If a student opts not to take band or orchestra, they’ll need to take all six electives. I suggested that we all but force Jacob to try band or orchestra as our parental duty.
The presentation piece was over in 15 minutes. The question and answer session went on for almost 30 minutes. The biggest area of concern was the pre-algebra placement and the language/math development classes. The school picks the kids that will be placed into pre-algebra based on MAP scores. And according to the numbers, only 15 of the 600+ kids entering the Hilliard 6th grade school next year meet the lofty qualifications. Mindy was eager to know if Jacob was one of the 15. I doubted it based on his routine struggles with mathematics. It seems to be his most challenging subject.
The deal finally ended near 815pm. We were quickly on the road to fetch Bella. I think it’s fair to say both Mindy & I were grateful to be nearing the end of our busy day. I suggested Mindy wait in the car while I went in after Bella. That way she wouldn’t have to deal with her bum leg. They were doing stretches and interval training and wanted Bella to see the cycle through to its end. OK. We were there until 835pm.
Alas, we were on our way home arriving near 845pm. Mindy sent Bella for a shower while she relaxed in the familyroom watching American Idol. I didn’t watch much of it at all. Instead, I played on the PC. Jacob was up but professed feeling tired. I suggested that we wait until morning to determine whether he went to school or stayed home. Mindy seemed adamant about having him stay home.
Idol was over at 10pm, I believe. We all headed to bed at the same time. Eiknarf was sleeping with Bella. I had to find her a toy to chew.
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