This new day

First of all, thank you! To all of you who have commented, written, and even called to express your sympathy and support, I greatly appreciate you. 

Things here have cooled to a low simmer. I had a conference with Diva's teacher, the school nurse, and one of the resource teachers yesterday. Diva is doing very well in her academic endeavors. Her reading and math are both within the 5th grade level, only slightly below where she should be here at the end of 5th grade. This is a vast improvement for her. She has been one to two years below grade level in reading especially, and somewhat below level in math since the end of the first grade. I am very impressed with that aspect of her development. 

The teacher, however, is concerned about her social/emotional behavior. She does not work well with her peers. The teacher is also very aware of how manipulative Diva is. It's very nice to talk with her and have her understand exactly what I mean when I voice my concerns about Diva's, um, "limitations." She has her own Diva stories to add. 

The nurse was able to inform me of some of Sproing's actions. Yesterday he had a very good day. He helped the 5th grade teachers in a group thing the classes were doing, and earned himself a free soda. He was named the most helpful child of the day, or some such honor. I made much over that. He seems to be really trying hard. But he gets discouraged easily and has his little emotional fits. He did that again this morning, though it was a small one. We haven't had a huge screaming crying fit in days now. I'm pleased. 

Anyway, I have spoken with a few people at the school and in the psychiatric office where our counselors and doctors work. I have some idea of the things I need to do; mainly research some of the residential care facilities in the state. I haven't done it yet. I have spent most of the last two days distracting my mind with trivial frivolities. Passive Aggressive Notes, y'all. Hilarious! 

Now let's discuss Mother's Day very briefly. (oh-oh. It seems every time I say "briefly" I end up rambling on for paragraphs and paragraphs. I'll try to do better today.) As far as honoring my mother, I'm fine. She may not think it's enough, but right now I don't care. I do what I do. My issue, however, is with being the mother receiving the honor. Ugh. I am not even sure what upsets me about it, to tell you the truth, but I dread the day. This year the whole mothering thing is so terribly difficult and unrewarding that I don't even want to be reminded. And I despise all the praise and "adoration" when it comes from my children who, on every other day of the year, are so damned disrespectful. That of course does not apply to each of my children, but it does fit well on some of them. 

They have in the past (but not this year, yet) asked me what I want for Mother's Day. I tell them that I want them to behave, treat me with respect, and treat each other with respect. Eh. That's too hard. A box of chocolates is much easier. While I think chocolate is always a good idea, it is no substitution for genuine respect. Harumph. And that's all I have to say about that. 

On a nearly unrelated note, Scheherazade had her baby-making equipment removed this week. She was not very happy about the process, but seems to be recovering very quickly. I took her in Wednesday morning and Superman picked her up Wednesday afternoon. She slept it off until about 3 a.m. when I let her out of the crate to have some water and move around a bit. Then yesterday she was jumping around almost as actively as before. She threw up (on our pile of dirty clothes!) last night, but aside from that she seems to be better than new. Or she will be better than new once her shaved belly regrows its hair. (I know, it's much better for her to throw up on our dirty clothes than on our otherwise clean clothes. But still. )