Briefly

Quick update here. Too tired to go into detail. Plan to give more detail later.

Ruby-
Superman had a chance to examine her body in the light of day Saturday. He found no evidence of any physical trauma. No scrapes, no smudges of dirt or grease, no obvious broken or misaligned bones. So we now suspect she had a stroke or heart attack while she was out sniffing around in the evening air. We gave her a very nice burial in the backyard Saturday. It was helpful for me, anyhow. I may say more about it later, I don't know. Too tired right now.

C in the jailhouse-
He was arrested at approximately 11:00 Friday night, was finally released around 3:00 Saturday afternoon. He and S spent a little bit of time with their friends and the other mom who is involved in their life right now, and got home about 7 or 8 Saturday night. C and I had a good hug, which we haven't done in a while. Relations have been tense for a while. He told me all about the experience. I may give details later. Too tired now.

Light-
...was home for the weekend. She picked up her new spectacles. When I saw her after she returned home I couldn't tell she had new glasses at first. They look so similar to the pair she's had for 3 years. Well, except the nose bridge isn't broken and superglued back together. They also don't sit crooked on her face. That was the hardest to get used to. She's looked through crooked glasses for so long that the distortion has become normal. The new ones, sitting straight on her face, gave her a distorted view. She was having trouble walking through the yard because of the distortions. It was kinda funny.

I drove her back to school yesterday afternoon. We stopped by TC's house on the way. That was nice. If you recall, Superman and I were supposed to stop by and see her on our way back from taking Light to school last week, but Sproing's concussion nixed that plan. It was a long trip to school, with the detour and all, and I didn't get home until 9:30 last night, after driving most of the way back from college town in the rain. I was very tired.

Tired-
I was tired Saturday. Friday night was a very late night, what with my life falling down around me once again. I tried to go to bed early Saturday night, but was foiled in my attempt at least 3 times, so it was close to 11:00 when I got to sleep. But then I woke up at 4:30 Sunday morning. I don't know why. I took a brief nap before Light and I left, but it wasn't much. I stayed online until after 2:00 this morning, don't know why. I slept until 11:00 today, but have been very sleepy since I woke up. It is 3:30 now. The Braves are tied 3-3 with the Marlins in Miami at the top of the 9th. I like baseball. I like the sound, the modulation of the announcers' voices. It is calming, soothing. Baseball is not an action packed game. It's more about strategy, psychology, physics. I can sleep through psychology and physics. Nap time.

An upsetting evening

I have two items of bad news, and I'm not sure which one to share first. I'll tell you in the order Superman told me.

Our dog Ruby died. She was outside for her late evening constitutional and was evidently hit by a car. There are no obvious signs of blunt trauma on her body, but her neck appears to be broken. I think it was quick and relatively painless. She was an old girl, about 15, and in poor health. Her hearing and sight were just about gone, and the way she moved indicated she had arthritis. She has not been very comfortable for months now. This is an ugly way for her to go, but in a way I'm relieved she's out of her misery. It was soon going to be time to consider putting her down. The decision has been taken out of our hands now. May she rest in peace.

C is in jail tonight. What I heard was that he was riding in a car with two or three other friends and they were pulled over by law enforcement for speeding. One of the guys in the car had been smoking pot and the officer smelled it. So all of them were arrested and taken to the county lock-up. S said C hadn't been smoking pot, and he's probably telling the truth. The law in this state is written such that in these situations, everyone gets arrested. I don't know what will happen. S has gone to spend the night with one of his friends, and I think the friend's mother will take them down there tomorrow and see what can be done. I have no earthly idea what to do or think. I fear, though, that C will lose his state scholarship. We have an "education" lottery, and he is/was receiving scholarship money for at least part if not all of his tuition. I know that he could lose the scholarship, but don't know the law well enough (at all) to know the details of what exactly has to happen for it to be taken away. Does he need to be convicted? If so, of what? If he wasn't imbibing in the drug himself, what exactly can they arrest him for besides suspicion?

Anyway, there are a lot more questions than answers right now, and my brain is reeling from the onslaught of grievous news. That is all.

Let's see what comes out of my fingers tonight

Went to college town to pick up Light for the weekend. I know, we just took her back to school on Sunday. She had an eye exam (passed with flying colors, of course) the week before she went back to school. She ordered new glasses, but they didn't come in until after she left for school. So she's back to get her spectacles.

I was online briefly this morning, but was in a rush to get out of town and did nothing but zip through my email. Didn't answer all the emails I wanted to. When we got home this evening I was eager to check the blogs. But alas, my computer wouldn't connect! Superman to the rescue!! He called tech service for our ISP, something else I think, and finally got tech support for D-Link. That was the magic number. After quite a while on the phone he finally got it working. He says he had to download some new firmware for the router. Thankfully our desktop was online. So I'm online again, thanks to my wonderful Superman!

Which is ironic. Because we had a discussion last night. A discussion about the time I spend sitting here blogging. He thinks I'm spending too much time here at the expense of my responsibilities to home and family. Frankly, he isn't wrong. It was an interesting discussion. We actually laughed a lot. The upshot, though, is that I need to figure out how to manage my time better. Be more responsible. Exercise self discipline. Not easy stuff for me. Stay tuned to see how successful we are at this adventure in self restraint.

I've been watching the Atlanta Braves get their butts beaten by the Washington Nationals. It's embarrassing. I like baseball. I like it even better when my team plays well.

"So," you may be asking, "what's up with Sproing these days?" I'll tell you. He's a stinker. His forehead is still slightly sensitive to the touch, but he's otherwise fine from his bonk on the noggin. He is experiencing some allergy symptoms, though. The nose is snuffly, eyes are watery; you know the drill. He really is uncomfortable, and I sympathize. We've been medicating him as best we can. This morning he woke up with a sore, hoarse throat and a slightly croupy cough. He played it up well, sounding so pathetic. So his dad and I decided to keep him home from school. He barely managed to hide his glee.

Superman went to work, I took the other kids to school, then went to Le Grand Retail store and the gas station. When I got home the poor pathetic child was eating a bowl of cereal and watching TV. I brought a small package of muffins from the store and shared a couple with him. (I got those adorable little mini-muffins.) He took one and popped the whole thing in his mouth, then asked for more through the crumbs on his tongue. Eh. He doesn't look too sick to me. I came back to my room to spend what little time I had left of the morning to be online. He came bounding into my room, nagged at me, then jumped up on my bed and began to bounce. I said "Sproing, go get dressed. I'm taking you to school." Oops. He didn't even fuss too much. I think he got bored here alone, just the 1.5 hours he was here. So I took him to school and I'm proud of myself for doing so.

Randomness

Why isn't frightening spelled like lightning?

Giraffes are my favorite wild animal, elephants being a close second. I'm also rather fond of the large land tortoises.






Sometimes I think I'm too sensitive for my own good. When my friends grieve, I grieve.


We've had a couple of days of rain. The rest of the Fay system seems to be slowly passing over us. The rain is good, we desperately need it. Humidity is high, the days are damp and heavy. It feels very tropical. Temperatures are a good 10 degrees lower than they have been, with highs in the mid 80s and little or no sun. Except for the humidity, it would be almost comfortable.

But my indicator tells me summer is not over. The water coming from the cold water tap is still tepid, not cold. This is yet another thing I don't like about The South.

No, I still haven't applied to Lander U. for spring semester.



This evening I watched The Women for the first time. I can certainly understand why it is a gay classic! If ever you want a lesson on how to be a catty bitch, this movie will show you how.



Superman has another case of shingles. By that I don't mean he has a box of roofing material. Have I mentioned his shingles episodes before? The poor dear has been suffering shingles outbreaks for years now, usually when he is under stress and over tired. This time it is manifesting as pain along his right side from just above the knee to the armpit. It hurts to touch it. It hurts to not touch, it, too. He saw the doctor today and got a prescription for Valtrex. He gets so tired when he has a shingles episode. I think the pain wears him out.


I had another chance to feel old today. I was waiting at the pharmacy for a prescription to be filled. As I sat in their uncomfortable chair a fairly sexy bear came in to pick up his meds. He wore baggy cargo shorts and an unremarkable t-shirt. He didn't seem particularly tall, but wasn't short. He was packing a few extra pounds, not much, enough to make him snuggly. He had a scruffy beard that looked like the work of maybe 3 weeks growth, and it was shaped to cover much of his face. He had a small tat in the center of his left calf. I thought he might be in his early to mid 30s. When the pharmacy cashier pulled his meds, she asked him for his birthdate. He answered (number/number)1980.


1980 is the year I graduated high school. 1980 was two years before I met Superman. 1980 was 28 years ago, which seems like a long time. But in 1980 I was 18 years old, certainly old enough to procreate. This young man standing at the pharmacy counter was young enough to be my son. He looked way too old to be my son!


Yesterday would have been my Grandmama's 102nd birthday. She has been dead for about 11 or 12 years now. I miss the old girl.


That is all. Thank you.

Pride Celebration begets Blog

"Lesbian hair cut" sounds like a good name for a song or poem. I would link to the post where I got that idea, but he's afraid of my spam-stalker, so I won't.

Sproing is doing well. The bump on his head isn't noticeable anymore. The whole forehead is slightly puffy, but there is no specific bump like there was Sunday. He still had a headache yesterday, but it's gone today.

Some of you asked how Sproing managed to knock his knoggin. I'll tell ya'. He was running. (I bet you guessed that.) The kids like to run circles around the perimeter of the house. The back yard is fenced in, and on the driveway side there is a large double gate wide enough to drive a truck through. I know. I've driven a truck through it. On the other side of the house are the bedrooms. The side yard there is maybe 15 feet wide, and the air conditioner box (whatever that thing is called) is over there. The fence on that side has a small gate in it. Sproing was running through that side of the yard, heading for the narrow gate. He looked behind him for some reason (I'm not real clear about that part of the story) and turned back just in time to run face first into the metal gate post. He says he fell down and had to lie there for a few minutes. I've heard that Diva found him and brought him inside. I suspect Diva was chasing him and that's why he turned around in the first place. But I really don't know.

I'm getting excited about the advent of September. August is usually one of my two worst months of the year. February is the other. This August has been long, but the dreariness was interrupted by interesting interludes. Superman and I went camping without the kids earlier this month. School started and I mostly have days to myself now. I get to blog! I check on my blog buddies, and I feel more connected with people now than I have in past years. It has been raining for the last couple of days. This is a welcome break from the searing sunshine of earlier in the month.

Last August was hot and miserable (as most Augusts are around here). Early in the summer I had applied for a job in the library at Lander U. I was hoping to get that job, as it would put me in a challenging academic environment and keep me inside in climate controlled comfort. My other option was to continue driving the bus for another year. August on an un-air conditioned school bus is, to put it mildly, 3 degrees hotter than hell, and just as unpleasant. I found out 3 weeks before school began that I did not get the job at Lander. It was all I could do to psych myself up to get back on the bus. I was depressed. I had no outlet for intellectual stimulation in my life besides my husband and eldest daughter. And Eldest Daughter was about to head off to college for her freshman year. It was a bleak time.

All this came to pass. It was hot, I was driving the school bus, Light was away at school. September came around heralding South Carolina Gay Pride Celebration toward the end of the month. I forget exactly when, but it was in September. I'd been learning about homosexuality for just over a year, and still the only gay people I knew were a few of the teenagers living in my house and a couple of their friends. None of my gay acquaintences was over 22 years old. I knew I needed a more mature perspective on The Gay. I was excited about Pride.

We went. S and C and Sproing and I. (Superman got sick, if I recall, and I took Sproing to keep him out of his dad's hair. Not the best move I could have made, considering where we went, but we do what we must and it wasn't at all bad.) Sproing and I left to come home around dinner time, but S and C stayed until very late and enjoyed a lot more of the festivities. The boys said it was good that I took Sproing away. The evening brought a new level of bawdiness to the picnic. The crowd was very family friendly during the day.

That was the first time I had seen gay couples openly affectionate in public. There was PDA all over the place!! It was wonderful! (As I said, all quite appropriate during the day.) I had learned enough, become comfortable enough with the idea of homosexuality, that when I went to Pride in Columbia last year it all seemed so good and right to see same sex couples wandering all over the park. Ironic, perhaps, but I felt so comfortable, so at home among the gay majority in the park that day. I realized I had in a sense become more gay. I'm heterosexual, and I don't pretend to know what it is like to live as a homosexual in this society. But I had embraced The Gay so much that being in a park full of gay people felt more natural to me than being in any other group of random people anywhere else.

Then I left the Pride celebration and came home. Back to Greenwood. Back to hidden homosexuals. I was empty, but more eager than ever to meet real, live gay people. They are hidden in Greenwood. Where the hell do I find them?

Then it hit me. The Interwebz! I'm an old lady, you know, and it isn't yet natural for me to immediately go to the internet when I wonder about something. I'm getting better. Google is my friend. Google is my homepage.

So I Googled. And I discovered blogs!!! The first one I remember seeing was Michael in Norfolk. I commented or emailed, I don't remember which, and he wrote back. We had a little dialogue going. I asked questions, he had answers. I checked out his blog roll. I found other great blogs. Each of those blogs had blog rolls. And interesting commenters. I clicked link after link. I discovered some I didn't feel very comfortable with. I didn't go back to those. :) But OMG!! I discovered a whole new HUGE world full of gay men (and a few women).

I read blogs for a few weeks. I commented. (I like to spread my opinions around. I have so many to share!) In the beginning I think I asked more questions than anything. But it got to the point pretty soon that I was writing very long comments on other people's blogs. It was time to start my own. So I did.

It's not my blog's anniversary yet, and this subject seems more appropriate for that occasion. But I was thinking about these things today, and this is where my train of thought brought me. So here it is.

Refreshing

Today is garbage day. The garbage guys come by and tote our trash away. Our lovely little puppy, Ruby, is getting so old that she doesn't bark at them anymore. I don't know if it's because she can't hear them now or that she just doesn't care that much.

So this morning I spent some time emptying the trash. I don't know about you, but I feel better.

This or that

I want to go into more detail about what was said at Sproing's therapy session on Friday. But I won't do that right now.

Because it has been a busy weekend. Well, really, I think it's only today that was busy. A lot happened today. Let me tell you a little bit about it. (By "today" I mean Sunday. Technically it's now Monday, but I haven't been to sleep yet, so I consider it still Sunday.)

Light moved back into the dorm today. She packed up her stuff over the last week or so. She and her dad got it all crammed in the back of the van yesterday. We left home this morning, Superman, Light, and I, at about 8:15 to head up to her college town. It takes about an hour and 15, maybe 25 minutes to get up there. This morning we stopped at the big Krispy Kreme place to meet one of her roommates before going over to the college. I only mention this because, Oh. My. God. Are you familiar with the phrase Hot Fresh Now? Wow! Warm delicate doughnutty goodness with a sugar glaze. There are no other words.
But that's not what I came to tell you about. I just got distracted. I mean, aren't they gorgeously shiny?

We went to the college, found a tactical unloading position, and began to empty the van of everything Light-related. I stayed with the van and unloaded stuff to the lawn near the sidewalk. Light and Superman were the runners. It took a long time but not long at all (depending on one's perspective and the angle of the sun) to get everything up to her room. I sweated. It was horrible.

Finally got up into the air conditioned goodness of her room. She is in a triple this year. She and her roommate from last year (Monkey, you may recall) are joined by a third girl and are in an entirely different dorm on the other side of the campus. Much farther from most of her classes in the art department (boo) but situated between the student center and the dining hall (yay).

There we all were, Light and her two parents, Monkey and her two parents, and the third roommate. (I'll not name her, rather give Light the opportunity to find a moniker to fit the young lady) And one or another of various friends who dropped by added to the population of a rather small area. There was much discussion about proper arrangement of the furniture, mostly between the two mothers. Though I told the girls I realized that whatever wonderfully efficient arrangement of this furniture, I know they will move things to fit their purposes after we leave. Light, the darling, has learned to humor her mother for a time, and make changes when I'm not there. It's like a game we play.

In the midst of all this, as I'm sitting on one of the beds trying to stay out of the way, my phone rang. It was S, telling me he was concerned about Sproing. This surprised me because S usually tires to avoid Sproing as much as possible. It is better for S's blood pressure that way. I moved to a quieter area so I could hear this.

I learned that Sproing had hit his head pretty hard and was showing a sizable knot on his forehead. I prescribed ice, 15 minutes at a time, every half hour or so. But wait, says S, he's acting kind of strange. Like he's in a stupor. He's acting tired, and wants to go to sleep. Oh oh. Red flag. "Don't let him go to sleep!" I had S check the boy's pupils. Are they the same size, or is one more dilated than the other? Uneven pupil dilation. Oh, boy. I told S to wait by the phone, I'd call him back. I informed Superman of the events unfolding at home. Major change of plans afoot. We quickly said our goodbyes to Light and the other girls, ran out to the van, and I tried to get the doctor on the phone.

He finally answered his page, and I told him the symptoms I'd been told. He said to get the boy to the ER right away. Well, here at home we have my wonderful truck Manny, and the only two people who know how to drive him are in the van on their way back from college town. Also in our driveway is the Escort station wagon (old model year) that C and S own. It's down for the count. Inoperable. Oops. I had Twitch go next door to ask the sweet little old widow woman if she would be kind enough to drive Sproing and Twitch to the hospital. Blessed lady, she agreed.

By then we were away from the city and almost on the interstate. It's amazing how long the drive is from there to here when one is in a hurry and we catch every damned red light between the college up there and the hospital in Greenwood!!!

We got to the hospital and into the treatment room where my darling sons were playing together so well! They played rock/paper/scissors in between visits from the medical people. The doctor came in to talk to me, said that Sproing is OK. The concussion is mild. He can go to school tomorrow. Tylenol for the headache is a good idea. Ice on the noggin knot for 15 mintues every few hours will help reduce the swelling. Relief :)

I got to fill out the registration information and sign those papers right before the nurse came with the discharge papers and instructions for follow up care. Sproing was pretty much finished by the time we got there. So we all went out to lunch, as none of us had eaten since mid morning and it was now 3:00 in the afternoon. (1500 hrs)

The original plan had been for Superman and me to spend a little time alone, like kinda on a date sort of thing, then stop by to visit our new friend TC (who we met on our camping trip a couple of weeks ago) on the way home. We got home from our after-hospital lunch about the time we were supposed to meet TC. I called her and explained, then turned on my computer. I've been here reading blogs ever since. And did you look at the time? I have to get to sleep!! Why do you keep me up so late?

Updatey Stuff

Yes I did go to the volunteers meeting at the theater. Sproing asked me why I had to go out. I told him I need to meet other adults. I don't think he understands. Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.

The meeting was fun. I was the only newby. I saw a couple of people I have known from around town, seen before, or have otherwise been remotely associated with. Most of the folks there I'd never met. Somewhere between 15 and 20 people were in attendance. I had the best talk with a very elderly gent named... I forget. Cliff, maybe. He was quite engaging. Another fellow I just saw from across the stage (we met up on the stage) had what I believe is a Scottish accent. Don't know his story. He and his older teen age (or early 20s) son were there together. The second in command of this operation is a slight thin man, approaching middle age. It's difficult to tell his age. I'm sure I've seen him from time to time, but can't remember where. He is the only one who pegged my gaydar meter. Kinda swishy, but subtle. We shall see. Seems nice.

I signed up to work with costumes. This is community theater. If you know anything about community theater, you are aware that they desperately need volunteers to help out in just about any and every way. I heard some task descriptions that I could probably do well, and others in which I would like to gain experience. I restrained myself from volunteering for anything besides the sewing. I figure as I get more comfortable with the people, with the way the operation works, and my limitations, I may step up and help in a few other areas. I just didn't want to jump in over my head at the first meeting. I have been known to do that, believe it or not.

Diva was under the impression that I was going for a job interview, that I would be getting a new job, for pay and everything. I had to disillusion the poor child. Then today I talked with Sproing about it. He seemed flabergasted that Iwould do something like this and not get paid!!!

Sproing did much better today. I slept through the entire morning routine, not waking until they had been in school for over 2 hours. So I didn't see Sproing pitching any kind of fits before school today. And I didn't ask. Ignorance is bliss.

I picked the boy up early from school to take him to his therapy appointment. We only had a half hour slot. We needed much more! We have another appointment next Tuesday for an hour long session. The therapist also said if things get as bad as they were earlier this week, I should call the office and she would squeeze us in somewhere. She was perhaps a bit distressed that I hadn't called when things were falling apart early in the week.

There was a lot of discussion between the therapist and me. Sproing was not very active in the session. He talked to me more afterwards though.

I want to tell you about our discussion, but I'm too tired now. Deity willing, I will elaborate further in the next day or two.

Appointments and Disappointments

You know I don't get out much. This town doesn't have a very large or active cultural community. I've mentioned before that I would like to move away from here. My therapist is trying to get me to find the local community in which I can be comfortable. Her reasoning is since I'm stuck here for now, I might as well make the best of it. The best of it can be much better than what I currently know. The idea of attending Lander University is part of that plan. I have yet to fill out the application. I'm gonna do that soon, really. Ask me about it. Keep me accountable, please. That's one of my shortcomings.

A friend of mine forwarded an email to me yesterday notifying me of an opportunity to get involved in something interesting. It said:

Can you pass this on to anyone who might want to be part of our sewing team at the GCTheatre? I am working with some of our volunteer leaders and would love to have you involved. We are having a Volunteer Party and a short planning meeting at the Theatre tomorrow night (Thursday Aug 21) from 6-7ish/7:30ish. Please drop by if you can.

I believe I'll go. I like to sew, am fairly good at it, and don't take the opportunity to do it very often. And I think this will be very good for me. My friend said "...if you don't already know her, bet you would LOVE [the artistic director]. She is really smart, funny & down to earth, like you!" This is about as much theatre as we have in this town. If I want to meet local gays, this is probably one of the best places to do it, eh? ;) More than that, though, it will get me out of the house, away from the computer, and force me to interact with people! (Not that you aren't people. I just need to see some other live faces occasionally.)

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Another harbinger of fall: spiders. Superman and the kids were cleaning up some of the junk in and near the back yard yesterday. They turned over a large piece of something and Superman found a huge black widow spider! He reports she was at least 1.5 inches across. He gently picked it up (with a stick, not with his bare hands) and relocated it to the very back of our lot, behind the old tool shed. I wish he had told me about it before he moved it. I would love to have taken a picture of her.

You may wonder why he moved her instead of dispatching with her altogether. Spiders can be very useful. They eat other undesirables. Black widow spiders are not aggressive, but tend to leave people alone as long as people leave them alone. And if we tell the kids there is a huge black widow spider behind the tool shed they are more likely to stay way from there. Hey, maybe I should "put" spiders in a few other places around the house, just to keep the younger ones away from my stuff!

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There seems to be a theme with me and Chicago. It goes as follows: I want to go to Chicago for some specific reason, but I am unable to get there. Yes, it has happened again. Superman and I were planning to go to Chicago the second week in September. There's a biennial trade show in town then, one that he's been to almost every other year since the 1980s. Every time he goes he says "I wish you were here with me, I (saw, did, ate, etc.) the most wonderful things!" This year was going to be my year to go. But alas, our plans are foiled again.

Part of the prohibitive issue is economic. You all know the story, and are living it yourselves. Gas prices are up, along with pretty much everything else. Yada yada, whatever. There is an even more pressing issue, though. Sproing. Oh, boy.

This is my lovely son. He is very special.

I mean that in a number of different ways. Some days he is short bus special. That's the way he's been acting ever since school started on Monday. Monday morning he woke up in a bad mood. This was not an ordinary "I don't want to do anything you say" bad mood. No, it was an "I'm going insane and taking you with me" bad mood. There was screaming, irrational thrashing, complete melt-down at the very idea of putting on shoes, for example.

And it keeps going. He was like that Monday after school. And Tuesday before school. And Tuesday after school. Yesterday morning Superman completely lost his temper after dealing with it for about half an hour. He (Superman) came into the bedroom, totally dejected, and claimed to be a failure as a father. Oh, do I ever know that feeling! I called Sproing into my room and had him sit on my bed. He couldn't sit. He sprawled, he thrashed, he dug his head under the covers. He was complaining of being too cold, of his finger being infected (it isn't, although he has a small but painful scrape on his pinkie knuckle. He then refused to let me put a bandage on it.) He thrashed around like a fish on the dock. Nothing I said could calm him down. I was very calm, addressed each issue he mentioned with a low, even voice. I told him I love him, offered a hug and a back scratch, neither of which he accepted. After about five minutes he said he wanted to go see Dad. I wouldn't let him out of my room until almost time for Superman to drive them to school. He flailed a bit more because I wouldn't let him loose.

Yesterday afternoon he was a little more under control. We talked calmly, and I told him how much I liked his calm behavior. Everything went well until we came to math homework. They are reviewing things he could do well last year, but his skills have gotten rusty over the summer. Since he doesn't remember exactly how to do it, he's frantic. It's impossible to help him when he gets frantic like that, because he can't hear a thing I say.

I'm not sure I am portraying his behavior adequately. When he does this thing, there is no getting through to him. He can't hear. Nothing makes any sense to him. It's ultimately frustrating! I fear there is something chemically or physiologically wrong with him. Twitch and I were wondering if he has a brain tumor or something. It's such strange behavior.

And I can't leave him with anyone when he acts like this. A substitute care giver would need to be a behavioral health professional to deal with this crap. Hell, I need to be a behavioral health professional to deal with it! (He sees his therapist tomorrow afternoon) We left Light in charge when we went camping a couple of weeks ago, and that worked out moderately well. But Light goes back to college this Sunday. Besides, Sproing was not freaking out like this two weeks ago. I'm not sure I would even leave him with Light right now. Light, I am positive, doesn't want me to!

We will talk to his therapist tomorrow. I plan to ask her if we should take him to the physician for a thorough check up. He used to see a child psychiatrist, but the only one in town moved to the Midwest this summer, so we no longer have a psychiatrist for him. I suppose we could go to one of the large cities within 100 miles of here. That would be a real drain, but we will do it if we have to. We shall see.

As a result of all this we will not be going to Chicago next month. ::Sigh::

The earliest signs of fall

I've been moaning about how long and hot August is, despairing of fall ever arriving. Well, the Bradford Pear tree out front is shutting me up. Today as the late afternoon sun was lighting this side of the tree I noticed two small spots of red among the green canopy. Behold my first hint that summer will be over, fall will indeed come to the middle of nowhere, South Carolina.

Our temperatures haven't been as high this week, either. We didn't even see 90F degrees today. It was miserably humid. Sweat poured off anyone who exerted himself outside. But it wasn't quite as hot. Still, I'm glad I am not driving the bus now!