Bullying

The day after I posted Carrie takes Loki to pick Shane up at school, she didn't. And it was a God-given blessing. Carrie didn't know why she didn't bring him, but it would've been difficult if she had.

Shane came out to the car crying. He said he was being bullied.

It tore at Carrie's heart.

So she parked and went straight inside with Shane to talk to his teacher. 

Shane said that there were a group of girls that continuously bothered him. There was a lot of teasing, but there was also a physical component. Mostly shoving and elbowing. He said got hit in the face by a ball at recess. He said that if he got loud or pushed back he got in trouble rather than them. He was frustrated and didn't know what to do. He said didn't want to "look weak" and tell, or "worry us" by mentioning it at home. He said the girls had threatened him not to tell, as well (Which my reply is, "Guess why? They really don't want you to! It scares them, so they try to stop you!")

Since there weren't any 'major' incidents there wasn't a ton of evidence, but it was clear to everyone Shane was affected and upset. For him to come out to the car crying, that was enough. There was one event over the week that would've been actionable, but Shane destroyed the evidence himself. He'd gotten up from doing some math, wandered away, and when he came back someone had erased his work. Rather than tell or re-do it, he threw the paper away.

So something needed to be done.

Carrie said it was a good conversation with the teacher. She said her "Mama Bear" instincts were roaring, but she had Shane do the talking.

Carrie and I left things up to the teacher over the weekend. Shane was his same happy self, so I don't think things went on for too long.

In some ways, Shane is a natural target. He was "the new kid" in a small pond when we moved to Scottsville and still feels that way sometimes. In general, he loves attention and will do almost anything to get it. He'll happily barge into conversations between friends without listening to anything but the most overt cues. Then he usually doesn't know how to take a joke. He squawks and puts on a big show or gets angry rather than laughing it off or turning it into a game to play along with. He doesn't have experience negotiating sibling drama like most of the other kids (A pro in some ways, but a con here!). 

Monday, Shane came home happy. He said the teacher changed the seating chart and there were no issues.

Tuesday, Shane came home upset. He said someone pushed him in the back, knocked him over, and cut the whole line on the way back from music. Of course, no teacher saw and he didn't tell his classroom teacher until the end of the day when there was no time left for her to address it.

I wrote to the principal and she followed up on Wednesday. She came out to the pickup line and talked with Carrie when she was picking up Shane at the end of the day.

It sounds like things have improved to the point they're manageable. There was one incident where a girl elbowed Shane for not moving out of her way when he was sitting down, but Shane's teacher saw it in the moment and acted. The counselor is supposed to check in and work with Shane on how to negotiate his way through things, as well. I'm writing this a couple of weeks later and there hasn't needed to be a follow-up conference. 

It stabs at your heart to see your child in difficult times, but my prayer is that the challenges teach him and forge him into a stronger man one day. At the least, I hope it will give Shane empathy for anyone else having trouble getting along with their classmates.

Loki wants his people back

Loki has learned what the alarm on Carrie's phone means. She said that when it goes off he goes nuts!

Loki is a regular rider when it comes to picking up Shane from school. She's picked him up every day of the school year, but Loki's only been in attendance for half that (It probably helped he had a date with the groomer for a bath!).

Carrie said he does something similar when I get home. She and Shane know I've arrived, because Loki get hyped!

I know that Loki doesn't like me leaving in the morning. He sits on my feet.

I noticed one of my shoe laces looked chewed on a couple weeks back, too. Stress related, perhaps? Or maybe Loki thinks he can stop me from going to work?

I don't know, but I do know he gets very clingy whenever I sit down to tie my shoes! 

So I guess it was according to Loki's plan when my shoe lace snapped right before I left.

I had to switch shoes! I didn't have time to deal with it then. 

The turd is lying at my feet as I type this. He's happy, though: We're all at home.

Comedic Complaints

I miss the bathroom by my old room sometimes.

The staff bathroom near my new room is right off the main hallway.

It's akin to an outhouse alongside an interstate. The wind of everyone passing shakes the door and you never feel alone. 

The bathroom isn't soundproof yet somehow manages to capture smells (and not the good ones). I don't know if the staff on this side of the building are 'more productive' or if there's someone with gut issues consistently making questionable food choices. 

For the first several days, I didn't know how to tell if anyone was using it or not, either. I was afraid I'd open the door on someone! I know I wasn't the only one to have that issue. I've felt that special dread that hits when someone else's key starts fumbling in the lock while half the school passes by as I relieve myself. Headlines flash in the mind's eye: "Teacher fired for exposing himself to students." 

Thankfully, there is a bolt. The door doesn't fit flush with the frame and I've learned you can see if the bolt is engaged. That allows you to avoid the awkward knock and key fumble if you don't hear the response over all the hallway traffic.  

I give this bathroom a final rating of 5 out of 10 stars. It's normally physically clean, but the sounds, smells, and location leave much to be desired.

Froot Loops Fail

I should've looked closer.

I bought Shane a variety pack of cereal at Costco. I didn't realize they all had 'spooky' marshmallows.

The only thing spooky about the marshmallows was that someone could make straight sugar taste bad. I didn't think it would be a big deal until Shane stopped eating his first bowl halfway through. "I don't like the marshmallows."

....well, darn.

I picked the marshmallows out as I ate. I didn't want the cereal to go to waste and I like suga...Froot Loops. 

I ate the whole box. All of it....minus the marshmallows. There were a lot of marshmallows.

Crop Duster Monday

We had our annual visit again. This video makes it look like he was going to crash right through our neighbor's house.

The crop duster was back. I swear he was flying way lower this time. There were multiple times I looked out the back window and wondered if he was going to crater into us. 

The flybys started during morning chores and kept up all day. He was still going at it when we went out for evening chores!

The horses ignored it for the most part.

It was new for Lane. He had one moment where he got worried after dinner, because Carrie let out the other boys, but left him in for a minute to take a quick video of the aerial acrobatics.

Loki desperately wanted to catch the plane, but he wasn't fast enough.

I really liked this one angle where I got the duster flying out of the sun and trees.

I got a great still that made me think of almost every WW2 aviation movie I'd ever seen.

Why was I home to video all this? Wasn't it a Monday? Yes, it was, but it was also a teacher workday! I had zoom meetings and an opportunity to update grades instead of chase kids. The ability to have virtual meetings and stay at home is one of the good things that came out of the global pandemic!

Getting Social

Shane and Hazel got together to play video games this weekend. They hadn't seen each other in months and months! Our schedules failed to mesh up all summer.

I was happy, because it gave me a chance to beat The Crew with Scott and Mark! 

We tried an EXIT game, as well. It was a challenging one. Mark was into it, but Scott seemed to get frustrated at times.

It wasn't the most active meetup for Shane, but being social is being social! By the end his energy was pent up and his stomach was empty, so we said goodbye for the day.

I was feeling generous, so we got a special snack on the way home! It tided us over while we shopped for groceries at Wegmans.

Other than soccer, the trip to see Hazel was our only social outing of the weekend. Shane's had a cough at night and in the morning. No, I don't think it's COVID(He still complains if I fart). Shane's a little snotty and he gets congested laying down, but it goes away during the day and there's no fever or the like. He took some allergy meds one day (a pill!) and said it helped.

A cough/cold used to not be such a big deal, but the COVID climate makes me hesitant to go on too many adventures when everyone's not 100% (Especially after Jama got it! She's okay, though, thanks to having been vaccinated).  

I'm glad we got some activity in. It used to be I'd try to drive Shane all over the place! Maybe the quiet weekends help him to be excited about school. Shane enjoys his education way more than I did at his age.

Is it still good to eat?

Did I mention Carrie washed my phone?

Washed, not cleaned. My phone went straight into the washing machine.

We pulled it out after a few minutes and put it in rice.

It still works. We left it in rice overnight. The volume on the phone was off for a little (and water even came out of the speakers), but two days after the incident it was fully functional.

So how does that happen? A lot easier than you'd expect.

I was in the bedroom working on the computer. My phone was with me or on the bed. Carrie came in and asked me to help her with the sheets.

Now, when Carrie wants help with something she doesn't wait long before she just starts doing it. In this case, she was already grabbing at the sheets as she asked!

I hopped up to help her and she scooped everything up. I might have put my phone on the bed or the bed frame, but at some point it got scooped. 

And Carrie was on the move.

I might have stopped to notice my phone was gone, but Carrie asked me to open the door. She said the big bundle was awkward and made her injured wrist hurt. I offered to Carrie it, but she insisted I get the door. 

At that point, I could've slowed things down. However, the laundry was getting done and if I'm going to disagree with something it won't be over someone doing a chore!

Which led to my phone going for a swim. I opened and closed the bedroom door and the washroom doors for Carrie. I even saw her throw the bundle in before I went back to the bedroom. I realized my phone wasn't in my pocket and started to look around. When I didn't find it, I started to realize what might have happened. 

I came out of the bedroom and asked, "Did you check the laundry load before turning it on?"

Awkward eye contact ensued. "Whhhyyy?"

"I can't find my phone."

I asked Carrie to call it, but we still couldn't locate it. 

At that point, we rushed to the laundry room and turned off the wash.

Yup. There it was. Still on and everything! Thank God, it still works! 

What We've Been Reading

Shane read the first book from the Wings of Fire. We picked it up the day he came back from SC. I read the prologue and first chapter out loud, but Shane took over and read the rest of the book on his own. 

He really liked it. I told him that I'd be happy to buy the 2nd book once he finished the first, but he found it at his school library!

Shane seems to have stalled out on reading Book 2, though. I was hoping he'd keep powering through, so I could dangle Book 3 as motivation to keep reading. 

He's been more apt to flip through a random assortment of other books. I took him by a used book store and despite my offers to buy whatever he wanted he had "trouble finding anything interesting." He wanted some Minecraft books and then I forced him to pick up Artemis Fowl (Not that he's opened it).

Shane's much more likely to flip through a comic. He keeps some Calvin and Hobbes and Far Sides up in his bed to read at night. He likes to use Epic on the computer, as well. He's a big fan of......SMURFS!?!?

I was surprised when Shane started asking me questions about the smurfs and Gargamel. I knew they were a comic series from when I was kid, but since the TV series ended in the 80's I didn't think they were a thing anymore.  

Well, Shane's a big fan! He discovered Peanuts on Epic, too. They apparently have a selection of classic comics and that's Shane's jam. Shane can only view a book a day at home on the free account, but he has multiple accounts due to having a school one and then the one I set up.

I've been trying to read more myself.

I got nostalgic and started grabbing a bunch of books I used to own when we were at the used book store. I put a bunch back, but ended up with enough to keep me busy for a while. I've finished two. 

I picked up an audiobook version of The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie, as well. It turned out to be a radio adaptation and only an hour and a half long. I listened to that to and from work some days. Shane and I listened to most of My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George before the loan ran out. I signed up for a free Audible trial to get Shane a Hank the Cowdog book to listen to on the road to Busch Gardens, as well. We haven't finished it, but I'm thinking about keeping the subscription. I started listening to a History of Comedy podcast by Keegan Michael-Key and there are some other free books included I may start listening to on my commute.

Meanwhile, Carrie's favorite thing to read has been her cellphone. She find books and manga annoying with her injured wrist...and she prefers reviews and articles to books.

She read a bunch of histories about Fire Emblem Three Houses, so it's not like she's anti-fiction! She's far more amenable to e-readers while I'm old fashioned.

Horse Vet Day

School was cancelled due to rain Wednesday!

Only it didn't really rain where we were. There were severe thunderstorms and flooding forecast, but if it hit it was elsewhere.

Plenty of parents will call the schools wimps for closing, but I was thrilled for a day off. Wednesdays are my roughest days (being A days and lunch duty). 

I suspect the transportation shortages weighed heavily into the decision to close. There's a shortage of drivers and many kids have hour+ bus rides. The walking zones to schools were extended and parents were asked to consider driving their students in if they were able to allow families who could not to use the buses. 

Plus, a day out of school was one less day for the County to worry about COVID spreading.

So I found myself at home unexpectedly (and in fantastic spirits!). I used a chunk of the time to catch up on my writing and grading, but that's not all: It was a vet day.

The vet and assistant pulled up in their SUVs chock full of equipment. I'm normally not home for check-ups, so I went out to take some pictures and see if Carrie needed help.
 

Vet tools aren't dainty. That power drill was for equine dentistry.

We'd pulled all the horses up at breakfast and left them in to be ready for the vet. One, it was easier than collecting them all twice, and two, it gave time for everyone to poop for a fecal exam.

Lane was first in line for a dental checkup. Large animal vets can't be afraid to stick their hands (and arms) in all sorts of places.

Carly actually had her whole hand in the mouth before I took the picture. However, she said "AH!" and pulled it out when one of Lane's back teeth nearly cut her.

Horse teeth get sharp and the sharp bits need to be filed or ground down (or "floated"). Lane was drugged, because no horse will allow much less stand nicely as someone puts a power drill in their mouth!

I had Carrie send me the picture she took of inside Lane's mouth. I planned to put it on the projector in class!

Then Carly got to work.

I went up to the house to check on Shane and get writing while the dental work carried on.

The vet was gone the next time I went out. I took some pictures of Carrie working on Eowyn's front feet.

As stated prior, Eowyn's a brat when it comes to farrier work. Carrie bought herself a set of farrier chaps (for ~75% off!) to help grip and hold tools.

Thankfully, no Carrie's were injured this time. You can see she's still wearing a brace from when she last worked on Eowyn's hind feet.

So not only did I get a day off from school, I got some cool horse pictures and material for a post. What a gift of a day!

Mannequin Man

Monday was rough. My A days students are an overflowing two hands full. I had to make my first phone call home for the year: One girl refused to wear her mask right and said, "You can't make me and my dad will agree."

And it probably won't be the only phone call for the year.

But each day is a new day. 

There's a CPR dummy/mannequin that sits next door in the teacher workroom and stares at whoever enters. 

Tuesday, I invited him to class.

The setup was perfect. I don't always wear a hat to school, but today I did. The kids from my 2B came in, saw me in it, I took a attendance, and then they left for lunch. While they were gone, I carried my new friend into the room and gave him my spare hat.

He had no ears, so I used a pen to help him wear one of my spare masks. 

I set him up all relaxed at my desk and then relocated myself to watch reactions as kids came back!

And there were reactions! After a few startles and befuddled glances, there were laughs.

That would have been enough for a fun moment, but there's more to the story, though. One of the girls came up to me before class to tell me she had a falling out with the girl she sat next to. She wanted to know if she could switch seats. I told her to sit in her usual seat for now, but I'd think about it during lunch.

I asked the class if they wanted to let our "new student" sit near the door to greet people who walked by. 

Of course the answer was, "Yes." There was a perfectly placed student ready to give up her seat, too!

It was a little awkward when the new student's pants fell down as I carried him over. He got dubbed a low rider, but someone gave him a Fanta and someone else gave him a pencil to do his work with.

We named him John as in John Deere. A student made the name tag.

Another student (on the medical studies route), made the connection that John Deere was a John Doe and the name fit even better!

John had a great time, but I was worried there may have been a little bullying going on by the end of class.

John hung out for the rest of the day. My 4B was equally pleased to meet him! 

It made for a fun day. It was the perfect counter-balance for the rough start to the week. I wish I could be as playful with my A Day students, but I would have feared for my sanity, John's life, and the Biology teachers getting mad if he was damaged!

Anyway, a mannequin student was a unique moment in my decade and a half teaching. Maybe John will visit again some day!