Ups and Downs

Ever get news...news that is hard to explain, to understand, to hear? Well, our family received that kind of news. My husband's mother is sick; her heart is unbelievably bad and the doctors are amazed that she is, well, alive. Telling the kids this was so difficult. Watching my husband is torture. He lost his father already and now he has been told he will lose his mother. What is inscrutable is that we are told that an end is near. That is not what is supposed to happen. I mean, everyday that I leave the house, I just assume that I will come back and be with the kids. Sure, I could get hit by a bus and die, but really, the likelihood is near nil. My husband talks to either one of his sisters or his mother just about every night now.

In the mist of this, our daughter has been watching her fish die. I know fish are fish, but my daughter bought these fish herself; the tank is in her room. She's named them! Oh, and her ghost shrimp has disappeared as well. There is a joke in there about "ghost shrimp" and "disappearing" but I can't make it right now.

So, I titled this "Ups and Downs". I should write about those ups. My husband has tested the waters of the fish tank. Fine. Talked to the fish experts - the "Rosey Reds" that my daughter bought need more space. My husband has increased that space about 10 fold. Our daughter now has a huge fish tank in her room and the remaining fish seem to be doing better. Maybe we can get a few more.

This past Thursday was "Bring you son/daughter to work day". It is always the 4th Thursday of the month of April. This year I was not the only teacher that brought a daughter! My daughter had a blast! She helped my Chemistry classes review for their test by operating the computer for our Jeopardy review game. She also helped the Physical Science class with their lab on Kinetic and Potential Energy. My students loved her visit. They thought she was adorable and smart. It was an exhausting day. When I had my normal "breaks", instead of doing my own quiet activities, I needed to "entertain" her or assist in motivating her to do her homework. When we got home, I took a nap and the kids continued playing.