First Friday

It's the end of the first full week of school, and still no word from USG. I guess he assumes ... whatever. After the MRI results, I'll look into having Brian tested and get some advice from someone who knows how to advise people. I need guidance on such issues as whether he is really age appropriate for his grade, and if he is really able to sort through all of the information that comes at him, or if there's some organic reason he can't do this. I read through an answer he had written for a social studies assignment last night, and not only did it miss the point of the question, it also lacked substance. And he really needs to have substance by the time he's in eighth grade.

My morning assignment for today was cancelled, so I won't start working until Monday morning. I ran over and got in a quick workout, which I hope I will be able to maintain once the work does pick up. Having the cleaning service will be helpful, I will only have to worry about laundry and maintenance of the house in between cleanings. But if I could get myself into a more steady type of work, I would love to do it. I can't quite seem to do that, though. And now that I had the conversation with the sub caller, I am a little uneasy about going back to the school. I know there have been a lot of changes, and I don't know how well they have been received. Although yesterday, two students came up to me and said hello, while I was watching Brian swim. So that was nice. Of course, I remembered their names only when they walked away from me, so I hope they didn't think I couldn't remember who they were!

As for Brian and swimming, I'm just not sure if we did the right thing. I'm watching him struggle to keep up and he's really doing his best and falling far behind. I just don't know if this is the right place for him. It makes me so sad to see him really do his best and have it not be good enough, and I know it's due to forces beyond his control, and that breaks my heart. Add to that the treatment I have received from USG and the fact that I was pretty much blown off when I tried to discuss it with the coach, and I'm just feeling really unhappy about all of this. It's hard enough to be a 13 year old boy in middle school without being different from the others. I really wish we could find something Brian is passionate about, and that he is good at.

He loves baseball, but can't seem to make it past alternate on this team that he's on. And the team itself can drive us crazy because they email with practice times the day before - and it can be any day of the week! We try to never have Brian miss, so that he can have at least a chance of playing a little more, but this week Comcast blew up Kevin's email, and he never got the practice notice, so Brian missed it. And their first game is tomorrow morning. I'm pretty sure we can count on a lot of benchwarming. Also, heartbreaking.

And what that does is make him so nervous when he does get a chance to play that the one ball that comes to him carries so much pressure that it usually gets past him, and the same thing happens when he gets up to bat. There's so much riding on each pitch that he buckles under the pressure. And the kids at school are still being mean to him; although not all, a couple happen to live in our neighborhood and he has to deal with them on the bus and in the streets here as well.

Otherwise, E is still trying to find the right balance of challenge and manageability in her classes. I believe she will need to change at least one of the classes again, but she's going to work that out with the guidance counselor on her own. My main thought on this is that the guidance counselor needs to take a better look at where her past education has gotten her, and place her accordingly. He's just taking it at face value and the classes she's being placed in require more background than she's had so far. It's not setting her up for a good experience. Hopefully, they will fix it within the next week.

And in other news, we have, as I said, Brian's first baseball game tomorrow. Megan is back to swimming, but I think she is off this weekend. She wants to go and see her friend in some play at her church on Saturday. She had bought two tickets, assuming as she so often did in the beginning, that E would go with her. But E has been invited to a birthday party on Saturday, so she will most likely be going to that instead. I have still not called the vet for Molly's blood test results, but I assume all must be OK or I would have heard. Maybe I'll go and make that call right now. Or not. I don't think my favorite vet works Fridays. Maybe tomorrow.