I saw this quote this morning and had to laugh:
History repeats itself; that's one of the things that's wrong with history.
- Clarence Darrow
Then, of course, I had to look up Darrow. What made me laugh is that I am always trying to get my kids to develop an interest in history, and I have told them if they don’t learn about it they are doomed to repeat it. They don’t understand that yet. I am sort of hoping the words will just stay in their heads and haunt them, though.
I saw the funniest story on CNN about teenaged boys who violated a noise ordinance in their small town one time too many, and the judge finally sentenced them to listen to an hour of music like Barney and Barry Manilow. I do not know how to enbed videos, but here’s the page.
I read several blogs each day. Seems like someone’s always “tagged” and I get to read lists of things they like. So I will jump in here and give my lists. They are not in order, of course. I’d like to see an end to the economic crisis sooner than getting my hair cut…
8 TV shows I like to watch
1. I sometimes watch Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader
2. Good Morning America
3. Today
4. Anything on HGTV
5. Anything on Food network
[That’s all I can come up with. I don’t watch much TV.]
8 places I like to eat
1. Shortys
2. Blue Ribbon Grill
3. My favorite Chinese restaurant, the name of which escapes me [because I seldom get to go there]
4. Spiced Right Barbeque
5. La Madeleine
6. The Mad Italian
7. Mama Fu’s
8. Steak & Shake
8 things that happened yesterday
1. Argued with Alesia in the car on the way to school.
2. Read an entire book to Michael that the therapist recommended.
3. Helped Alesia with a project on Spartacus.
4. Ate delicious homemade vegetable soup for dinner.
5. Watched All of Me
6. Applauded Michael for drinking more water.
7. Looked on ebay for bargains on the things my kids want for Christmas.
8. Made plans to send Leap Pad supplies and my kids’ outgrown clothes to a friend of mine.
8 things I look forward to
1. Being out of debt.
2. Getting myself in better physical shape.
3. Seeing Alesia succeed in school.
4. Both my kids getting out of adolescence.
5. Decorating the house for Christmas.
6. My brother’s safe return from Iraq.
7. My MAPREC Russian Christmas party.
8. My friend Cindy L bringing home her two little girls adopted from Kazakhstan.
8 things I love about Fall
1. Getting in the car and not sweating buckets.
2. The kids go back to school [well, actually that’s a mixed blessing]
3. Driving around, looking at the beautiful fall foliage.
4. Making pecan and pumpkin pies and pumpkin bread.
5. Cool weather conducive to the kids playing outside.
6. Getting a day off at Thanksgiving.
7. Looking forward to Christmas.
8. Planting bulbs.
8 things on my wish list
1. Haircut
2. Perfect parenting skills.
3. An end to the economic crisis.
4. DVD camcorder
5. A great diet.
6. Garden hoe.
7. More hours in the day.
8. Better gardening skills.
AN OBSERVATION
I was never a big Star Wars fan but I’d always been a big fan of Carrie Fisher. She is so witty and honest. I love this quote: “I think of my body as a side effect of my mind.” Amen, sister. After a long battle with addictions to drugs and alcohol, she was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. Yet, she is one of the most funny, brilliant people in the world. I would love to be friends with her. I think…
Here’s the question that I ponder all the time, and have pondered for years: Why are so many brilliant, charismatic, witty people mentally ill? Does being a true original only happen when you push the envelope out to the edge of madness? I have had several dear friends in my life that I cared about very much, but eventually I had to break off the friendships because they revealed to me they were mentally ill. By “revealed to me” I mean they acted so bizarre I figured it out, not that they sat down and told me. I wish that had been the case. Nope, I finally had to back up and squint in order to see the craziness of their actions. Then I had to grieve over the loss of their friendship, knowing I didn’t want to get caught up in their crazy, and that they would never seek real help. People who are solidly mentally healthy are, I hate to say it, usually somewhat boring. I prefer good-hearted folks who are eccentric but not crazy. I know the risks of being friends with those folks, though... It’s a fine line.
FINALLY
I got this nice email from a friend of mine who is in my parents’ group, and I was really heartened to see there are resources for Learning Disabled kids like Alesia:
I read your post about colleges that offer assistance to students with learning needs. I work at a Christian independent school in Sandy Springs and numerous students from here have taken advantage of the opportunities offered at colleges around the county with Learning Resource centers. The University of Georgia has a GREAT one that has free tutoring, rooms for students to take every test/quiz for all their classes and to have "extended time," and a variety of other sources. Once Alesia gets her IEP you will have the documentation you need to include on her college aps. My school has a Learning Resource Specialist who works with students at our school who have a "learning difference" and she helps the teachers plan methods for teaching to those differences. If you need her name/email address let me know as she can assist with a list of colleges.
