- Having trouble getting started on thought this morning; slept funky (toss, turn, toss) and it’s Thursday, which means I am this close to my weekend. I should so stop complaining about having to attend campus twice a week. I KNOW this is whiny but it feels like so much.
- Maybe because yesterday was a lot. I worked on stuff early, took my daughter to school, worked for a bit more then did a HIIT workout on the bike. I showered and went up to her midday meet. She did well (slower than last week but still under 16 mins and way faster than those two first meets) and then Ash and I had lunch. I then steeled myself for a Costco run, which was fine. I’m always amazed how many people are there, even midday Wednesday.
- Got home and felt tired; sat for a minute but then the boys got home and I felt motivated to grade more papers. Once Ash was home, I started working on various meals for kids and then we had a 6 pm meeting for the homebrew club. That was at least fun! Got home and just felt exhausted.
- So today I am sputtering, spinning my wheels, trying to feel that push to GO. Probably once I get Koda off to practice, that’ll do it. The forecast keeps saying NO RAIN but then we got two, ten minute storms yesterday. Just enough to make the remaining branches wet enough to put off the finish of the chainsaw job. Weather, can you not, please?
- OK, back from that and it is beautiful out – clear sun, a little cool. Makes me want to stay home and not go to work! But it’s an easy day: my students are just workshopping. I can catch up on a lot of grading if I play my cards right.
- I have a student who is “on the spectrum” as they say and she talks A LOT in class and does not do the work. It’s kind of crazy and I honestly don’t know how to kindly tell her to stop. It’s weird. I have another student of that type in a different course and when he speaks, it actually contributes to the class conversation. However, he too is not submitting any work. I have no idea!
- The aforementioned book I am rereading is a two-parter and I just moved onto part two. I realized that of course, this is where things are most dire before resolution so it’s kind of a rough go right now. I want to sit down and read it but it is painful! But doable, unlike this same author’s other book I read about this couple who met in the military and the guy – a doctor – took high doses of this drug to stay awake (given to him by the military) and when they went back home, it basically made him schizophrenic. It was such a difficult read – emotionally painful – I’m pretty sure I stopped reading it. Not sure I will ever finish. But the other one, oh I’ll get through it. Might just not be without some tears.
- Speaking of, I randomly felt like crying in the car this morning. I had registered my daughter for city soccer and thinking about how we have a long history with the kids playing various sports through the city. It used to BE our lives; both boys in flag, different teams, different practice days and game times. A lot of time spent on the fields, cheering them on, wins, losses, coach difficulties. And now, she’s the last one in that realm. Isaac is playing club soccer but who knows for how much longer. It’s so crazy watching your kids get older and older and older…
- The photo I’m leaving below is the front of a binder I put together a while ago with the photos of each team. Used to be, a local photography company always came to the fields and took the kids’ pictures. Once Covid happened, they shut that down and it never came back, sadly. I hate that, by the way. So many things like that that never came back.
- I want no plans this weekend but there are things coming up I sort of want to do. Our friends asked us to go to trivia tonight, which is doable but I’d have to be late because Isaac has practice. Lake Tribe is having their Oktoberfest this weekend and we could go Friday. Do we want to? I sort of do. We have a club event already on Saturday, plus we’re doing a 20 mile ride Sunday. I don’t know; I like plans but I also like hanging out at home!
- Tomorrow, Ash and I plan to do more firepit work; potentially building a wooden structure inside where we’ll pour the concrete. We will see how much we get accomplished before lunchtime; hopefully a lot!
- There’s cake in the English office today b/c the new associate dean likes to celebrate peoples’ birthdays. I am very tempted to eat some but then I may feel guilty for eating cake before actual food. We aren’t having lunch until I get home later. But as they say, life is short, eat dessert first!
- Here’s my cute boy photo. Have a great Thursday:
incognitusscriptor.com 
Aw, I miss the youth sports days. What distance does your daughter’s grade run? Nice progress!
I work in a college testing center that does alternative testing for students with various disabilities. We get a fair number of students on the spectrum. I don’t envy their instructors. Challenging for sure.
Middle school xc does 1.8 mile races, but her training runs are longer. And yes, teaching these students is a challenge for sure! I want to reach them but don’t have any good tactics. Normally people who don’t turn in assignments simply don’t come to class. But they do!
oh my goodness! That photo is so cute!!
Regarding the person on the spectrum . . .over the years, we’ve had several in our small group. I have had to have several private conversations with various folks. Our most recent boy (he’s 25 or 26) TALKED NON STOP and during the discussion, no one else could say anything. I bought some 1 minute egg timers from Amazon. I emailed him some “ground rules” for the group — everyone is entitled to their own opinion, one person should not dominate the conversation, don’t ask any girls for their phone numbers (seriously – he went around and asked EVERY GIRL for their phone number – awkward), etc. He arrived early the next week to ask me if I had ever shared the rules with anyone else. I was smart enough to text those same rules to two of our long-time attendees so I didn’t have to lie. I told him about the timers and that if he needed it, he could put in his pocket so he would remember that he could only participate once in the discussion and it had to be less than a minute. I have no idea how you deal with the person not turning in work. If they don’t turn in the work, do they just not pass?
Correct; there are a total of 1000 points possible for the term and a lot of smaller, easy assignments. But the essays are worth significantly more. With the one girl, I basically tell her it’s time for me to lecture now and she seems to get it, but will interrupt. She tends to talk about random things she notices if the class is doing a quiet assignment. The other kid is quiet but he hasn’t done work either. I am thinking of having them both meet me in my office (one at a time of course) and trying my best to explain it to them.