Today ends my Spring Break week for
Sevier County, a few weeks out of sync with Blount County and Alcoa City, so I
had the week to myself. Puttered around
the house mostly, fixing delayed odd jobs, transitioning it from winter to
summer mode.
I took the fraidy dogs in for shots,
too. They were so panicked during the
checkup that Fawn’s teeth were chattering and Cimmy’s pupils wouldn’t
dilate. To say they are timid is an
understatement. Let’s just say they’d
have to be about 10 times more aggressive to even qualify as “timid.” Whenever Cathy or I raise our voice to Luke
or Kate, Cimmy takes off down the hall to hide. They were doing what they do best (sleeping) while I was sweeping
the garage. Suddenly Cimmaron got that weird
glint in his eye, tucked the ears and bolted out the open garage door. I called to him and he kept going. (Ain’t no reasoning with a grey when they
get on their racing face.) So I went
after him. Now, I’ve been exercising 6
mornings a week since January (up from 3 or 4 last year, one of three
resolutions I’m working on). And Cimmy
will turn 9 in August (late middle-aged if not geriatric in dog years). Even so, when he stopped to “mark” a
neighbor’s truck tire (toying with me, to be sure), I actually caught him. Of course, when we got back to the house,
the early middle-aged human was breathing way heavier than the geriatric
canine. Good thing I’m exercising 6
mornings a week. Whew! Got to love those ‘hounds!
The Challenger League has expanded from
two to three 7 to 11 year old teams and three teams of 12 to 18 year olds. The Special Ed population in Blount County
is growing, but not that quickly. Last
year, they had 14 to 16 on a team; this year it’s a more reasonable 12-player
roster. I signed on as coach of the
Rockies ($350K annually, plus endorsements, and radio/TV commercials; I expect
to be pulling down a cool million by July).
Honestly, I just enjoy being around these kids; they are so genuine and
so fun.
After being pulled from my high-school
aged CDC position, I had to question whether I belong and it took me a time to
decide I do. I’m working half time with
the 5 to 7 year olds and half time as administrative and autism troubleshooter
for other teachers. Although the family
budget is still suffering from the pay cut from Oak Ridge, I enjoy going in
everyday and have to remind myself this matters more than money.
I’m not crediting God’s will for Jeff,
but I have been praying more and noticing prayers answered more now than in my
Atomic City days (or USAF days). So
I’ve started to miss the sacraments. So
Luke and I are in the process of converting from RC to Orthodox. Like most religions, especially most
varieties of Christianity, they are mostly the same rather than different. What is more unique for me is belonging to a
small church. (St Anne has only about
50 families. Okay, 51.)
Pray for Cathy. She’ll be job hunting this summer as I go to
school (again), this time to get the credentials to work with the most severely
disabled kids. This should make me
grateful that Luke and Kate are as bright and loving as they are. Old Kate actually gained a year cognitively
and in motor skills this year. She
(like her father) has also gotten noticeably better at tolerating strangers and
strange situations. How could life
present any situations stranger than living daily at 1348 Hillvale? The two will be going to school most of the
summer, with Easter Seals Camp in mid June and Wildwood-by-the-God-Bless-it-Sea
in early August.
As
always, more later. . .
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