my zombie

For the last day of Red Ribbon Week, the students were supposed to wear costumes to scare drugs away. Grace decided she wanted to be a zombie. She finally decided she was a zombie ballerina that died of a broken heart. Thanks to a friend of hers she had a great zombie costume. The shirt was just amazing. It's 3 dimensional, everyone wanted to touch it, especially the bones.
Just have to say that after doing her makeup and driving to school, Grace wasn't sure she should have wore the costume. ( Not the best picture of Grace, but it shows the shirt well) When we drove up we saw, princesses, fairies, bumble bees, Dorothy from Oz. All sweet costumes. But Grace was an instant hit, some one told her that when she got out of the van he thought she'd really been hurt. Glad she had a great time being a zombie.

LOL

A friend called me the other day during Grace's lunch break, she heard how loud it is at school and told me she didn't envy me one bit. I have found that my car is the best place to spend my lunch when the weather is agreeable. If it's not sweltering or freezing, I lounge in the van with my sandwich and a book. I've been known to take a 10 minute catnap and so far haven't found any pics of me drooling on Grace's facebook page.
I can see the front of the school from my vantage point. There's not usually much to see except a few kids enjoying their lunches and visiting. There is one young lady that spends the entire time alone, at rare times she's on her phone, but she seems to be a loner. I know her from my preschool teaching days. Would love to find her a friend or two to make her high school days more enjoyable.
Today Grace & her friend Kayla came to the van to ask a question and took off to run around. Out of the corner of my eye I could see them using a window for a mirror and acting goofy. I never know what those two are up two. They remind me of my childhood friend and myself, just being goofy girls at that age. I went back to reading my book and just happened to look up in time to see Grace back into a pole. There is a pole  in the middle of the sidewalk next to the building that's placed there,I assume, to keep cars from driving through that area. For some unknown reason Grace was going as fast as she could in reverse, talking like a crazed woman when WHAM!!! she hit the pole. It bounced her head off the headrest and she said it even uncrossed her feet . She wasn't hurt, well, maybe her pride was. I along with her other friends that saw, couldn't help but laugh. I'm not sure what the most humorous site was, Grace bouncing off the pole or her friend Kayla, fall to the sidewalk, rolling and laughing so hard I wouldn't have been surprised if she wet herself. It was one of those "laugh till you cry" moments. I'm glad Grace wasn't hurt, just wish I'd had my camera going, it was definitely a missed You Tube moment.

End of the semester

It's a busy time of the year at school; this is the last week of the semester. Just about every class has at least one test or project due this week. Grace has already taken a math and history test. She has another in each of those classes later  this week. She has a scene to perform  for drama tomorrow, pics to take for photo, and a DNA paper to write for biology. Will see how her grades come out when it's all over.  She's OK right now, sometimes just hearing that it's a "big" test can wig some people out. So thankful she has a couple of more laid back classes to catch up on some study time.
Also, Red Ribbon week, which means more dress up days. I think they have slogans for each day, but I can't remember them. I always think it's hilarious when there is a "hippie" day for an anti-drug campaign. Not sure what the thinking is behind this. Maybe someone wasn't alive to actually know what the hippie era involved. ( I'll try claiming I wasn't around either, wonder if anyone would believe me). But I guess some tye dye and peace signs won't hurt anyone. At least they get the word out to fight drug usage. Guess Nancy's "Just Say 'NO'" slogan doesn't do the job anymore?
Hope the kids find the energy and time for a little studying this week. Is it Christmas vacation yet?

Finally Friday

Finally it's Friday, this week seemed to take forever.  Grace started a unit on  Les Miserables this week, the first few days were lectures on the story, yesterday and today they watched part of the movie. She's really enjoying it. Such a good story.
I just have to say that I don't understand teachers that don't seem to want to give good grades. She actually had a teacher tell the class that they expect too much of themselves, I think a student was disappointed in his "B" grade and wanted to know how to raise it since next week is the last week for the semester. She said when she was a kid hardly anyone got A's  that you can get in a college with a B. It's good enough. Really?? This is a very smart well organized student that takes his grades seriously. They're doing the same work as seniors and they're sophomores. She was so rude about it. He was really trying to improve his grade, not just get away with smoozing her. Out of the entire class only one person got an "A" on their Great Expectations written test. Now, I don't think the teachers should go easy on them, but if a serious student is trying to figure out how to improve then you should give him good advise, not "you expect too much from yourself."  Never could understand why some people feel superior to others because they're in a position of ( albeit small) authority. 
Anyway, tests galore next week. Lets all enjoy our weekend.

Nothing

Some days I just float through school, follow Grace from one class to another. She has finally caught up in her classes. Missed a couple days last week because our old van was broke down and that's our only way to get Grace to school.
As the weather has been changing she is in a great deal of pain most afternoons. She had rods put in her back 3 years ago to help correct a curve that had developed in her back, due to her muscle condition. She had extensive work done to her pelvis at the same time, she seems to have pain in sections of her back and in one hip. On those days she needs to go home early and lay down. So between the van, her pain, and some appointments it seemed she was either missing whole days or afternoons a few days a week for about a month. She's a hard worker at school, gets great grades in most classes and manages to keep up with the kids she started school with.
Was just thinking that she has had some school years when she's missed large sections of school. In 3rd grade she spent almost 11 weeks in the hospital. She was released the day before the last day of school.All the kids told her how lucky she was to miss testing. Funny how at that age they couldn't imagine how rotten being in the hospital is.
So glad she has great friends that have brought her gifts, sent her cards & letters and even traveled the hour and 1/2 to visit her when she's been in the hospital. We've been blessed with some great people in our lives.
I feel like I'm just blabbering on and on tonight.............better go help with homework.  UGGHHH I'm ready for Christmas break to come soon.

Yes, I'm Proud

Do Monday's get longer every week? Or am I just old? Never mind that was a rhetorical question.
I just have to share  and explain my proud mama feeling of the day. Grace and I talked about the unfortunate experience she had last week in drama class. The first thing she did when she got to school this morning was ask if she could talk with the principal. On her own she spoke with her about a solution to the younger kids' staring, pointing, and laughing at her. She asked what she should do to educate them about people with differences. She'd like to go to their school and talk with them and let them ask questions. She is willing to talk with classes individually or the whole lot of them at once. She's waiting to hear what the other school's principal will allow, her principal was very supportive and went to the other administrator today to come up with a time /place for Grace.
I am so proud of her, it's always easy to just feel bad, get mad and complain. Now I admit she did all these things, then  she took it one step further and is taking back some control of the situation, fully knowing that there may still be some people that will still act ugly regardless of her efforts.  Honestly if more people that have been hurt by others could step up like this our world would really be a better place. Good Job Grace!!!

Wrong kind of Drama

Grace's drama class had their performance today for another school of younger kids from the community. Grace was the greeter as they entered the theatre. Unfortunately she felt like the opening show/a side show.
Almost every kid that came in stared at her. Some pointed and laughed, some made remarks. I wasn't out there with her to see all of it, but I could see them staring from the doorway. Need less to say, she had a rotten start to her day. I know it's unusual to see someone in a wheelchair, especially a kid, and she understands a short look, but when people point, whisper, and run into things because they are just plain staring it gets hurtful.
Wish people would tell their kids that if they see someone they are curious about they can politely ask them if they can ask why they're in a wheelchair or whatever the "difference" is.
I'm  proud of Grace she didn't want to stay, but she sat by the door and smiled at all 400 of those little boogers as they went by.
On the up side her class did an amazing job performing.

Can't believe it's Wednesday, has been a strange week, have been out of some classes trying to catch up with tests Grace missed in other classes.
Tuesday Grace was out of a couple of classes to watch the other drama class' performance. It was fun to watch another group do the same musical that her class is performing. The highlight of the show was at the end one of the guys tripped on the risers and just went with it. Funny to watch a big burly boy roll down steps and act as if he meant to fall, not trying to, he stole the show.
Grace's class performs 2 times tomorrow and again on Saturday. They have worked hard and will do a great job. I think the next musical will be Willie Wonka, one of my favorites. I'm already singing oompa loompa songs. The lift for the stage is broke so Grace won't perform on stage in this production, she dodged the bullet this time and will be a greeter. But I have visions of an oompa loompa in a wheelchair coming soon. Hope to catch up on the rest of Grace's tests this week. Will be nice to just have a regular week without feeling like we're always one step behind everyone else. Happy Hump Day!!

Too much Scribing

I think I've scribed way too much this last week. I am now having dreams about the industrial revolution and characters from Great Expectations. Of course none of the dreams make any sense which is probably where I associate proofs from geometry. I'm even waking up singing songs from her drama class.
I have no idea what I'm writing for Grace 1/2 the time. Hope she knows what she's saying to me. Last week I was writing angle symbols instead of triangle symbols on her test. I always feel badly when she gets a worse grade because I mess up not her.
 I remember the first year I went to school with Grace was 4th grade. She took a math benchmark test and got a rotten grade. It didn't seem right since she wasn't struggling with the math concepts at the time. Turns out I missed an entire page of the test and therefore wrote wrong answers on 1/2 the test. Had to take the whole thing over. Grace checks now to be sure I'm actually marking the right answers on scan tron sheets. gotta figure one person makes enough stupid type of mistakes you can just imagine when two people have a hand in the work. And I must say that when one is battling raging adolescence hormones and the other faltering menopausal hormones we're in a world of confusion. You'd think between the 2 of us we'd balance things out.

Skinny Jean Workout

I just have one question: Who invented skinny jeans??? Oh my am I glad I wear old granny jeans. I see so many girls constantly pulling the back of their jeans up and their shirts down because of their low rise jeans. They can hardly sit in those tight things.They obviously aren't comfortable at all.
Now, when we went school shopping my daughter wanted more then anything else skinny jeans. I am ashamed to say that I looked at the narrow legs on those things and tried with all  I had to talk her into not getting them. It's not that I don't like the way they look, I really don't have a preference, and I am certainly wishing I could fit into something called skinny. The closest thing I'll ever get to them is enjoying a Skinny Cow ice cream.
Anyway, I was thinking of how I was going to get those things on a kid that can't help dress herself. We finally found a pair that have zippers up the entire side. the zipper opens only about 5 inches from the bottom of the leg, but that's just enough to not break her foot trying to put them on. I try to hold to the idea that Grace has enough things she can't participate in, there are plenty of "teen" things she misses out on, dressing fashionably is something she shouldn't have to miss out on.
So we find ways when we can to let her dress in "regular" clothes. But let me tell you it takes the whole village to dress a disabled kid some mornings. Poor thing gets flopped back and forth, twisted, lifted, laughed at, yelled at, and who knows what else. It's a tough job but between my husband and myself we manage to get those rotten skinny jeans on. Not sure who gets the biggest work out, I just know all 3 of us are tired when we're done. But it usually makes for a happy kid. Some days that's all you want ; a smile on your kid's face.

CRUSHIN?

After reading my blog one day Grace told me that she just loves my view of her high school experiences. Apparently what I see is not what she always sees.True, I have a few ( hush now) years on her, I suppose life experiences have tinted my view on life compared to when I was a mere 15.
I got a taste the other day of how Grace feels. One of her teachers asked me if Grace had a little crush on one of the guys in her class, I almost laughed in her face, because that's just not the case. I tried to explain that they're really good friends and she just likes guys in general. I've been thinking about how the teacher perceived my comments and realized that she just thinks I'm a mom that doesn't want to see my daughter has a crush. Not true, I usually know when she's crushing on someone, she eventually tells me anyway. But to be honest Grace is a flirt ( don't know where she gets that trait), if there's a guy friend around her she'll start talking, and teasing. The closer the friend the more she picks at him.She's always loved boys, always will. 

Raingear or Oscar's poor cousin

It rained in our area this weekend. Although I know we need the rain and it's inevitable that it will rain, I cringe at the thought of a downpour. It's tough enough to stay dry running from class to class on a rainy day, just try it in a wheelchair someday. Doesn't matter what I buy for Grace to wear, there just isn't a good raincoat/poncho or anything that's designed well.  Either they're too big, too hard to put on quickly or just plain won't work when you have to consider that you have to cover the entire chair not just the person in the chair. If you don't get the whole chair/seat then the water just runs down the back into the seat. If you don't cover the front you have wet feet and a joystick that's soaked. The best solution is a hefty bag w/ a neck whole cut in it. But they're not quite long enough and you still need a rain hat of some type. Then there's the ever so important issue of fashion. heaven help us if a 15 year old has to travel as a hefty bag, although she does wear black these days. Wonder how we start a new trend of black plastic couture? There's just not a good solution.
Am wondering what type of inventions are turning in some people's mind. I think the best solution would be some type of bubble. Maybe a version of a hamster ball.  Now that'd be a sight, a giant ball rolling around the school, you know you'd want to kick it like you're tempted to do w/ the little hamsters. She might look like she's in the Popemobile. Geeze lets not give her any ideas of that kind of power. So, if you happen to see a rolling trash bag coming your way watch out it's Grace & she's not gonna be happy!!!