Sporadic Rain

The house was a 'no'.  I am going to just go forward with my original plan and stay put for a while. 

Today has on and off black clouds and sun shine. There are sporadic down pours.  It is making my head hurt.

Last official day of school.  I am completing student notes.  Next week I will work on Progress Reports.  The teachers technically have 2 more weeks to work.  It will not take me that long however, I may just work on progress reports a few each morning and then do either outside or inside work each day.  I am working out my work schedule.  I have to stick to it if I am going to complete everything.

I also need to stick to an exercise plan.  I don't want to weigh 500 lbs and my muscles are noodles.

I heard from my son.  Same old list of complaints.  I am exercising some tough love.  I told him that I was not going to be his sounding board because I could not take listening to it.  He complains that she does not respect him and treats him like an annoyance.  I told him that he obviously does not respect himself because he lets her do it over and over.  If she even thinks he MIGHT leave her, she will say something that she knows he wants to hear and he gives in...but nothing changes.  I told him to quit wasting his life, pack his things and leave.  He has a place to go. But if he stays, he is obviously okay with everything so don't complain to me.  I may have to repeat a few times that I don't want to hear it anymore because he does nothing to help himself.  I sometimes wonder about his wiring.

Well, this is short and sweet.  I am off to finish up something I am working on then, I will clean up the kitchen and plot out my weekend.

Move or Sit Still

6 hours outside on Saturday pulling and digging and planting. It got hot and I ran out of power.  I left the west side of the house until Monday.  

Yesterday I went to my parents' where they had a cookout of sorts.  We had sat indoors to eat because it got too hot outside and it was just the 4 of us.  mom, dad, Dawn, me.  It was nice just relaxing around the house with them.  

Dawn showed me a house for sale on the other side of town.  I got really interested in it.  I picked up my phone and texted the realtor about it and that I would like to see it.  I get upset because they drag their feet.  By today, she was still dragging so I contacted the realtor selling the house.  I went to school with her.  She said she would call me tomorrow and I can ask questions and she will set up a viewing for me.  In the meantime, I looked up the names of the people that live next door and asked my brother (he knows everyone) and Nick (he knows everyone).  They both vouched for the neighbor...that he and his wife are decent people and are hardly ever home.  They are in their 50's and no kids.  The house is a 2 bedroom, has a Florida room and a utility room that can be used as an office, decent sized kitchen, full water proofed basement with a bathroom in it.  BUT this is just the description and pictures from the realtor listing.  It could be totally different once I look at it.  At least it only has the one neighbor and sits on a quiet street.  All of that stuff alone would make me want to buy it and move.

My son reached out to me tonight and asked to have a phone conversation tomorrow.  He says that he and the wife have been arguing for days.  Not sure what he is thinking or if he just wants to unload it all on me.  

I did not get to any yard work today because the neighbors set up picnic tables in their driveway and were getting ready for a gathering.  I just decided not to mess with it and Lucy and I went to my parents' again.  The neighbors have not bothered me for about a year now so I am not screwing with it.  It would be kinda nice to move away from the noisy road and not have to hear the hoards of motorcycles.  Lucy may like a quieter place also.

Last week of actual school with some classes.  Next week I finish up the things I have to do.  Then...freedom!

Dealing with the Dirt

Today will be spent digging in the dirt. SO MANY WEEDS!  And I have 4 plants and 7 bushes to put in.  It is good to get them in now as it is going to be raining for the next 5 days.  Next weekend will be paver walkway time and 'fix the new garden I started time.  During the week I will put plastic on the garage floor and do some spray painting...the bird bath, the rebar to support my privacy screen.  I also have the railing to paint but I can put that off for another week. 

This next week will be my last week of school.  Not my last week of work, just my last week of school.  The following week I will work on the student progress reports.  I can finish those in about 2 days.  I hate doing them.  I start with the longest ones first, then do the shortest ones then leave the medium length until last.  I have 3 or 4 students that have EVERYTHING on their IEPs.  I have 6 students that barely came to any Intervention classes this 2nd semester.  In hind sight, the padlet that I started as a resource for them to use...I listed the links to extra help lessons for their gen ed work, step sheets, study guides....that was supposed to be as much help to the parents as it was the students, and save me some time, it may have caused them to quit coming to Interventions.  They simply did not understand that the Intervention classes were not the same thing as the gen ed assignment help.  No matter the amount of emails that I sent to the students and parents.  So I had to go by work samples if they were doing better or not.    Next year...I am making my plans for next year....

The interview went as I feared....they don't have a SOLID job opening.  They have some tentative job openings but they are waiting on enrollment numbers.  If those numbers go up before the 1st of August and she wants to make me a job offer then it will be considered.  If I don't hear anything out of them then I know I am meant to stay at OHVA for whatever reason.  If the latter is the outcome, I am trusting that God has something in the works to help me with my income situation.  I will need more in order to afford a car replacement. 

I am also trusting His guidance on my housing situation.  This place is nice but the summer traffic gets on my nerves.  He knows me and will work it out as it should be.    I just have to relax and go with it. 

I have barely heard anything out of my son all week. This means that he and the wife are getting along okay and that he is also feeling a little guilty about complaining about her to me so much.  He did text me that he is getting a bonus from the job he is on right now and if he adds that to the money he has been saving, he will be 3/5 of the way to the down payment he is saving for a house.  All I said was, Just make sure your relationship is solid before you do that.  He replied, Definitely.  And that is all the unsolicited advice I am giving on that.  In order to lure him back home, his wife had told him that if he came back she would give him the credit and debit cards except the debit card for her personal bank account.  He felt that was a good start and, frankly, I was stunned that she would relinquish them.  That is why I said to him that if he was going back, he needed to leave that day.  I knew he would at some point and it was not only because I was concerned with him driving in the rain but I wanted my quiet routine back.  I didn't want to listen to the roller coaster that is his relationship.  I had lived through my own for 25 years and I just didn't want to deal.  He will have to decide if he wants the ride to stop so he can get off or just continue for many years to come.  I feel as much to blame that he is on this because he is just living the life he grew up with.  I have tried to convince him that there is a different kind of life out there but it is up to him to decide if he believes me or not.

I don't hear a lot out of Bethany.  She stays fairly quiet. She and Jordan support each other, as far as I know.  I don't like to poke at her too much because she feels attacked and gets defensive.  I could ask her the simplest question such as, "Are you and Jordan doing okay with your jobs and the stress?"  and she would get defensive as if I had said something negative.  Yet, I sometimes worry that if I DON'T ask questions and show an interest that she will feel as if she is abandoned by me. 

Well...time to get ready to go dig in the dirt.  I am looking forward to the end result.  However, if I am truly going to 'end' this today, it will be a very long day.

Pete and RePete

 My son came and spent a week with me.  He arrived May 16.  He had a work from home job so he worked from the desk in the 2nd bedroom.  We had dinner together each night. We visited my parents a few times.  He spent time arguing with his wife on the phone.  We watched some movies.  He complained about the things his wife does and says to him.  He contemplated not going back.  He contemplated divorce.  Then when the next Saturday rolled around, I told him that if he was going back he needed to leave that day because the next day it was going to rain and he freaks out driving in the rain.  So, he packed and left. 

Pete and RePete.

I have 6 more student days left.  I am SO over this school year.  I also have an interview with a new school tomorrow.  I interviewed with them last year and the head of the SPED department wanted to hire me but enrollment was down.  We shall see how it goes this time.  It is less work and more money.

I am not sure how I feel about anything.   I am doing some more fixes to my house.  Nothing major.  Railing on the front steps, more landscaping, paver walk to the porch, lattice privacy screen to the back deck, flooring in my bedroom, new paint on my bedroom walls.  The landscaping makes me happy.

I  am thankful that things are moving along somewhat normal for myself.  However, I miss my friends and doing things.  That sounds juvenile but it is lonely.

 

Stop to Admire the Dandelions

I have seen a lot of posts about not killing the dandelions in your yard because that is what the bees use for food in the spring before everything opens up.  You know....my yard should be Bee Heaven right now.  And I do not care.  My mom is so proud that they have fought the battle of the dandelions and win every year.  They have a beautiful yard and home.  People know who they are because of it and remark to them about it when they are out and about.  I will not be known for that although I have had many older women in the neighborhood stop and remark to me how nice my flower gardens look. Personally I think they probably look really nice to them because they remember what it all looked like before I bought the place.  It is just a comparison.

And there I go again not giving myself credit.

There is this father and son that go past my house on bikes every Saturday morning.  The father looked quite awkward on the bike the first few times but he is now looking more confident. The son has a smile on his face.  I am deducing that dad always had other things to do before but now he has free time and is doing more things with his son.  Son obviously is quite happy about it.

I do not begrudge the Stay at Home orders and shutowns for things like allowing nature to get cleaned up and thrive and for families to thrive.  I do, however, mourn the negative impact it has had on businesses and personal economy.  I think there are lawn care businesses that are hurting because more people are beginning to take care of their own lawns because they have time and it is something to do and/or they can't afford to pay someone else to do it right now.  Frankly, if I had the money, I would pay someone to at least mow it for me.

I gave my dad's laptop to my cousin Tommy and he fixed it for him.  I paid Tommy since this was the 3rd laptop he had worked on for me.  Hopefully there will not be others.  Dad is pleased that he will be able to use it again.

I hear the woman next door yapping at her husband. She is so loud.   I am hoping that I will be able to get my lattice privacy wall up this week before TJ gets here.   I would like to go out on the deck with him.  It will not stop the noise from next door but it will lend a bit of privacy.  I should be able to open up my blinds on that side of the sunroom.  The Lucy won't be laying there watching them and barking every time someone makes a move. 

I am washing some clothes and waiting for my outdoor work clothes to dry.  I need the oversized sweatshirt to wear because it is still cool with a damp breeze.    I am just enjoying sitting here in the sunroom right now while Lucy watches out the doors.  The summer noises have begun...cars driving by with their windows down and music turned up, a few motorcycles.  There aren't so many motorcycles yet because they use this road to go to Geneva-on-the-Lake.  It is a summer 'fun' spot with games, outdoor eating places, bars, a small amusement park, zipline, and lots of bikers.    I used to go there on summer nights with my friends when I was a teenager.  We rode go-carts, played mini-golf, ate pizza.  The amusement park sat quiet at that time and of course there was no zipline then because no one had thought of it.  They have an arcade too.  I was not into video games at that point.  I tried playing pinball a few times.  We just hung out with other teenagers.  The bikers all basically stayed at one end of the strip at that time.  Now they are all over.  More bars have opened.  The strip hosts a Biker Weekend near the end of summer and the roar off all of those gangs of bikers going past my house is enormous.  Lucy and I escape to my parents' during those days.  Not sure how that will play out this summer. 

I am hoping they still have the boat parade this summer but I don't know.  With social distancing it may not happen because there is always hoards of people that gather. 

So many things are different and hard to plan out.