Tools for Teaching

I use television as a teaching tool with my children. Particularly shows such as Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, and Boston Legal. I do this mostly with my 14 year old son, and explain that they often go for the extremes and dramatization for ratings. But, I can’t even tell you how many conversations have been generated this way.

I was blown away by my son’s insights this week which relate to my sister’s blog: thefairfax.blogspot.com and the response he had to a VERY similar thought process.

Drew’s school has been studying The Holocaust. An Auschwitz Survivor visited his school this week and spoke with them. He said that half of the football team was crying over the loss of this man’s family, the numbers tattooed on his arm, and the impact of him witnessing his sister’s death and the shooting of others. TRAGIC! I cried as he spoke about it! His eyes were red-rimmed as he was telling me.

Boston Legal had an abortion storyline this week. Drew and I discussed the issues and reasons for abortion. I explained that I don’t believe it should be used as a method of birth control and that if one has unprotected sex, abortion should not be the backup to condoms or other birth control methods. He understood and was thoughtful of that. Then it moved into “in cases of rape”. And, I brought up the issue of “medical cases” and “genetic testing”. When I related this to his sister with Cystic Fibrosis, the conversation floored me.

What if we had known before Ginny was born that this fetus had Cystic Fibrosis and was an expensive, time-consuming, emotionally draining disease and that we should consider aborting for medical reasons….
Drew’s response was “That’s just like the Nazis”. WHOA!!!! WOW!!! This 14-year old boy has been so stricken by the discrimination which was carried out against a group of people in a “long-ago” generation that he has applied it to his own life and is seeing it from his perspective in HIS generation. WOW…..

What a thought-provoking young man! Did I raise him? Did he really come from me? How amazing of an intelligent, sensitive young man! God, please, please keep his insight and sensitivity intact as he grows into a man.

He's gone and done it now!!!!!

My baby....my sweet baby.....he went and graduated from 8th grade......from the school he's been attending since kindergarten!!! I can't believe he's growing up.
He's so smart, so cool, so quick. He's strong and is doing such a great job working on asserting himself.
He will go to high school in the fall. HIGH SCHOOL!!!!! That's so crazy! I feel so guilty for sending him to public school, but a public high school??? What kind of horrible parent am I? But, it's a really great school.....one of the 3 in the county that I would trust. South River High School is big and will be a culture shock. I think he can handle it, but can I??? We shall see.

Congratulations to my graduate!!!!!!!
(pics coming soon)

Absentee Blogger

Yes, I've been an Absentee Blogger. But, here's the quick and dirty version of some of the things I said I'd talk about:

The Gala - went to a most wonderful event for my nephew, Henry. It was a fund-raising gala for his school. There was a silent auction, raffle, and beautiful video/slide show presentation of all of the students at his school. Henry began the video sitting behind the Principal's desk with his glasses on (he doesn't need glasses, but has decided they are now a part of his character). If this video becomes public or I can get a hold of it, then I will post it here. He was amazing! He had a scripted part which was delivered with meaning and feeling. Then, there was his ad-libbing which brought the house down. Check out Alice's blog about the gala: http://thefairfax.blogspot.com/2008/03/weekend-to-remember.html

The Recovery - Drew's Kidney healed and his visit to the doctor after returning from Florida showed almost no blood in the urine. Hallelujah!

The Appointment - Ginny had her CF appointment. Her weight gain was, once again, beyond expectations. The "hungry pill" really made the difference in our lives and has taken her out of the "hmmm....she may need a permanent feeding tube" status.
Bad news is that her PFTs (Pulmonary Function Tests) have decreased from the 130% range to the 100 % range. Still very good, but significantly lower than her norm. She had a cold which contributed to the lower numbers. But, that is no excuse and we need to ramp it up a notch.
Good news is that we had a wonderful visit with one of the physical therapists who connected with her regarding the ability to "cough up stuff". Ginny calls it "Gunk-a-loogey" and has, generally, been disgusted when it comes up. We need her to embrace and be proud of her gunk-a-loogey. Since this visit, she has been much more productive with her cough.....I've never seen so much mucus, but I'm a proud Mama.

The Birthday Party - Ginny had the most fun & amazing birthday party. We had a room in the back of Ledo Pizza in Crofton. There was pizza, chicken tenders, mozzarella sticks and amazing entertainment. We had 2 dance mats plugged into the PlayStation2 which was hooked up to the flat screen on the wall. The karaoke machine with her iPod & TV were across the room, and we had a station for sand art. The girls sang, danced, ate, and made tropical fish & dolphin sand art keychains. My parents and brother were there, and Ward's Mother and sister + kids were there. A great time was had by all!!!!

Next up: Bahamas & Drew's Birthday Party

The Funeral

The funeral for George was a beautiful tribute to his strength for his family and theirs for him. It was a true celebration of his life and honor to his family.
My former Mother-in-Law was escorted in by her 2 younger sons, her daughter was led in by her 2 children, then there was my ex. He was escorted in by our daughter and his fiancee was escorted in by my son (I do not blame my son for that set up as he was not aware that is how the procession would run since it just happened when they walked down the aisle).

There was a wonderful song by one of George's former nurses, and the readings were strong and relevant, but the Homily brought it all home.

A week after the funeral, my children and I were visiting their Godfather. He had known the family for close to 20 years. While Drew & I were standing together, their Godfather asked how the family held up during the service. I told him they did a wonderful job, it had been a long time coming and they were prepared for this event. When I noted that the only person on the "family row" that had cried was my ex's fiancee, he was surprised. He said, "She was the only one who visibly cried?"
My son responded, "Yeah, for the whole YEAR that she knew him"............
Yes, this is what I was thinking, his Godfather was thinking, but Drew was the one who expressed that thought
I've never been more proud of my boy!

God Bless George and his very strong and supportive grandson!

The Kidney

OK, so the kids' grandfather died on Sunday, March 2nd. That was a tough night and I sent the kids into school the next day so they could be with their friends and continue with their routine. Was this a good idea? YES. Was it successful? Well..........
Not necessarily.
On Monday, March 3rd, Drew was playing on the playground during a class which had a substitute. He climbed a waist-high ladder and reached for the higher monkey bars. He missed the upper bars, slipped, and landed on the lower ladder bar, then flipped over it.
When I picked him up that afternoon, he told me about the fall and complained that he couldn't take a deep breath. I had concerns that he may have hurt his ribs, broken them, punctured his lung and would explode at some point during the week. So, I took him to the evening clinic to check out those ribs........
No, the doctor poked around and noted that the pain was not in his ribs, but lower and he seemed to have more pain in his kidney area. He called for a urinalyses.
Guess What??? That showed that there was blood in his urine!!!
The Peds Doc told us that we had to go to the Emergency Room for further testing because he had SIGNIFICANT blood in his urine. The options would run anywhere from "watching him to surgery". NICE!!!!
The decision was to watch him even though there was visible blood in his urine. I spent the rest of the week viewing his urine. Well.........I haven't done that since he was a toddler, but I could see the dark color which indicated the high level of blood.
Who doesn't love spending 5 hours in the ER beginning at 8:00pm?
As long as things didn't get worse, we were cleared to get on the plane for the Funeral on Thursday. A follow-up with his family doctor on Wednesday afternoon showed high levels of urine still in the blood, but 3 days was too soon for surgical intervention.
We were cleared to go ahead with our plans to fly out on Thursday for the funeral..... the flight which would include the kids, their Mom, and ..........Ward's fiancee. I'll move to that story next...........

A Great Loss

At least 27 years ago, my ex-Father-in-Law, George, was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and shared that information with his son. When I first met George he walked on 1 cane, then moved to 2 canes and was an Eagle-eyed father of a college-aged son.
He gave us heck as we dated, laughed when I "bippety-bopped" across the room and threw my fist into his son's shoulder when he made a "silly statement", and turned his head as he caught us getting to know each other better.
We visited him in Philly when we first got together, then Florida after they moved to Amelia Island, and in Vermont every summer for the family event.
He had the pleasure of seeing his first grandchild, Drew..........the grandson, at an early age. Drew was put on the tray of his wheelchair while grabbing his Grandfather's beard. Even up until this past February of 2008, he enjoyed the visits of his grandchildren. Ginny would try to kiss him, but was too short reach him. He used to say "Pucker up, Long Lips!" So, little Ginny would stretch her lips and give him kisses, sometimes with the help of her Dad lifting her up........but, she was always Long Lips!
For years, George has been close to the end of his life. He said goodbye last year, and allowed organ failure to rush his body to the hospital. He had cancerous tumors in his lungs which should've been the final straw for his weak body.........he made it through. He had organ failure, which caused his weak body to be rushed to the hospital so he could die. He managed to live through each of those.
Last Feburary (2007), George was admitted to the hospital with organ failure. He was inchoherent, and talking about being taken away. George was given a dose of medication which brought him about. The day after his goodbyes, George was eating Pork Chops. This is one of our favorite stories of him and his strength.

Today, Sunday, March 2, 2008, George was rushed to the hospital with organ failure once again. We all waited for word. His eldest son, and father of my 2 kids - Drew & Ginny, flew down once again to be with his Mother. We waited to hear that he had once again regained concisousness and was ready for his Pork Chops. We are still waiting to hear those words. ALAS, those words have not come.

Today, Sunday March 2, 2008 after 3:00 pm EST, George let go of the pain in his body. His wife was by his side and his grandchildren were waiting to hear that he was ready for his next meal.

George passed away today and has left all of us to deal with that sadness. While shocked that he finally let go, the family has to deal with the emptiness of life without him. George is finally able to rest in peace and support his family in the way he has been wanting to for years.

God Bless George Lavino - Husband, GrandFather, Father, Father-in-law, Amazing Strength...

Baby Got Big Feet!

Upon returning home after running around at work all day, then grocery shopping, my feet were fatigued. I had heels on, but needed to go back into the cold weather to retrieve the groceries from the car. By the front door were a pair of my son's sneakers which would fit the bill.....or so I thought.

I slipped my feet into them knowing that I'd only need them for a trip or two outside. They were too big!!!!! MY ALMOST 14 YEAR OLD SON'S SHOES WERE TOO BIG!!!! And, that was the pair he told me was getting a bit tight.

What the Heck????!!!!????

Well, you know what they say about a guy with big feet......................big shoes..........

It's really hard to be ........

It's really hard to be a great, technologically advanced, amazing parent. No, really, ......it is!

Due to my amazing ability to provide for my children technologically, networking my home computers for internet & printing purposes, networking my Tivos for sheer amazement, and being up on emerging technologies, I AM NO LONGER ABLE TO GET ON MY OWN COMPUTERS!!!!!!

I've provided so much for my children that they are now on the computers for homework, research, and mass amusement. This means that I can't get on my home computers. Time to make up a spreadsheet schedule for computer use in this house.............but, wait...........that will require that I have TIME ON MY OWN COMPUTER!!!!!!!!!!!

Love 'em both! Because as advanced as I may think I am, technologically speaking, they are light years ahead of me in brilliance.

It's a High Tech Life For Us!

Yes, I'm playing catch-up on my blog. Lots has happened but I haven't had time to journal it, so enjoy reading!

So, after my High-Tech Symposium on Thursday, I called my children as I was on my way home. My 13 year old son, Drew, had been invited to a party for Friday night and "didn't have a thing to wear". In his defense, he has grown and his clothes haven't caught up with him.
I told him that I would come home, pick him up and take him to the store to get something which made him groan (and me do the same as the thought of going back out after getting home didn't exactly appeal to me).
THE HIGH-TECH SOLUTION: He checked the tags in his clothing for his current size and relayed those to me by calling my cell phone as I was on the way home. I went to the store and looked for items befitting a teenage boy party, while keeping Drew's style in mind. He likes the look of the button-down, collared shirt decorated with flames over a t-shirt of a complementary color. Once I stumbled upon this outfit, I took a picture of it with my cell phone, sent a picture message to his cell phone and continued in the store. Within 2 minutes, Drew called me and approved the outfit in the picture which I then purchased and he then wore on the next night for his party.
When I told my sister the events of my day, her response was "You are The Jetsons!!!" As a matter of fact, we were very high-tech, space-folk-ish! What a day!