Boat, Boats and Boats Episode 2

It's been a LONG time since I posted the first episode of boats!  Going to add episode 2.

Did I mention I LOVED our boat.  So wish we had a way to get Mr. B. on a boat again.  But - on to the tales.

Charley Jr. and the knee board
We got a knee board for the kids to ride while we towed them behind the boat.  A knee board is almost impossible to get on by yourself while you are bobbing up and down in the water.  So our chosen method was for mom (aka me) to jump over the side (yes, I had a life jacket on), and help the kids get on.  Charley Jr. was the first one.  He was so excited.  So being the good mom I was, I got him on the board, strapped his knees down good and tight, and yelled at Big C. to go!  I just stayed there floating around the lake while Charley Jr. was being pulled.  They were WAY down at the end of the lake part, when I could see the boat stop.  I heard a blood curdling scream and I see this figure fly over the side of the boat.  I am nearly hysterical floating there, not knowing what was wrong - not a good feeling, trust me.  Finally I could barely make out my sister yelling that "everything is all right."  Still didn't know what happened.  When they finally got back to pick me up, the saga was explained.  The boat ran out of gas, of course stopping the knee board going, and it flipped upside down.  I had been such a diligent mom, that I had strapped Charley Jr. in so tight, he couldn't get out of the straps.  Upside down, pinned onto the board, ....... he managed to get his head above water for a second and scream.  His dad went flying overboard, forgetting he was wearing his life jacket.  If you have ever swam with a life jacket on, it is like swimming with an anchor on you!  Reached son, got his knees out of the straps, and loaded back up.  I felt SO BAD!  I almost drowned my child. :Needless to say, the knee board went bye bye!

The Gremlin
April and Charley always took friends with them to the lake.  One time, it was Holly Chambers - now Holly Lusby.  I offered to help her get on the skis by getting into the water with her.  She said she'd be all right.  Verbal instruction ya know!  She did get upon the skis, and here we went flying around the lake.  Only problem, she would/couldn't straighten up.  She crouched over those skis like a little gremlin.  We laughed so hard I had tears going down my cheeks.  We picked her up and congratulated her for learning to ski - even in a gremlin position.  Love you Holly!

The eyeglasses:

Dustin was another friend who frequently went with us to the lake.  He was a wonderful young man and we just sort of sucked him into our family unit.  As was our habit, we found a quiet cove, and stopped the boat.  Big C. volunteered to stay in the boat and keep it from drifting.  So the kids all dove over the side.  I watched them all pop to the surface, counted heads to be sure, and then settled down to soak up sun and relax.  (I usually went overboard with them, but for some reason, this time I stayed in the boat).  I saw Dustin pop up above the water with this really weird look on his face.  He said, "Marty, was I wearing my glasses when I jumped in."  My heart almost stopped - there were no glasses on his face.  He was upset, we were upset but there was nothing we could do.  We were in 50 feet of water.  We wound up getting him new glasses because he worked on his own to buy those glasses.  I have a faint memory of maybe the insurance we had on the boat paying for them.  Sorry Dustin - but love you!

Baby DJ:
We took a quick few days vacation two weeks after DJ was born - last hurrah before school/college started. We needed a safe place for DJ to sleep, so we padded the bathtub with blankets, shut the water switch completely off on the electrical board, and she was just adorable in her little bed.  We - being grandparents for the first time - were smitten with our new girl.  We volunteered to babysit while Dustin, Charley, Danny,  and April went out in the boat.  They were gone a couple of hours.  When they came back into the motor home, all 4 of them looked as guilty as they could be.  Immediately I said - April - did you go skiing?  All 4 of them looked at each other - like saying Oh good grief, how do we get out of this!!  She HAD gone skiing 2 weeks after her baby was born.  I just stood there shaking my head!!!

So folks, episode 2 is complete.  I'm sure my kids and their friends can add to this and I hope they will.

Peace, love and boat rides to all.

RULES - oh my

I always forget how LONG it kids take to remember the procedures in the classroom at the first of the year!

I EVEN have it typed and in their binder!  BUT then there are those jillion and one little procedures or rules you forget and you teach them as you go -sometimes for 175 days!  :)

Here are some things I've said ad nauseum in the first 8 days of school - and will continue for days, weeks, months and possibly the entire year!

1.  DO NOT tear out paper from your spiral notebook and turn it in as your assignment with all its raggedy edges!  Seriously!  I will make a paper airplane out of it and sail it into the trash can.  (not really, but they don't know that!)

2.  NO NO NO  You can't get up and wander around the room, sharpen a pencil or fill up your water bottle while I am teaching!  Lightening bolts and thunder will occur in the classroom.

3.  CLEAN YOUR DESK - repeated for 175 days - on a daily and sometimes on an hourly basis!  (were they raised in a pigpen?  I hear my mother in my ear saying - your room is like a pigpen.  Clean it up!) Dumping of the entire contents of your desk onto the floor may just occur if it is a "pigpen."

4.  Of course you can play games on your Chrome Book while I teach math to everyone else!  BUT I can't guarantee your safety come recess time!

5.  This one I swear I should record it and just play the recording on a daily, hourly basis.  YOU MUST walk in the hall in a single file.  You may not touch any other person.  You may not talk, whisper, giggle, roll your eyes, dance, hop, run, do spins, jump up and touch the door frames ........  well you get where I'm going with this.  (I am rolling my eyes as I type!)

6.  YOUR WATER BOTTLE IS NOT A PACIFIER.  GET IT OUT OF YOUR MOUTH AND LISTEN TO ME TEACH - PLEASE.  If you continue, your water bottle will disappear, never to be found again. The please is sometimes said with a little louder voice - depending upon yow many times you've already told them the exact same thing.

7.  You need to use the restroom?  THEN QUIT jumping up and down, holding yourself - because that won't get you there any quicker.  Maybe try not drinking 4 water bottles full in an hour. (and yes, 5th grade boys still do this)

8.  I'm so sorry you have a headache, knee hurting, eyes hurting, fingernails hurting, toenail is ugly, arm has a scrape so tiny - you'd need a microscope to see it.  No you don't need an ice pack. No, you don't need to see the nurse. You'll live - I promise!  (although your teacher may have a shortened life span from repeating this a thousand times!!)

9.  I WILL NOT CALL ON YOU TO ANSWER A QUESTION IF YOU ARE WAVING YOUR HAND LIKE A FLAG IN A HURRICANE, JUMPING UP AND DOWN, AND YELLING  AT ME WHILE YOU ARE DOING THE ABOVE.  (that one is repeated often)  Yep - I know they are excited but - come on!!!!

10.  Don't tip your chair back.  EVER.  It is quite amazing how many times kids fall out of their chair during instruction "on accident" and for absolutely no reason (could it be you are TIPPING your chair?). Four on the floor!

11.  If I hear you, or see you, or smell you - then you did it.  "I didn't do anything" doesn't work for seasoned teachers.  WE KNOW!

12.  Phones?  Nope!  Why? Because I said so.  If it rings during class, we will have a moment of silence for the demise of your phone.

13.  See me?  Teacher?  Four years of college?  See you - student?  You don't get to momma the entire class or tell them what to do. There is always someone in class who would like to teach for me or scold kids or tell them what they THINK that person should do.  NOPE!  NOPE!  Not going to happen.

14.  WE DO NOT FART REPEATEDLY IN THE CLASSROOM.  IT IS NOT FUNNY.  WE DON'T WANT TO SMELL IT (GAG).  I always have a student who seemingly cannot control their farts.  They bless us with the smell many times a day. I always knew when this happened when I was reading aloud.  All of a sudden a whole group of kids would jump to their feet gagging and run away from a particular area. Gross!

15.  NO you may not do your assignment in PEN or colored pencil or sharpie or highlighter or crayon.  NO - period!

16.  Please write your 9's and 4's so I can tell the difference.   Otherwise, I will think you are using Russian/Chinese/Japanese numbers and I WILL mark the problem wrong!

17.  You are way to young for wine (whine).  Don't go there, ever, not a tiny bit, never!  Trust me,  The end result will be very scary!

AND FINALLY -

18.  Yes, I love all of you.  Yes, I will keep you safe.  Yes, I would give my life to keep you safe.  You are my school children and I will keep you in my heart forever!

P.S.  I may be retired, but teacher memories never, ever fade!

The Snow Leopard

I have not written a post in my blog for over a year.  It's been a rough two years for my family.  BUT be that as it may, I think I am able to write again.  Lots of ideas floating around in my brain - I hope they come to print!

The Snow Leopard

When Danny, April and family lived in Enid, and then in Ponca City, we started a tradition of going to the OKC zoo every mother's day.  When DJ was 2 years old, papa and her disappeared into the gift shop at the zoo. That's always a really bad idea to let papa and grandchild go it alone in a gift store - particularly if papa has a credit card!  (sigh)  ANY grandchild!  (when Lillie and Kathleen got to spend the day with us while parents worked, they both told their parents to be prepared, because they were going to get spoiled rotten that day) 

So while they were in the gift shop, papa told DJ that she could get any stuffed animal she wanted.  Big one, little one, medium sized one.  They wandered around the gift shop for at least 30 minutes while DJ looked carefully at EACH animal, touched them, tried them for cuddling softness, etc.

Finally, she told papa what she wanted.  She made a beeline for the stuffed snow leopards and chose one - not huge but not tiny either.  From that day forth, that snow leopard went pretty much everywhere with her.

Of course, snow leopard was in her bed every night to keep her company.  When papa would pick her up in Ponca to spend the weekend with us, snow leopard came with her and slept with her at our house.  Some years passed, and DJ and family moved to Arizona.  

We would visit them, and there would be snow leopard in - count them - 4 different houses.  During the summer when I was off, we would travel half way to Albuquerque and pick up DJ and Alaina.  This made Callen very upset because she wanted to go with her sisters.  She wasn't quite old enough yet to be away from home for a few weeks.  Leopard came with DJ every single trip, and Emily Jimilee came with Alaina every single trip.

Finally, DJ and Alaina were old enough to fly on Southwest with an unaccompanied minor tag.  Leopard and Emilee Jimilee came with them.  Again - Callen was totally furious because she was still too young to fly unless DJ was 12. 

The day came - and all three girls got to come.  Leopard with DJ, Emilee Jimelee with Alaina and Kitty Cat with Callen.

Fast forward years to 2 weeks after DJ's 16th birthday. DJ got sick.  Very sick.  Hospital stay after hospital stay became norm for their family.  April and I tried to add up the days she was in the hospital - but wasn't really sure.  It was at least 180 days she was in the hospital or at home too sick to go to school.  Again - leopard went with her to every single hospitalization.  To Carver Children's Hospital, to Tuscon at University of Arizona medical hospital, back to Phoenix, and to Phoenix Children's hospital.  Leopard was there.

Finally, DJ's god mother gave part of her liver so DJ could have a liver transplant.  DJ was 17 1/2.  The day she went for surgery, they had a camera crew there to film as we came into the hospital because DJ made AZ news.  It was the first pediatric liver transplant in 20 years at PCH.  Leopard is in the pictures!  Leopard went with her to surgery.  He was on her lap or by her hand when she was recovering.  

Then one day, the unthinkable happened - somewhere between a move to a step down hospital room, Leopard was lost.  Her doctors searched, the nurses searched.  Her transplant doctor even called the laundry where they send hospital  stuff.  They hadn't found any leopard in any of the stuff coming from PCH. Poor leopard was gone.  DJ cried and cried and cried.  We found several other ones for her, but none of them were Leopard.  

Flash forward to 2017.  DJ was expecting a son.  Mimi got her a snow leopard for the new baby. But sadly, Little Jace didn't get to be in our world but instead went to live with the angels.  But leopard is still there, with Jace's little bracelet as a neck collar, waiting for a new baby in the coming years.

Thus is the story of the snow leopard.  I hope you enjoyed.