over the hump

That's honestly how I think of the end of a Wednesday. Thursday? I can stand because it's almost Friday. Friday nearly doesn't count as work because it's practically the weekend. If I can make it through Wednesday I can make it through anything. And I made it. So did Josh. yay!

Josh really is going through close to purgation. As he put it today, "We got annihilated!" They have a really dopey class sergeant this week, so they have been getting hard core punishments. I mean really, there are only so many hours that anyone can stand holding up their body weight in "plank position" (the way you get before you go down for a push-up). Plus the TAC Staff are trying to make it extra purgatory-ish for them because the baby class is coming in a week and a half. And what's coming this weekend? A 6k "fun run" for the class on Saturday morning and Bill, Josh's dad. (The second part is the part that we are actually really happy about!) So please do keep praying for Josh and his class. Pray especially that they keep their friendships through this because when you are dead tired and in pain it is easy to get on each other's nerves.

I'm doing well. Today class was really really hard. The high schoolers were going nuts in the morning because they had psychological testing and yesterday they were all searched for drugs. It's like stirring up an ant hill! Even when the stirring is done the ants still run around like crazy. Speaking of crazy, the foot-fetish boy (well, ok, 20 year-old who thinks that I have "big feet" even if I do have "fat ugly legs"), umm, when I finally worked up the courage to ask what was WRONG with that boy, turns out that he is psychotic. Literally. OH, well, that makes a lot of sense then, doesn't it? Suddenly I don't feel so badly about my sexy big feet (and I, along with all the other females in the school, still refuse to take my shoes off for him, much to his chagrin, go figure) and my fat ugly legs.

Speaking of my fat ugly legs, I've managed to convince about half of the annoyingly sexual-comment inclined high school boys that my legs are far to white to be sexy and that they will blind themselves if they look at them. Ok, maybe not a nice thing to do to poor emotionally disturbed children who really aren't all there ... but I would much rather hear, "oh my eyes!" as I walk past in my P. E. clothes and see them avert their eyes dramatically than hear ... other things that would make me have to have them talk to the school administration. Again. And why don't I just wear sweat pants? Well, apparently in sweat pants make my butt looks rather large and unfortunately that is not a bad this with this population.

So, that was a good part of my day. The other (surprisingly) good part was that I finally called Ju's dreaded mother (the one who cusses out the principal at the top of her voice) because his IEP (individualized education program) is coming up for review next week and I get to help write his new one. Frabjuous joy. So I gave her a call. She wasn't there. I was relieved and left a voice message. She called me back ... and was amazingly polite and nice to me. Apparently she likes me because I'm actually trying to teach her son something. (Yesterday the principal had to come in because my students were howling loudly because I was MAKING THEM WOOOORK!!! How dare I. Even the Principal had trouble keeping a straight face calming them down on that one). So she, Ju's mother, likes me (for now). God was so gracious to me with that phone call. I thankfully I could say true things like, "Ju is a smart boy and when he gets down to work he can work really well. Most of them time he is one of my top 3 students." I also said true things like, "Ju really needs to work on calming down and listening to instructions. He needs to learn not to taunt people and that there is a line between joking and getting people mad and he doesn't seem to know where that it." To which his mother replied, "Yup, that sounds like my son." Wow, and I heard that she won't stand for her son to be criticized at all! She even told me to call her any time of the day if she needs to know something about what Ju did! So, please do still pray for this IEP meeting on Tuesday at 2:00 pm.

Well, my husband is ordering me off to bed now. Blessings on you all!