Monday, September 13, 2021

 Monday, September 13, 2021

 

   I continue to feel agitated. There is always something to be agitated about. I think it’s just a perfect storm. Let me see: Covid, Afghanistan, flooding, drought, family issues, a trivial misunderstanding that took three days to resolve completely, a parent canceling because she didn’t have the money, a student who told me something about his perception of himself that deeply concerned me, I couldn’t get hold of the company that deals with the brand of air conditioner Ken bought for us, Elsa’s skin was a mess, the Intermediate school clerk insisted that she didn’t get the background check form with my application packet and I was perseverating on an interpersonal problem.

  On the other hand, my leg is doing brilliantly. The exercises to strengthen my hamstrings were right on. My walk is stronger, and I have fewer occasions of discomfort and no pain.

   I completed my work on sixth-grader D’s story. I think this is the most sophisticated bit of writing I have done with a student. I had to pull it out of him with questions, but he answered with great details. Then I assembled it into a well-structured piece. If Tom Wolff needed an editor, why shouldn’t a fifth-grade boy? D’s mom had texted me to say she needed to skip this week because of money, so I didn’t get to work with him this morning. I was looking forward to it in hopes that we could resolve his problem with the jumping lines. I told D’s mom that she could pay me what she wanted. I’m not desperate for money; the children need my help more than I need the money.

    I checked my Step-Up Tutoring Gmail account this morning. Someone has signed up for my reading office hours at the last minute. I went for my walk and went around preparing for my shower. I always do a Vitamin C facial before I shower. I grind up Vit C crystals in my coffee grinder to extra fine, add water, and apply the paste. I leave it on for a few minutes and head to the shower. My alarm went off in anticipation of my next class. I guess I was a little too leisurely. Here I was with a white paste over my face, stark naked, and I had to be in my Zoom office hour in ten minutes. I quickly washed the dried paste off my face, threw on underwear and a shirt, and headed for my computer to sign in.  

    There was just one person. Anita had just started with the tutoring program. She was having trouble connecting with her student because of technical difficulties. She hadn’t heard her read yet. I told her I would be willing to advise her once she knew something about her student’s needs. As it stood now, she asked me to give her a semester-long course in reading in an hour. It didn’t make sense. I went back to my shower. 

     Once dressed again, I headed out for one of my short walks. I take at least four a day, doing some movement after I’ve been sitting for a while. I did some shrub pruning too. I don’t like it when the shrubs get leggy. My gardeners have a lot to do with a limited amount of money. I started taking care of the strip along the driveway. It looks much better since I started working on it. I knew enough that I could get a plant to be fuller if I trimmed it back. That’s what I did, with Darby and Patrick’s motto always in my mind: if you can’t be a good gardener, be persistent. I can do persistence. 

     I grabbed Elsa and did a grooming session with her. Lo and behold, she does enjoy being combed. I get the dreads out with my fingers, gently pulling the hairs apart.   This is good for both of us. We both find it calming. I have also been applying the topical medication to her skin eruptions. I do it right when she’s had enough of the grooming and starts to pull away. I think it might be helping.

    I messaged an old friend in Canada who wanted me to work with her son. Her ex-husband and the boy’s father used to be a client of mine when he was an adolescent, almost forty years ago. Mike and I became important people in his life. Unfortunately, he remains a troubled soul who is overly reactive. I am friends with both of his ex-wives but no longer with him. I said something that offended him, and that’s it. Let’s see, I said one bad thing in forty years, and I’m out. The poor kid has problems. Unfortunately, he refuses to get help. I have little tolerance for people who act out all over the place and refuse to get help. However, I sympathize with their paranoia. I had a terrible time with many therapists. Often, they are the most self-centered people in the room, convinced they know it all because they have a degree. They go into the profession with a need to control—what a disaster. Nonetheless, they have methods that can be helpful. The mom was going to ask her ex if he could tolerate having me work with their son. I told her she had to tell him he couldn’t badmouth me to his son. That would be putting him in a terrible bind. He would be torn between his loyalty to his dad and his need for my help. Not okay.