Tuesday, February 7, 2023

 Tuesday, February 7, 2023

  

     I discovered I left my stylus at Bobby and Lauren’s house yesterday. I used it for my appointment with second-grade M on Sunday afternoon. Monday evening, Bobby texted me to tell me I had left it. I thought, ‘No worry. I’ll buy a new one.’ That is more easily said than done. I went to Office Max. They didn’t have it. I went to Target, but they didn’t have it. I told Bobby not to worry about it. I ordered one on Amazon. Yay for Amazon! In the meantime, I could use my finger on the screen or the mouse pad.

     I drove to the church to meet with Damon, the fellow planning to do the cement staining of the wedges for the gravestones. Fr. Lio agreed to meet us and help Damon unload the wedges from my car. Lio didn’t show up right away. I was concerned he had either forgotten or had something come up. Priests need to respond to emergencies. I went to the office to check. He wasn’t there. Exiting, I saw him cross the parking lot, heading for the cemetery.

    I had successfully backed the car into the best parking space. Lio and Damon lifted the wedges from the car, placed them on a low stone wall, and climbed over. Damon said he would lay down a tarp so the stain didn’t touch anything. Lio notices a black mat sitting in front of another gravesite. It was the perfect size for the two wedges. Damon would bring additional tarps when he did the work.

      Protecting the ground from staining is a joke. The cemetery isn’t well maintained. It’s bare dirt irregularly covered with lava gravel and weeds. My friend Jean found it a peaceful place. Hmmm! It’s where Mike would have wanted to be buried. It’s where people remember him fondly. It’s where members of the parish will visit his grave. It’s where he belongs.

    Damon presented a palate of color stains. He suggested a dark gray rather than the brown I was considering going with. I knew I had no idea what I was doing. I was so grateful I had someone who knew what they were doing. I said whatever he did would be better than I could do with less damage to me or the surrounding area. We settled on the dark grey with flicks of black and a semi-gloss sealer.

  I had another appointment with first-grade Iz. Her mother told me the school reported a 20% increase after a month’s work. It was four half-hour sessions. The school used homogenous grouping across grade levels. Iz was put into a higher reading group. While I have taught school forever and know a double-digit increase is good after a year’s work, I was not sure what Iz’s reading level was. Was she now on grade level? Was she still somewhat below? Was she above grade level now?

     I checked with Iz’s brother on how his week went. He had another incident without a problem. His anger never got the better of him.