Wednesday, March 29, 2023

 Wednesday, March 29, 2023

  Elsa and I made it up to the intersection on Kukuna. It had become an easy walk. I worked on turning in my right leg and pushing my left shoulder back more to push my left leg forward. Katie told me my steps were still irregular. I also saw it in the wear of the heels of my shoes. While the difference was no longer as remarkable as it had been, it was still there. I completed almost five thousand steps. I hate to think how many my thirteen-pound dog completed simultaneously.

  Melissa called me yesterday when I was in the middle of a session. I called her back on my morning walk. She invited me to come up for a visit. I’ve had a couple of visits with her. I enjoy them. I considered making this a regular event, as I do with Paulette. It seemed she was on the same page as I was. That was great. Damon pushed me to have more in-person contacts. I was having some scheduling confusion. I called her back and proposed coming up today. We agreed on ten am.

   While Melissa lives just beyond the intersection on Kukuna, Elsa and I drove up there. In the past, Melissa made me a cup of boiling water. I sipped while we sat in rocking chairs on her patio and talked. Today, I brought my own refreshment, my ramen noodle soup. Melissa and I share many ideas and talk. I told her my problems with some of my students, particularly Kps. I will work on my feelings about her with Shelly on Friday. I think I’m burning out. I feel overwhelmed by these kids’ problems, be they academic, emotional, familial, or social. Some of these kids are facing terrible problems. I can’t be much good for them if I’m overwhelmed by their problems and want them to disappear. In the past, I maintained my perspective. I had high hopes for their future but focused on the immediate, rejoicing in every minor victory. I have always remembered that whatever I do with the students may only impact them years from now.

 Melissa commented on how visible my love for Mike was when I talked about him. I had a good forty-five years, which got better in the end after a dry period.

  I got two phone calls while visiting Melissa. One was from Jean, my Hanai sister. I got a text from Cylin, her daughter-in-law, this morning saying their flight was delayed three hours. She hoped Jean and John were up for a late visit. I called Jean earlier. John answered. I told him to sleep during the day so they could visit with Damon and Cylin when they arrived. Jean was out. John thanked me. Jean called me while I was with Melissa. I gave her the same message that I had given to John. On our last phone call, she shared how she regretted that Damon and Cylin would be there for only two days before visiting New York City with old friends. With the flight delay, their visit would be even more abbreviated. I hoped Jean and John would plan their day so they could stay up later. Damon and Cylin would be on California time and wide awake. When I got off the phone with Melissa, I asked, “Could you hear how much we love each other?” We are both lucky. I think Damon is too to have his mother and stepmother be so close. No, we did not know each other before I met Mike. Our relationship developed over many years.

  I got a second call from T.J. from the church. She asked me if I would be willing to be one of the people who got my feet washed in the Holy Thursday mass at seven pm on April 6.

  When I got home from Melissa’s, I took my second nap. I got up when my alarm went off, warning me to get ready for my session with adolescent D. I felt weighted down by the prospect of any of my sessions for the day. When I called D to tell him I had sent a link, he texted me he had other plans for the day. Being told at the last minute is usually not a problem for me. I’m home, so I can easily switch to another activity- or nap. However, it would be good if he or his mother got into the habit of telling me beforehand and not waiting until I’ve signed in, waiting for him to sign on. I set my alarm for two-forty-five for my session with Mams K’s crew.

  When I had signed on and sent the message to Mama K that I was ready, I noticed she texted me that the kids were home at two p.m. and ready to go whenever I was. My phone was right by my side, but it never binged. This was very frustrating. I felt weighed down at the prospect of my sessions with these three kids.

    I started with Twin A. She has started reading beginning second-grade material. She told me her reading is better, but she still has trouble reading the big words. That observation is as good as gold. Wow! I started formal training in the decoding procedure. 1) name the vowel letters. She could do that, but not in the correct order. It is essential to learn them in the conventional order or, more accurately, any consistent order. They shouldn’t have to think about what they are. I drilled the sequence by having her repeat the a, e, i, o u ordered while erasing the letters one at a time. 1) teach her to identify the vowel letters in a word. 2) the vowel letters that represent a sound. The third step is identifying the syllables, recognizing that there is a syllable for every vowel sound. She fell asleep as I was teaching. I know the kids are exhausted after school every day. I just had her read the same story she read in our last session. She does much better on the second reading.

   Twin E is doing much better, too. She read the second pre-primer story fluently, only missing the word here. Here and there are tough ones for many students. She reread the story we read in our last session, answered some comprehension questions, and then read a new passage.

One was a passage about a parade with a marching band. That passage said, “Here comes the band. There is a man in a tall red hat. Here comes a black and white dog.” For me, it was a parade with a marching band. Twin E pictured a stadium with a rock band. I used the same passage with fourth-grade K. He also saw an arena with a band on a stage. I had to back off. I could see their image, except for the presence of the black and white dog. I asked if they had seen the Christmas or Fourth of July parade in Kona when they lived here. Yes. There was no band in either parade. Experience and background knowledge make a difference.

  I asked K if he was seeing improvement in his reading in school due to our work. He said yes. After working with him on the pre-primer passage, I switched to a fourth-grade passage we read long ago. It was about barbers using bear grease to groom men’s hair in the eighteenth century. He didn’t know what grease was. He only knew what grooming was because we had read the passage before. I asked one question from category #2, where he had to infer the answer using the words in the story. He knocked it out of the park. He wasn’t even hesitant. This was a big improvement. While I dreaded the sessions, I wound up having a wonderful time. I have no idea what is going on.