Sick Day

I was awakened in the wee hours of the morning by the ferocity of my own hacking. Like a five-pack-a-day smoker coughing up a hairball, the sound was as painful as my throat. The commotion brought Max, my Doberman, trotting to the side of my bed. Hot dog-breath in my face triggered the next round of coughing.
"Go away!"
My pathetic squeak, heard only by Max and myself was, nonetheless, embarrassing.
A teacher with no voice is useless.
Geez...I'm going to have to take a sick day.

It's rare that I've ever taken a sick day because I was actually sick. As the mother of three kids, most of the sick time I've ever used was because I had to stay home with a feverish child, or spend time with my dad in the hospital, or the week I had to take off work when my house caught fire. Then there were the days when I was driving the old Subaru and she just couldn't get herself out of the driveway.

My substitute folder has emergency lesson plans for my classes which don't require any art supplies. Problem is, my students are really good at conning subs into letting them continue working on their projects. What they aren't so good at is cleaning up with out commandant-like supervision.
We are in the middle of a painting unit.
I can only pray that my classroom is not a complete disaster when I return.

We Mourn Again

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Tuesday, February 8, 2005

Girl found dead in basement; man surrenders
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
A 17-year-old Cleveland girl was found dead Monday afternoon in the basement of a home on West 90th Street.

A 9-1-1 caller told Cleveland police Maria Isabella Anglero had been strangled.

A man seen driving away from the home surrendered about 5:30 p.m. at the 2nd District police station, about an hour after police were notified about the girl's death. Police did not release the name of the suspect.

Lt. Wayne Drummond would say only that based on the condition of the body, the girl's death appeared to have been violent.

The Cuyahoga County coroner's office will rule on the cause of death.

Drummond had no information on the relationship between the girl and the man. But an initial police report indicated the girl's mother was the man's ex-girlfriend.

Police were made aware that the man was coming to the police station to surrender, and he was arrested in the parking lot.

A very sad day at Max Hayes.
Maria was in my art class a couple years ago as a ninth grader. She was a tiny, beautiful, quiet, latina.
She quit school last year amid controversy with some of the other girls. Typical teen-girl trash-talk-leading-to-ass-kicking type of thing.

Today there were many tears, many regrets, and more than a little guilt.

The Silent Treatment

What can ever be gained by shutting down? When people stop talking, the possibilities for forgiveness come to an abrubpt end. There can be no understanding without communicating.

Silence amplifies pain.
Suffering in silence is not holy martyrdom, it is passive/aggressive manipulation.
It is manipulation that often backfires. Relationships die in silence.

So yell, shout, swear, vent the anger, express the hurt. Just don't stop talking.