Meanwhile, back at the funny farm . . .

This week has been one of those I'd just like to forget. The end of the term is fast approaching and all is in panic over here. Sarah worked on math for probably 14 hours this weekend. I was feeling her pain. I was never good at math. My visiting teacher is tutoring her on demand. I don't know how I'll repay her because she won't take money. I know there is another woman in the ward who pays her with chicken. Maybe I should go with beef?

Rebecca's term book reports were due on Friday. I spend more time working with that child then either of us can really take and she is still drowning. Her resource teacher wants me to spend more time on math. We spend so much time on reading and spelling I just can't think about one more thing. It isn't the time so much as this girl doesn't want to hear any more from me. It has to come from somebody else because we're both ready to cry over here. In fact we do sometimes. My patience is about gone and I'm horrible these days. I'm tearing down my own child. Why? Why? Why can't you get this? "It's part of the disability," says the resource teacher. What does that even mean?

John still won't sleep. The battle to get him to bed every night is ongoing which means I have to steel myself for the mornings. He has a spelling list too now but catches on much more quickly. Blessing of blessings I think this kid is not going to have a learning problem.

Scouts is another story. Nathaniel turns 16 in two weeks and has yet to get his Eagle project going. No Eagle, no license. We are not seeing movement.

He is taking a jogging class this semester. Every other day he runs 4 miles. This morning Nathaniel tells me that his PE clothes, the same PE clothes he's never brought home for me to wash yet this year, smell so bad he brought another set to school. Disgusting doesn't come close. I'm beginning to wonder if it is even worth it for me to continue harassing him to bring them home. Maybe they need to go straight into the trash.

Which brings me to this:

Does this look like the room of a scholar?

Nathaniel is a good student. This term he has pre-calculus, physics and Honors English and is holding just under a 4.0. I'm extremely proud of him. He is also one of the few sophomores taking a concurrent enrollment class (computer programming.) I mention this because I constantly remind myself of this when I open his door to this scene. Those clean clothes on the desk? in the basket? They may never get put away. He wears them and then they go on the floor. That expensive dresser you see to the left? Useless. I certainly don't put the clothes away for him. I washed my hands of that job long ago. I just set them in there and then close the door. I do periodic vacuuming if I can get to the floor and don't even get me thinking about the sheets on that bed.

When the pile gets too large to open his door he hefts it into the laundry basket in the hall. This always coincides nicely with me thinking I've got the laundry done. One minute I breeze past an empty hamper and the next it is vomiting Nathaniel's dirty clothes onto the floor. Just like that.
Magic.

In other news Peter just finished up with the October tax deadline tonight. He also got to have his broken cap removed and his tooth drilled on this morning. I'm not sure which he enjoyed more. Actually he got the nitrous gas for the first time so I'm pretty sure it was the tooth. When I brought dinner to the office tonight he was wishing aloud he could have some more of that gas. I can't say it has ever done that much for me.

This weekend we are going to spend the fall break in Bryce Canyon. We have rented a little condo for a couple of nights and the plan is to feign no responsibility for three days. Then on Monday we pick up our Japanese exchange student at BYU. Our last one you may remember, was Yuuki. Funny thing is the boy we are getting this year is named Yuki. So minus one "u." I'm wondering if they are pronounced the same.

Peter went to the orientation for me and we got to see his picture. Holy nerdy. I know, it's terrible I'm judging him from his picture, but his letter was not much more reassuring. He showed about as much personality as a cantaloupe. If this kid is as painfully shy as he appears on paper my family is about to show him a different side of things for sure.