Blake is having a really rough time of it this week. It was bad enough last week when Mommy & Daddy went away for the day; now Daddy is gone overnight. Not to mention Uncle Nic (who wishes to be called Eagle Nic from now on (or as I call him: Uncle Yummy Cakes)) was on a 3-day trip to Ottawa and Grandpa has been staying late at work. Yesterday Blake was descending into hysterics whenever one of us would phone home; it was as if he could pretend to be normal most of the time but our voices on the phone brought all of his anxieties to the fore. Today he got up very grumpily from his nap and clung to me like a tick. He then had a complete meltdown for no apparent reason during dessert, sobbing to be taken from his chair and cuddled.

Mom & I think that it might have something to do with the death of his older friend, for whom he searches every time he goes over to that house. Bob is gone, and when he asks about him, he is told that Bob has gone away to be with God. During the day we're gone, and he is told that we'’ve gone to work. I'’m not sure how much he'’s able to differentiate between the two places. I think he'’s afraid that we'’ll go away and never come back, just like Bob.

It is breaking my heart to leave him. Even more so than usual.

On the other hand, before dinner he got to lick Parmesan cheese from a plate, so his life isn't all horror and doubt. Just, you know, mostly. Maybe.

A round of class updates:

I feel like my 11 Willows are loving me this week. I'’m not sure exactly why I think this; I just know there are more appreciative chuckles in class and very little resistance to the work I prescribe. I like being their teacher.

My 9 Xanders are getting awfully lippy. Today one of them slammed his book shut and announced his opinion that (after reading 2 stories), "all the stories in this book suck." And then while I was reprimanding him, someone asked another kid what the first kid said, and it was loudly repeated. Sigh. I retaliated by making the first kid my target when it was time to teach simile & metaphor. "So if I say that Angus eats like a pig, how would he eat?"” Revenge, as they say, is sweet.

My 11 Faiths aren'’t pulling their weight this week. I don'’t know what they'’re waiting for but I'’m getting awfully tired of this slackassery. Tomorrow I introduce my TA: the cat o'’ nine tails. (Hee!)

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- Rocketbride's adventure of 9/13/2005 08:24:00 p.m.