KIDS MOSTLY

Friday, September 28, 2012
                Wednesday on our way to swim, Bailey said “I going to start concentrating. I get distracted.” This is talking about swimming, listening to the coach, trying harder etc. I told Corey about our conversation and he said that they had a talk about that. She did better at swim that night.
                Last night we ate at Café El Lago. While we were there Jayden was texting on his cell phone. Either Corey or Stacey asked him who he was texting. He started to deny it then blushing he said something about, “You know anyway, I was texting Kate.”
                This afternoon Jayden and I went to Game Stop to trade in some old video games for a newer one. We got back on the subject of Kate and texting. He told me that they agreed not to date until they are sixteen, then if she is not “engaged”; I think that was the word he used, they will get together; date or however he worded it. In the meantime they will keep texting.
                Tuesday at my session, I told my therapist’s (and buddy by now) Jay about my keeping journals for my children and grandchildren. He said wow; I’m going to start doing that.
                He was especially impressed when I told him about how many hundreds of pages they each have.

TODAY'S JOURNAL ENTRY

Friday, September 21, 2012
                Corey called at around 9:00 this morning to ask me if I could help him out. Bailey doesn’t have swimming because there is a meet at the Legacy Center when she would have had her practice. But; her school is going to have a carnival and Bailey was asked to help set it up a half-hour after school. She is going to stay at school for that half hour. She told her dad that she “would feel better if Grandpa was with her for that half hour.”
                I am flattered of course.
Update: I was at Bailey’s school before the bell and was waiting for her as she came out the front door. When she saw me, she grabbed my hand and led me upstairs. Part way up we met Mr. Gallegos, her main teacher. He is a very cool man with a strong grip; handshake. He assumed I was Bailey’s grandpa and we visited for a minute.
                The second level opens up to the back of the school yard. The school is on a hill.
                I finally convinced Bailey to let me put her school backpack in my van. She showed me around explaining what’s what. We bought her a $5.00 pass which was good for twenty things to do. With me in toe she went around trying out the different things like throwing balls at three pyramids of six full pop cans each. The first time she did it she hit the cans with each of her six balls. She is pretty good shot.
                I met some of her friends including “the other Bailey.” Rebecca, a cut girl with railroad tracks in her mouth who came and sat down next to us later after we tired out and bought a two hotdog meal deals each and sat down at the tables they had set up for that purpose.
                Finally Corey showed up after work but by that time Bailey (and I) were tired and wanted to leave. Later they and Judy and I met at Red Robin at the District for dinner. While we were eating, Bailey said, “Grandpa” then went on to talk about bacteria and a couple of other things. Then went on to tell us about how well she is doing in science and how she and Mr. Gallegos interchange talking about science things in general. I mentioned before about when I asked if she was going to be a math teacher and she said “If it includes science.”
                Later at dinner tonight Jayden was talking about math and the Order of Operations. Stacey and I looked at each other like, "Huh".
We didn’t have any idea of what he was talking about. Corey said that he knew about it but didn’t know how to do it. When Jayden explained it I knew what he was talking about. I just didn’t know how to do it either.

From Math.com:

When expressions have more than one operation, we have to follow rules for the order of operations:

1. First do all operations that lie inside parentheses.
2. Next, do any work with exponents or radicals.
3. Working from left to right, do all multiplication and division.
4. Finally, working from left to right, do all addition and subtraction.

Gads, I didn’t learn that until towards the end of high school not the beginning of seventh grade.

SWIMMING AND YOGA

Friday, September 07, 2012

                 Wednesday I picked Bailey up after school and took her home to get ready for swim team at the Lehi Legacy Center.
                I guess Corey was picking her up afterwards; anyway I left.
                The fire alarm went off while she was swimming and everyone had to leave the building and leave their stuff in their lockers. They were told that everything in the lockers would be taken to the lifeguard station.
                Yesterday, even though Stacey didn’t have to work, I still took Bailey to swim so Stacey could go to Jayden’s football practice. She has been feeling guilty that she has been spending too much time at Bailey’s activities and not enough at Jayden’s.
                When we got to swim, Bailey already had her swimsuit on. She has been changing at home after she gets home for school lately. When we got there, she went into the dressing room and showered. Her coach is now insisting everyone showers before getting in the pool.
                I went into the lifeguard station to retrieve her swim bag and stuff. They didn’t know what I was talking about but looked around anyway. They suggested I see if they had it at the front desk, after taking a quick look, they said no but the lifeguard station is supposed to have it.
                I suggested to Bailey that she check the locker she had used the day before. Sure enough it was there, still in the locker.
                I climbed the stairs to the observation area, sat down and watched Bailey swim for over an hour.
                I don’t remember her coming up, but I found Bailey standing next to me and telling me that we should go. I stood up and immediately got lightheaded. I stood there hanging onto the rail for a while then went to the head of the stairs. At that point I got really dizzy and grabbed on. Bailey looked at me and said, “Grandpa, are you OK?” I said “no” and stood there for maybe five minutes before I felt good enough to walk down the stairs. (Jayden several times has asked if I was ok. In fact he has done so quite a few times. If we were at his house he would tell me that it is ok if I go home. He has been really good  that way; caring.)
                I have been lightheaded a lot lately, especially when I first stand up. It’s has gotten worse lately. It used to be that it was only when I stood up after lying down. Now it happens sometimes when I get up from sitting. Other times though I won’t get dizzy/lightheaded at all.
                I used to say that it only happened when I saw a pretty young girl.
                I think I should go talk to the doctor about it. She might just tweak my meds.

Back to Bailey; yesterday when I picked her up after school she talked all the way home and again from home to the Legacy Center. Today she was quiet. I don’t remember if I asked her or what, but after a while she said, “I have so many things going on in my head.” That might not be the exact words.

                This morning at 8:30 I was at Bodhi Yoga for an hour and a half of yoga. This was the fourth time I have gone. The first two times I went to the Bodhi Yin Restorative class. (They all last an hour and a half.)
The next time I went to a different kind. Easy they said. I thought I was going to die trying to do these crazy poses. Today it was BodhiFlow Gentle Vinyssa. It might have been gentle/easy for the rest of the class but I really struggled and some of the stuff I couldn’t  do at all. At one point, the young girl to my left was standing on her head and stayed there for quite a while.

                There is a man that has been in three (?) of my classes who is in his eighties. He has been doing it for over ten years.  There are a few things he won’t do but he is pretty good. His speech and mannerisms remind me of Uncle Sandy but he is in really good shape.
                I was surprised to hear that one of the ladies who sometimes teaches in seventy and I think she can do anything.
She is one of the women who babysit me and make sure I am all right and tells me not the try this or that, and I can rest anytime I need etc, etc.
                After class I asked her which class she thought I should be in. She said to go back to the  Bodhi Yin Restorative class for a while.
                Today’s class had a whole bunch of “other” young women was from Menlo Park, California and another one was from Logan. I found out later that they were there for instructor training. The session after “mine” was all for them.
                I guess this is one of the best studios around. The main instructor seems to be very good.

LITTLE MABLE

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LITTLE MABLE

Fred Jepson

Thursday, November 19, 1998

Nine months ago she was so thin

Before she met this felon.

Went off her diet right away

And blew up like a melon.

 

She was the apple of my eye

My chubby little Mable

And though she said there was no child

Gave birth there on the table.