I think I might have stunned everyone, including myself, into silence with yesterday's post. Musing on sex, marriage and relationships just isn't included in my subtitle, and while there were a whole lot of readers, there were very few comments. Just so you know, it might have been true and it might have been fiction. David Sedaris calls it "realish."
Today, I've been driving all over the dang city -- down to Long Beach for Part II of Oliver's foray into the Irlen Method. What you see above is Oliver trying out different colored screens that will be fitted over clear lenses and will, hopefully, help him to read and address some of his learning problems. I nearly teared up at one point when he began reading quite fluently from the text in front of him. He was the happiest I've seen him in a long time, and we both have high hopes that this school year will be much improved. He picked out a badass pair of Ray Bans that will be fitted with the colored lenses, and as soon as we get them, I'll take a photo and show ya'll the new O. I might even assign him the remainder of War and Peace that I never got to before my fiftieth birthday.
On another note, Henry has enjoyed his first four days of high school, and when I drove up to the school to pick up the carpool this afternoon for the first time, I was struck by so much youthful beauty parading around the campus that it was nearly blinding. The girls all seemed impossibly long and smooth-legged, the boys wide-shouldered and ridiculously handsome. It was 100 degrees in the valley today, and by all appearances, high school is smokin' hot as they say. I don't know what the hell has happened since I was in high school, but I do not remember this at all.
Sophie has been home for a couple of days with a bad cold and cough. She had so many seizures the other day, before she showed symptoms of the cold, that I wondered if her relatively useless medications (Vimpat and Onfi) had completely plateaued and were now utterly useless. I also wondered if it was the Blue Moon, and then I wondered if it was the beginning of the end, and then I spent a fair amount of time irritated that I'm no closer to getting and trying the high CBD tincture of medical marijuana which leads me to truly dark and despairing thoughts that, after having had them off and on for nearly twenty years, causes me to completely dissociate from any emotion attached to dying, death. Does that make sense?
How do we do it? We just do.
Uh, I'm off to check your previous post--the one on sex?
ReplyDeleteBest,
Bonnie
Sometimes I wonder Why do we do it?
ReplyDeleteOne foot in front of the other.
ReplyDeleteSo pleased that Oliver might be getting something that helps him. And I, too am disgusted by the youthful beauty. Especially that of my nearly 14-year-old daughter who has long, lean, tan legs and boobs. Oy.
My high school in Detroit wasn't at all like your description. It will make all the difference, I would think, that Oliver will be able to read with his new glasses. I wish I had an answer for the missing CBD medical marijuana.
ReplyDeleteHmmmm. . . I used to work with kids with these types of issues all the time. We used overlays. The glasses idea is kind of cool.
ReplyDeleteI am so happy for Oliver. My dad was diagnosed as "retarded" when his teachers found out he could not read when he was about 10. They shipped him off to a school where they shamed him and rapped his hands with a yard stick. He ended up quitting school at 12. Many, many years later when my son was born he wanted to learn to read to him. He saw a specialist who documented him as one of the worst cases she had ever seen but ironically his knowledge was at a university level. He tried for months to read but after so many years of shame he ended up giving up.
ReplyDeleteIt is so wonderful that kids like my dad and Oliver are finally given a chance and teachers are understanding that there are many ways to learn. I hope this year will be Oliver's best yet!
Both my girls have irlens. They wear their glasses a lot of the time because they help with all sorts of processing issues, like taking in instructions and following them, or being able to make decisions. I have no idea why but the glasses were well worth it. In school they are both able to read fluently at sight and keep up with the lessons. My older daughter, who is 13 has an IEP that includes having a printed version of whatever is on the whiteboard. This helps enormously. I hope the glasses help.
ReplyDeleteYes. Makes total sense.
ReplyDeleteWait...huh? Sex...what? What I miss?
ReplyDeleteYes. xoxox
ReplyDeleteagain, had you been living in switzerland, most likely Oliver wouldn't have gotten ray bans with colored lenses. hope they help.
ReplyDelete