one small corner of the universe

I am already flinching at my own anticipated disorganization of thoughts to follow in this post,  but when there is too much to say and not enough time to say it, disorganization is to be expected. To soothe my type A anxiety I will use bullets, which will perhaps lend the appearance of organization. Humor me.

• Mia and I went to West Virginia for my mom’s family reunion on Saturday, where Mia finally met her numerous great-great aunts and uncles and her equally numerous cousins, most of whom are boys. She was the most interested in her cousin Micah, age 8 months, who was also quite smitten with her. There are pictures, but they are still trapped in my camera. Hopefully I’ll get to them later this evening.
• Remember our visit to Georgia Easter weekend? We went mainly to visit my grandmother, my dad’s mother, because my dad wanted her to see Mia. The Monday after Easter she fell in her yard and broke her femur. Major surgery followed; rehab and physical therapy followed the surgery. Mother’s Day weekend she went to stay with my Aunt Mary until she could get around on her own (she is fiercely independent and wanted to be back in her own house). This past Friday Mary took her to the ER on suspicion of a blood clot in her lung, a common problem with elderly people who’ve recently had surgery, and on Saturday the doctor said she would be fine,  that the blood clot had resolved. She died Sunday morning. The funeral will be in WV where she lived most of her life, so the kid and I will be heading back to Dad’s on Thursday.
• Technically I have 8 days left of work, but I will only be working 6 of them because of the funeral. I am still trying to plan my “things to look forward to,” but it’s getting increasingly more complicated. For instance, on Friday I did J’s suggestion (Sin Night), but it was on the calendar for THIS Friday. Also, my sister couldn’t come with my mom to keep Mia today, so we will not be playing Scrabble. What I am most looking forward to right now is next Sunday, when I will be at home and the funeral will be over, and the family drama that is a whole other story I won’t delve into here will be behind me. If you are the praying/light-sending/good vibes wishing type, please know that I am at peace with my grandmother’s death and use your prayers/light/good vibes in an attempt to keep my aunt and uncle from having a fight in the middle of the funeral mass.
• My daughter has started eating solid foods. Her first experience with the fruit/vegetable food group was apples; she gagged, spat, and made horrible sounds upon her first bite of apples, and while she is tolerating them just fine, she doesn’t lap them up like she does the cereal. Given the fact that the apples taste good to ME, I was really concerned about her reaction to carrots. My. God. She sucked down carrots like she’s been waiting her whole life for them.
• Mia turned 5 months old on Saturday. As usual, I will be posting her monthly letter late.
• My students are the spawn of the devil. Have I mentioned that lately? Have I mentioned that I am busting my ass to prepare them for a state end-of-course test that will literally determine whether or not they have to repeat my class, and I have to fight with them daily in order to get them to complete the reviews? Have I mentioned that I will be happier to be rid of them in 8 days than I would be if I won the freaking LOTTERY?